Walking With Your Ancestors: A Genealogist's Guide To Using Maps And Geography

A Genealogist's Guide to Using Maps and Geography

The truth about genealogy is that, although you might believe it has something to do with history, it actually has something more to do with geography. Though of course the names and dates on your family tree are the bread and butter of genealogy, the location of the records is what reveals them. And how better to learn about location than with maps!

Maps are a crucial tool in learning about your family history. They can show you how to find a courthouse, where a grave is located, or where an ancestral homestead might be. But maps are much more than that - they can reveal intimate details about the lives of your ancestors. Walk the roads that your forefathers walked with maps!

Maps will reveal the clues that you need to locate ancestors that suddenly "disappear." This book will teach you how to use maps to:

• Find the roads, rivers, and trains that your great-grandfathers used to travel across the country and see where they might have relocated.
• Discover the ever-shifting boundaries of territories, counties, and towns and learn the alternate places where records might be found.
• Locate places that no longer exist and uncover the long-lost homes, schools, farms, and more where your ancestors spent their time.
• Become familiar with all the different kinds of maps, from military to topographic, and how they can assist you in your research.

Walking with Your Ancestors is the perfect guide to the under-utilized revelations that are just waiting for you in maps, atlases, and gazetteers. Find out about these fascinating snapshots of history and what they can tell you about the lives of your ancestors today!

Melinda Kashuba, along with being a professional genealogist, has a Ph.D. in geography and is a member of the Association of American Geographers.