Courtesy Wikimedia Commons In this season of celebration, I would like to celebrate piggy-back riding. We all do it, whether we know it or not! Every time we use a genealogy website with "hints," those hints are based on the work that other researchers have done, connecting images and records to families and individuals. Search algorithms are written by programmers who may know nothing about quality genealogical research, but do know how to code search parameters that will yield good results for us.  The image of riding piggy-back, or giving others a ride, perhaps came so strongly to mind this week, because out of the blue, I got an email from a researcher, Antoinette, who found one of the profiles I worked on years ago, in the family of my son-in-law Jason. His 2nd-great-grandmother, Martha Caroline Carter, was born in February 1856 in Wayne County, Missouri, and died after 1910 probably in Colorado.  The email revealed that Antoinette is descended from Martha's sister A

By Michelle Lyons and Katie Hanzeli In October Katie Hanzeli & Michelle Lyons travelled to Boston to attend the Fall Research Getaway of the New England Historical & Genealogical Society. This research facility holds an enormous amount of material, covering seven floors, over 30,000 family histories, manuscripts, books, etc. - literally millions of records, covering not only New England but worldwide.                                                                                     In advance of our trip, NEHGS offered an hour-long webinar on preparing to do research at their facility.  It was essential viewing to make the best use of your time.  Also, prior to the workshop, participants were asked to write down information on the families they wished to research and the goals associated with each family.  Prior to our arrival the staff went over these research plans, commenting on each entry with suggestions as to how to proceed.  This was a great help in focusing