Family Tree

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!

Family Tree • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 / VOLUME 27, ISSUE 5

out on a limb

Letters to the Editor

Web Highlight: The Ellis Island of the West

Behind the Scenes

Ancestry.com: New Beta Tools

NEWS ROUNDUP: GENEALOGY SOFTWARE

Enhanced DNA Features

FAMILYSEARCH GIVES BOOST TO FAMILY GROUPS, PRIVATE TREES

Illuminating Family History

Marshalling the Troops • A research team works to honor the women of an all-Black WWII unit.

BRICK BY BRICK • Find your footing and scale your highest research brick walls—one step at a time.

Case Study: Civil War Soldiers • My great-grandmother had three half-brothers: Jonathan, Charles J. and Henry J. Hall. They’re recorded as ages 14, 20 and 22 in the 1860 census of Cuba, New York—prime age to serve in the Civil War. But I don’t know if they did. Where can I find records of their possible military service?

Scribe and Seek • Close your eyes and count to 10—see what details are hiding in the photos and documents you upload to MyHeritage’s new Scribe AI tool.

Writing a New Narrative • Turn details from genealogy records into vivid, memorable family stories with these strategies.

ARKANSAS

TIMELINE

MICHIGAN

TIMELINE

Find Your U.S. Ancestors • Each state-by-state guide includes:

Civil Engineering • No civil or church records of your German ancestor? No problem. Find them in these censuses and population registers.

WHOSE BROAD STRIPES AND BRIGHT STARS! • Fifty states, fifty stars. But how and why were they added to the Union? Learn a history of US expansion in six landmark events.

Funeral Home Records

A Veritable Who’s Who • A group photo seems to show an extended family. But which relatives?

Retaking a DNA Test

Finding Patriots through the Daughters of the American Revolution • As we get closer to the end of 2026 (America’s 250th birthday), you might well be thinking of your Revolutionary War ancestors. For the descendants of those who served the Patriot cause (militarily or otherwise), the Daughters of the American Revolution <services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search> provide an opportunity to preserve and celebrate US history. Even if you’re not a DAR member, you can tap into the society’s vast collection of membership applications through its Genealogical Research System (GRS).

What Not to Preserve

NOW WHAT?

Free Tools at Ancestry.com

You’ve made it to the end of the magazine! Now what? • Test your knowledge with these exercises.

CEMETERY RESEARCH • Find, Interpret and Preserve Family Tombstones

CEMETERY DO’S AND DON’TS

TOMBSTONE SYMBOLISM

FINDING TOMBSTONES ONLINE

CEMETERY RECORDS AT A GLANCE • Tombstones aren’t the only records you can find in cemeteries. Here are just a few of the other resources to keep an eye out for when you visit cemetery offices.

family tree UNIVERSITY

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4 Places to Look for Cemetery Records