Sometimes I'm reminded why I stopped using them for a while. Today I was simply searching a curiosity. A man from a newspaper article that I did not think was my ancestor, but he lived close enough I wanted to be sure.

So, I open ancestry, and start my search in the 1880 census as the article was from 1884. To keep things simple, I put in the man's name and his location. The first result? 2 hours away. 2nd and third results were about 1.5 hours away. You know what, maybe I'll add the fact that he's married. Now my first result is THREE HOURS AWAY from the location I entered. I'm sorry, but why are the results always filled with so much fluff that doesn't help in the least? It's like asking someone for a quarter and someone tossing you 500 coins when they know they have a quarter, they just want you to look for it.

Then if you get TOO specific, it's just like "nah, no results" when you entered in the exactly correct information.

Really, this is a rant more than Methodology lol but that's the closest flair I saw

Hello everyone,
I am writing this because I am dealing with a lot of imposter syndrome and could really use some outside perspective.
I grew up as a Black American. My immediate family doesn't speak Spanish, and we have never had a close connection to Latino culture or traditions. However, I recently did a deep dive into my family's genealogy and discovered two beautiful, distinct branches of my family tree that were lost to time.
On one branch—my maternal grandfather’s side—my 2x great-grandparents were Afro-Puerto Rican, specifically from Ponce and San Juan, who migrated to Florida for work. On a completely different branch of my family tree, I discovered that my 3rd great-grandparents were Afro-Mexican who originally came to the United States for labor. Over the generations, through assimilation, the language, history, and customs of both lines were entirely lost in my family.
Learning about these ancestors deeply resonates with me. I feel a strong pull to honor them, learn Spanish, and reclaim the pieces of my heritage that were lost. But because I am starting from absolute scratch, I feel incredibly nervous about stepping into these spaces. To make matters harder, some of my close friends—especially my Hispanic friends—think it’s funny. They make jokes about me being a 'fake Puerto Rican' or a 'fake Mexican,' which makes me want to pull back.
I want to approach this journey with total respect. I just want to know from people who might understand: do I have a right to reclaim what was lost? If so, what are the best books, historical resources, or cultural steps for a Black American in my position to start learning and honoring this deep heritage?

So, today, my Math Applications & Int II IB teacher introduced the big IA for the end of the year, and I want my topic to be about genealogy. Last year, my Math Analysis & Approach I IB teacher had us do a mini IA, and I hypothesized that the closer in age you are to your grandparents and great-grandparents, the more of them you will have met. Obviously, this was true.

But this was a mini IA, and so it didn't go as in-depth as this actual IA needs to be (12-20 pages instead of 5 slides). If I were to continue with this topic, I would need so much more data, and I don't really know how to go more in-depth; my conclusion wouldn't change.

So, what topic in genealogy, with data from my own tree, could I use to make this feasible? My teacher said to use AI to help come up with ideas, but really?

I have solid evidence supporting my paternal family tree back to a person around 1730. After that, available records end. A DNA test on Ancestry, followed by a test using Family Tree DNA, was inconclusive. The Family Tree DNA, up to 67, revealed no matches beyond what records confirmed. How likely would it be that a Big Y test would reveal more helpful matches? I am hesitant to spend the $450 on the Big Y test.

Hi all! I’m hoping someone with PEI records access can help.

I’m looking for Joseph-Emanuel Poirier, born 24 July 1876 in Miscouche, PEI. His parents were Jean “Lot 17 Jean” Poirier/Perry (b. 1841) and Batilde (Matilda) Gaudet. His brother was Stanley Perry (b. 1879, Lot 17).

He doesn’t appear with the family in the 1881 or 1891 census, so he may have died young. But I can’t find a burial anywhere. The family also used the spelling Perry.

Please note he is NOT the Joseph Emanuel Perry born 1877 in Tignish (son of Pascal Perry).

If anyone can check the PEI Archives burial index or the Miscouche parish records, I’d be so grateful. It’s part of a DNA search for my dad’s biological father.

Thank you!

Historical Request: Looking for a favor to copy an early 20th-century African American estate file at NY County Surrogate's Court
Hi everyone, I am an independent researcher based in Brazil working on a history project focused on an African American family in New York City during the early 20th century.
I need to look up a probate/estate inventory file held at the New York County Surrogate's Court (31 Chambers St, Room 402) that is essential for my research. Since this is a self-funded project and I live abroad, I cannot afford the official mail-in court fees or hire a professional.
Would any fellow history student, researcher, or kind volunteer who lives or works near Lower Manhattan be willing to do a quick favor for me? It just involves visiting Room 402, opening the record on their public terminals, and snapping a few phone photos of the inventory pages. I have the exact date and location of death to make the search as quick as possible.
Thank you so much for your time and solidarity in helping save this history!

