Researching Texas Probate and Estate Records

While land records primarily prove ownership and transfer of real property, they may provide the evidence needed to prove family relationships. Researching Texas land records can identify husbands and wives, identify parents, siblings, and children, establish relatives and relationships, and locate neighbors and neighborhoods.

Texas is a big state with a long and colorful history. The many eras of Texas history present genealogists with a variety of research challenges and opportunities. This primer on Texas research provides the essential techniques for uncovering your Texas ancestors.

Researching Republic of Texas ancestors takes creative thinking and ingenuity. This webinar describes the variety of resources available to find your ancestors in pre-1846 Texas. Several case studies show how using a combination of these records can provide a picture of your Republic ancestor.

Births and deaths are critical events in our ancestors’ lives; however, we often find no official vital records exist. This presentation shows a variety of alternatives – some obvious, some obscure – you can use to identify birth and death events.

An introductory look at the records and repositories for getting started in Texas Research.

Newspapers were daily snapshots of our ancestor’s lives. Texas newspapers are no exception. Examine the broad spectrum and history of Texas newspapers for genealogical research. Methods, techniques, and strategies for obtaining those items of interest will be demonstrated.

While many 17th-century Connecticut colonists have been researched and written about, there remain research challenges: distinguishing people with the same name, deciphering hard-to-read handwriting, understanding unique record sets, and more. This class examines the beginnings of Connecticut, New Haven, and Saybrook Colonies and the people who inhabited the lands prior to colonization. The class reviews published genealogical resources and record transcriptions and then presents strategies to locate and utilize primary sources. The webinar concludes with tips on overcoming common research challenges.

As a major center of American history and starting point for westward migration, Philadelphia has much more to offer genealogists than just tourist sites. The greater Philadelphia area is home to a variety of underrated libraries and archives that should not be missed by serious family historians.

What are the secrets to finding New England vital records today? If you understand how they were made, and all the things that have happened to them since, you will bring new skills and insight to your vital records research. Also, let's develop some strategies for those times when the record cannot be found.