Ancient sailors used an early form of navigation known as “dead reckoning.” It basically means figuring out where you are by measuring how far you’ve come from a known point. Genealogy research works in much the same way, by working from the known to the unknown.

I’ve been navigating the genealogical waters for the past 11 years. My courses have been fraught with sea serpents, marauding pirates, lousy maps, and deadly whirlpools. But I’ve managed to avoid falling off the edge of the world and have thrilled at the surprise discoveries of ancestors and their stories along the way.

Portion of Carta Marina (Map of the Sea), c. 1539

This blog is for sharing the research problems I have faced, and the tools and techniques I’ve used to solve them. I have encountered these problems while documenting my own family history and working for clients. I hope you find techniques in my blog that you can use. And I hope you stay on course!

[Image of Carta Marina from Wikimedia Commons]