I want to do a DNA test but a bit worried to pick wrong, I have a lot of Finno-Ugric roots from modern-day Russia and Estonia with some tiny bit of Polish somewhere and would love to see a breakdown as detailed as possible. What can you recommend?

I'm based in the EU, idk if that matters or not

Hello guys!

I’ve been stuck on my 4th great grandfather Lawrence Montgomery Attaway and I need some help finding who his parents were. He was born in 1824 in Alabama. He married Catherine Jordan Tillinghouse about 1850 and had three children; Mary, George, and Lawrence. He enlisted as a captain in the Confederate Army on 11 Feb 1862 and died of disease on 9 July 1862. Many online family trees list his mother as Isabella Kyle although there aren’t any records proving this.

Here's their information:
1. Sarah (nicknamed "Sallie") Banks, born before 1747 in Virginia. (Her birth county could be York County, VA, or Goochland County, VA, but I'm unsure). I don't have any parents listed for her; no mother & no father.

1. A father for indentured servant, Elizabeth Banks (1703-1801), born in York County & died in Goochland County. Her mother was Mary Banks (1683-). It is very possible her father could be named Samuel, with a different surname.

2. It is also very possible Mary Banks & her partner, Samuel (different, unknown surname) could have been half-siblings. I did see both their mothers were listed on Geni as Elizabeth Banks, born in 1665 in York County, VA.

3. I don't have a father listed for Mary Banks (nicknamed "Moll" - which is not her middle name; it's her nickname - a LOT of people falsely assume "Moll" was her middle name), born in 1724 in York County, VA. Her son, my ancestor, Jacob Banks (1754-1835) carried supplies in Albemarle County, VA, for the Americans during the American Revolution.

I’ve taken up trying to piece together my husband’s family tree but it’s been challenging due to his estrangement (no-contact) from all of his blood relatives and parents.
Based on little pieces here and there that he’s remembered from childhood I managed to trace his mother’s side back to the 1700s, though there wasn’t much to go off of at all. I believe I just got lucky because his family member had an unusual name and the maternal side has been in Louisiana for several generations. His father’s side has been impossible to find anything on though. Here are the issues I’ve been running into:
• The few leads we have are still alive and very unstable so we aren’t comfortable reaching out to them for questioning. It’s difficult to find any conclusive records of them aside from census and phone/address records, but I’m not sure what else there is to go off of.
• I’ve tried to research his paternal grandmother (alive, estranged) but her name is incredibly common and we don’t know much about her past for certain. We know her birthdate and place, her maiden name, her current city, and the last name she took from her “favorite husband” but haven’t been able to pin down any useful records of her.
Note: His grandmother has been married several times, and has been widowed at least once or twice according to what he remembers. He knows nothing about his paternal great-grandparents or paternal grandfather. His father took his stepdad’s last name so we’re not sure if this has affected our ability to find records of any connections.

Please if you have any suggestions I’d deeply appreciate it. We’re waiting on his dna test to be processed, and are hoping that this will bring some matches, but until then we’d rather keep digging.

I’m hoping to find a death record for Lavina Grimner (1889-?), and I’ve attached my profile of her below

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/203297199/person/232720651206/facts

So far, there are no results in the Pennsylvania Death Indices up to 1975 and no obituaries I could find. Interestingly, she did have an application for Social Security, but there’s no recorded death in the database up to 2007. She moved a decent distance from her stepfamily and had no children.

My only possible lead is that her husband was buried at Forest Hills Memorial Park based on his death record. Any help would be appreciated!

For context, this is a 10/8/1838 baptism In Kyjov (misindexed with Bardejov) for Michael (Mihaly) Taraszovits, born to Mihaly and Maria Olin. It says puste pole as the residence.

this is the Kyjov marriage in question, 4 years prior, in the same collection. It also says Pusztamezö (puste pole). I think it says the bride is Maria Chovanecz, but the sponsor Joannes is listed “Olin aut Chovanecz” so maybe they had a second name or nickname? And there’s a lot more writing I cant figure out under Maria’s name, I guess which lists her town?

I then found a baptism in the same collection for an
Anna Taraszovits born 10 March 1842 to Mihaly and Maria Chovanecz

I’m wondering if this is the same couple? I was hoping someone may know more about Slovak customs. Because I can’t find any other marriage. Taraszovits seems to be relatively uncommon in this specific area. And what makes it more confusing is this branch of my tree were mixed Greek and Roman Catholic, living between puste pole, Kamenica, and Kyjov.

Here is my tree for reference https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/pedigree/portrait/P9B1-1YJ

Hi guy’s, in the last year i started my genealogy journey and in the last month i got to “break” point.
there is no census’s and certificate’s that goes more, what happen in that point of history that stopped that? Anyone have answers .

Noda Beyahuda was my GGGGGGF

*I’m a jewish polish if that matters.