Books We Feature
u.s. research
This reference book offers an in-depth look at American records and research strategies. It covers everything from vital records and census data to land, military, and church archives. It explains how and where to find records, and how to interpret what you discover. Whether you’re a beginner building your first tree or an experienced researcher tackling brick walls, The Source helps you understand the historical context behind the records and guides you toward more accurate, well-documented conclusions. Packed with expert insights, practical examples, and detailed bibliographies.
This research guide is an in-depth resource for anyone tracing their family history in the United States. Blending proven methods with research tools, this edition shows how to locate, interpret, and document records from every period of American history. The author explains how to organize all phases of research and how to analyze and evaluate your results. With detailed chapters on newspapers, vital records, census returns, probate, wills, immigrant origins, military records, and more, it’s an essential reference for every genealogy library.
Essential for U.S. census research, this guide maps all county boundaries from 1790–1920, showing old lines over modern ones. It includes census history, technical details, sources for old counties, and notes on lost boundary lines. Each map offers boundary changes, locality keys, inset maps, and helpful guidance. An index covers current and nearly all defunct counties, making it the definitive tool for genealogists tracking ancestors across changing boundaries.
Canadian research
This comprehensive guide to researching French-Canadian ancestry explains in detail how to locate and interpret key genealogical materials, including parish and civil records, census returns, notarial documents, and local histories. Drawing on decades of genealogical expertise, this invaluable reference brings together essential tools, including an extensive words and phrases section, background information, and research strategies for tracing families.
This book is a great starting point for anyone exploring their Canadian roots. It offers a clear overview of the country’s diverse genealogical records, guiding readers through resources on early Hudson’s Bay Company trappers and traders, homesteaders of the Prairie Provinces, and the Loyalists and Acadians of the eastern coast. With practical advice, historical context, detailed examples, and proven research strategies, this guide helps beginners uncover, document, and understand their Canadian family heritage.
An extensive guide for both beginners and seasoned researchers. It offers practical advice on starting your Canadian research, verifying facts, avoiding errors, and building a well-documented family tree. Covering Canada’s diverse immigrant groups—from Scots and Irish to Ukrainians and Jews—it explains key national and provincial records, including archives, census data, and church registers, providing a clear, province-by-province and territories roadmap to Canada’s resources.
british research
Often called the Bible of British genealogy, Ancestral Trails is a comprehensive guide to researching family history in Britain. It leads you from gathering family stories and building your first tree to exploring vital and census records, and eventually to advanced sources like wills, parish registers, and property records—all with clear guidance, context, and expert insight.
Unlock the stories of your English ancestry with this easy-to-follow guide that walks you through the best sources, records, and research strategies to trace your family’s past. Whether you’re just beginning or refining your skills, you’ll learn how to uncover, document, and celebrate the unique heritage that connects you to generations of English history.
Parish registers are a treasure trove for anyone tracing their family history. These invaluable records often hold the only written proof of many ancestors’ lives. Covering England, Scotland, and Wales, this friendly guide helps you make sense of various archives and find what you need quickly. Inside, you’ll find detailed county maps showing old parish boundaries, churches, chapels, and probate areas, along with helpful indexes that point you to where original records and copies can be found today.
DNA references
The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy is one of the most trusted and top-rated introductions to DNA testing for family historians. Written in Blaine Bettinger’s signature plain-English style, this essential guide explains how to choose the right test, interpret your results, and use them to answer real family history questions. It’s a must-have for anyone beginning their journey into genetic genealogy.
Genetic Genealogy in Practice is more than a book. It’s a workbook designed to help genealogists actively learn and apply DNA analysis methods. Each chapter introduces new concepts, followed by hands-on exercises and answer keys to reinforce learning. Used in collegiate genealogy programs and published by the National Genealogical Society, it’s widely recognized as one of the most respected educational tools in the field.
Diahan Southard has helped thousands of genealogists make sense of their DNA results through her courses, guides, and online workshops. In this updated 2025 edition of Your DNA Guide: The Book, she walks readers through the process of understanding and applying their results, using her signature conversational tone and simple, actionable steps. Designed to pair with her Your DNA Guide: The Workbook, this edition turns the complexity of DNA testing into a series of clear, confidence-building discoveries.
historical fiction
Meet Morton Farrier — forensic genealogist, detective, and the unluckiest man to ever open a family record. In Nathan Dylan Goodwin’s bestselling Forensic Genealogist series, readers follow Morton as he uses historical documents, DNA results, and good old-fashioned detective work to solve gripping family mysteries. Each novel blends modern crime-solving with ancestral research, showing just how much DNA and history can reveal when combined.
When longtime genealogy enthusiast Bill Griffeth took a DNA test, he expected confirmation of the family history he’d carefully built. Instead, his results upended everything—revealing that the family tree he had spent years documenting wasn’t actually his own. In this gripping memoir, Griffeth recounts his emotional journey of discovery, identity, and acceptance as he works to uncover the truth of his origins and reconcile it with his past.
Award-winning journalist Carolyn Abraham takes readers on a global journey to uncover two family mysteries — and, in the process, examines the promise and pitfalls of using DNA to uncover the past. Her search for answers to her multi-racial family’s hidden history leads her across continents and generations, as she combines science, storytelling, and self-discovery in a deeply compelling narrative.