October is National Family History Month. This is a great opportunity to seek our roots and talk about family history. But how to find our ancestral roots? What are genealogy research techniques? How to use the latest tools including DNA, social media, and mobile apps to find our family tree? You will find all the answers from the books and magazines listed below.
Finding Your Roots: The Official Companion to the PBS series by Henry Louis Gates
As Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. shows us, the tools of cutting-edge genomics and deep genealogical research now allow us to learn more about our roots, looking further back in time than ever before. Gates provides practical information for amateur genealogists just beginning archival research on their own families’ roots, and he details the advances in genetic research now available to the public. The result is an illuminating exploration of who we are, how we lost track of our roots, and how we can find them again.
Genealogy for Beginners by Katherine Pennavaria
This book covers everything you need to get started researching your family history or continue a project you’ve already started. It offers practical suggestions from an experienced genealogist, and detailed, step-by-step instructions for carrying out a quality family history research.
Practical Genealogy: 50 Simple Steps to Research Your Diverse Family History by Brian Sheffey
“Practical Genealogy provides a method for investigating your family history by establishing an understanding of genealogy and the factors, tasks, and obstacles involved in research. …Practical Genealogy simplifies and breaks down the complex research process into actionable tips that can be conducted over a period of time. And most importantly, no blood test is necessary.
The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are by Libby Copeland
You swab your cheek or spit in a vial, then send it away to a lab somewhere. Weeks later you get a report that might tell you where your ancestors came from or if you carry certain genetic risks. Or the report could reveal long-buried family secrets and upend your entire sense of identity. Soon a lark becomes an obsession, a relentless drive to find answers to questions at the core of your being, like “Who am I?” and “Where did I come from?” Welcome to the age of home genetic testing.
The Family Tree Toolkit: A Comprehensive Guide to Uncovering Your Ancestry and Researching Genealogy by Kenyatta D Berry
Family Tree Toolkit is the perfect solution that acts as an all-purpose, easy-to-follow guide for the beginner genealogist. Modern technology has opened up the one-time hobby for genealogy enthusiasts to the mainstream with the ability to access records online and search thousands of databases from the comfort of your home. Companies like Ancestry.com, Familysearch.org, Findmypast.com, and MyHeritage.com have spent millions of dollars making records available around the world.
Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com: How to Find Your Family History on the #1 Genealogy Website by Nancy Hendrickson
Discover the secrets to Ancestry.com success! This book will help you get the most out of your Ancestry.com subscription by showing you how to take advantage of what the world’s biggest genealogy website has to offer–and how to find answers to your family tree questions within its billions of records and massive network of family trees.
Mastering Online Genealogy: Volume I of Quillen’s Essentials of Genealogy by W. Daniel Quillen
This revised fifth edition of Mastering Online Genealogy covers the use of computers and the Internet to successfully do your own genealogical research. Quillen shows readers how to use the Internet as an effective genealogical research tool covering the following key points: genealogy databases, free genealogy websites, subscription services, pitfalls to watch out for, pratfalls to avoid, the value of message boards, blogs, etc.
Genealogy by Matthew Helm
With the help of this hands-on guide, you’ll find out how to start your genealogical research using the latest tools and techniques, including DNA testing. You’ll learn how to leverage social media networking sites, add digital images to your family tree, and access public records and U.S. Census information. This book is packed with everything you need to uncover the clues to your family’s rich legacy.
Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians by Chris Paton
Never before has it been so easy to research family history using the internet, but he demonstrates that researchers need to take a cautious approach to the information they gain from it. They need to ask, where did the original material come from and has it been accurately reproduced, why was it put online, what has been left out and what is still to come? As he leads the researcher through the multitude of resources that are now accessible online, he helps to answer these questions.
Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques by George G. Morgan
Learn how to use innovative methods to unearth hard-to-find ancestors. Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques shows you, step by step, how to uncover elusive details by taking advantage of specialized tools and software programs and using proven best practices for breaking through the brick walls that have hindered your progress.
The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy: How to Harness the Power of DNA to Advance Your Family Tree Research by Blaine T. Bettinger
Discover the answers to your family history mysteries using the most-cutting edge tool available. This plain-English guide is a one-stop resource for how to use DNA testing for genealogy. Inside, you’ll find guidance on what DNA tests are available, plus the methodologies and pros and cons of the three major testing companies and advice on choosing the right test to answer your specific genealogy questions.
Organize Your Genealogy: Strategies and Solutions for Every Researcher by Drew Smith
Stop struggling to manage all your genealogy facts, files, and data–make a plan of attack to maximize your progress. Organize Your Genealogy will show you how to use tried-and-true methods and the latest tech tools and genealogy software to organize your research plan, workspace, and family-history finds. In this book, you’ll learn how to organize your time and resources, including how to set goals and objectives, determine workable research questions, sort paper and digital documents, keep track of physical and online correspondence, prepare for a research trip, and follow a skill-building plan.
It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree by
A. J. Jacobs
New York Times bestselling author of The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically, A.J. Jacobs undergoes a hilarious, heartfelt quest to understand what constitutes family—where it begins and how far it goes—and attempts to untangle the true meaning of the “Family of Humankind.
How to Do Everything: Genealogy by George G Morgan
Fully updated and revised, this bestselling genealogy guide helps you tap into the wealth of global ancestry records and offers proven strategies for both traditional and electronic research. How to Do Everything: Genealogy explores basic rules of genealogical evidence, evaluation of source materials, research methods, and successful techniques for web-based research.
Discovering Your Roots: an Introduction to Genealogy by John Philip Colletta
With Dr. Colletta’s 15 lectures, you’ll learn the same skills and methodologies the experts use to solve genealogical mysteries, to create compelling nonfiction narratives, and to uncover information from the long-forgotten past in the most effective ways possible. These lectures provide you with smart and savvy ways to find-and use-the most helpful online and print resources available today.
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro
From the acclaimed, best-selling memoirist, novelist—“a writer of rare talent” (Cheryl Strayed)— and host of the hit podcast Family Secrets, comes a memoir about the staggering family secret uncovered by a genealogy test: an exploration of the urgent ethical questions surrounding fertility treatments and DNA testing, and a profound inquiry of paternity, identity, and love.
Your Family Tree Presents: Get Started in Family History
Get Started In Family History, the definite how-to guide for tracing your ancestors. Master the basics! The best websites and resources for taking your research further.
Family Tree Magazine will help point the way toward the best research tools and practices to trace your family’s history. Each issue includes tips on locating, collecting, and preserving photos, letters, diaries, church and government records, and other documentation, plus fun articles about creating scrapbooks, organizing family reunions, and vacation ideas that combine history with leisure!
-Hongmei, Adult Services & Acquisitions Librarian