Author Archives for Beth VanVliet

Family Legends: Fact or Fiction?


Through genealogical research, fact gets sorted out from fiction in a family legend!

Break Down Brick Walls with City Directories


One of the most useful, but lesser known resources at Ancestry.com, is their vast collection of city directories.   City directories offer a small glimpse—a year-to-year census if you will—into your ancestor’s life.  I have used city directories to help me determine:

Where an ancestor is located in a census record
When an ancestor died
When an ancestor immigrated [...]

Beth VanVliet

Beth has been doing genealogy as long as she can remember--starting with her mom taking her to look for family members in old graveyards at age 6. By the time she was in high school, the internet was out and she dove right into the research. After minoring in Family History at BYU, Beth went on to teach English, History, and Math to 5th graders for three years, before making her passion of genealogy into a full time job. Beth now works at ProGenealogists, and loves helping others uncover the stories in their own family tree! She specializes in Southern, Midwest, "Delmarva", and German research.