25% Discount on Family Tree University Courses

I received this announcement from Family Tree University:

Give Thanks for Your Family This Holiday Season!

Learn more about them with a course from Family Tree University. Register for any upcoming course and save 25%. Enter coupon code THANKS10 when you register.

Courses Start November 8:

• New! German Genealogy 201: Strategies and Skillbuilding
Building on our course Find Your German Roots: From America to Deutschland, this class focuses on skills German researchers need to dig deeper into their families’ pasts. You’ll learn tricks for reading German script and type, what the Family History Library system can contribute to your research, and how to track down German ancestors who lived outside of today’s Germany.

• New! Source Documentation: How to Cite Genealogy Sources Accurately and Effectively
“There is no truth without proof.” Successful genealogists abide by this, and it will be your new motto after this course. Knowing how to accurately cite your sources helps you work smarter and faster, gives your research credibility and helps you bust down brick walls. This course will focus on the Evidence! style of citation, the one most commonly used by genealogists.

• New! Discover Your Family Tree: Genealogy for the Absolute Beginner
When you’re a family history newbie, the prospect of diving into your roots research can seem overwhelming. This course will start you on the fun and rewarding journey of discovering your roots. Learn how to begin, where to look for information to extend your family tree, what to do with what you find and how to put it all together.

• Google Tools for Genealogists: Four Resources to Enhance Your Family History
Go beyond simple web searches and take advantage of Google’s other built-in tools, which can be just as helpful for family tree research. This course will explore four of the tools best suited to help you with your genealogy: News Archive and Timeline, Book Search, YouTube and Google Earth.

• Reverse Genealogy: Working Forward to Break Down Brick Walls
When we first begin researching our family tree, we’re taught that we should start with ourselves and work backward. Starting at the end of someone’s life and working backward is the most efficient and accurate way to research—in most cases. But two genealogical challenges call for a change in strategy: overcoming brick walls and finding living relatives.

• Death Records 101: Find What Your Ancestors Left Behind
Ben Franklin said the only things certain in life were death and taxes—genealogists can add paperwork to that list. When our ancestors passed, many records were created in their wake. This course will explore death records and related sources, including wills, obituaries, funeral home records, burial permits and coroner reports.

• Cemetery Research 101: Dig Up Your Family History
You know you’ve been bitten by the genealogy bug when cemeteries cease to be creepy and turn into a place you can spend hours. Cemetery Research 101 will get you excited about exploring the final resting places of your ancestors and give you the knowledge you need to read tombstones, decipher plot maps and keep your research organized.

• Newspaper Research 101: Find Your Ancestors in American News Sources
Newspapers are essentially a time capsule for your ancestors. Papers can provide clues to major and minor events in your ancestor’s life through obituaries, social columns, birth announcements and other news stories. In this class you’ll learn how to find and use newspaper archives—online, on paper and on microfilm—to put together missing pieces of your genealogical research.

• Trace Your Polish Roots: Strategies for Searching in the US and Poland
Poland’s long history is fraught with border changes, ethnic strife and an ongoing quest for autonomy. If you’re among the more than 9 million Americans with Polish roots, we’ll help you find your Polish ancestors by debunking myths, explaining history and pointing you to the most useful records.

• Organize Your Genealogy: Get Your Research in Order (and Keep It That Way)
A successful genealogist often ends up with an embarrassment of riches: too much information in too many places. Whether you work on paper or do everything online, getting your research organized is essential to keeping track of ancestors and making sure you know where to put new ones in your family tree. This course will rescue you from unhelpful habits and get your workspace—virtual or physical—tidy again.

• Digital Photography Essentials: Techniques to Capture and Preserve Your Family History
Photography is an essential tool for genealogists—not only for capturing family memories now, but also for preserving old documents and heirlooms. This course will help you master the basics of using digital cameras, photo editing software and scanners in your genealogy work.

• Creating a Family History Book: Start-to-Finish Guidance for Assembling and Printing a Family Keepsake
You’ve worked hard to uncover your family’s history, and you want to preserve your research in a form that will stand the test of time—a keepsake book that can be shared today as well as archived for future generations. If you’ve ever thought such a project was too overwhelming or that you had to complete you research before you could create your book, this simply isn’t true. Family history books come in all flavors, from collections of family recipes to compilations of oral history interviews. This course will show you how to make the process manageable and enjoyable from start to finish.

• Finding African-American Ancestors in Newspapers: Research Strategies for Success
Conducting research on African-Americans ancestors is a challenging proposition and one must use all the available resources. Newspapers can provide a critical link to research success once the genealogist learns some important general knowledge along with a few essential skills. This course will equip you with key background information for newspaper research, expose myths pertaining to the use of white newspapers, give you the skill and confidence to seek out and utilize African-American newspapers, and furnish you with invaluable tips and strategies designed to optimize your success.

• US Military Records: Trace Your Ancestors’ Service
With so many military conflicts throughout America’s history, it’s likely your ancestors were involved. Finding records of their service will help you round out the portraits of their lives and honor their memory. Military files also can reveal information about widows and children—and even ancestors who didn’t serve might have left behind draft records. This course will teach you what to look for and how to locate the records you seek.

• Exploring City Directories: How to Trace Your Family in Yesterday’s Yellow Pages
City directories are indispensable tools for genealogists, but they go far beyond just listing your ancestor’s address. They connect an ancestor to a certain place in time and lead to a multitude of sources and present a fuller picture of your ancestors’ lives. In this course, we’ll explore city directories and their applications so you can fully take advantage of this comprehensive source.

• Tracing Immigrants: How to Research Your Family's American Arrivals
Many people get interested in genealogy because they want to learn more about where their family came from—specifically, to find out which ancestors came over from the “old country” and when. This course will teach you how to identify an immigrant ancestor in your family tree. You’ll learn how to pinpoint when and where he or she left and locate records documenting his or her immigration. Each of the four lessons includes an assignment designed to help you progress in your research of an immigrant ancestor.

• Research in Foreign Records: How to Find Your Family Across the Pond
After you’ve identified the immigrant in your family tree and pinpointed the place your family came from, you’re ready to begin exploring resources in the country. The third course in our immigrant research series walks you through the steps to successfully cross the pond and find your family in foreign records.

• Writing Your Family Memoir: Create a Capitvating Record of Your Family's Story
The story of your own or your family’s history is likely to be the most personal, emotionally satisfying and overwhelming writing project you’ll ever undertake. You’ve collected oral histories, personal memories, journal entries, photographs, letters and countless other documents—now find out how to weave them together into a compelling story. In this course, you’ll work with a published writer to craft an outline for your book and start putting your family’s legacy down on paper.