https://ancestoriq.com/blog/ Genealogy how-tos, research notes, and family-history stories from AncestorIQ. en-us https://ancestoriq.com/blog/rootsmagic-review/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/rootsmagic-review/ RootsMagic 11 costs $39.95 once, runs natively on Mac and Windows, and has a free edition with no time limit. What it does well, and where it stops. Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/genealogy-software-for-mac/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/genealogy-software-for-mac/ The old advice was to run Windows genealogy software on your Mac. Boot Camp is gone from every Mac sold since 2020, and it is no longer needed. Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/free-genealogy-software/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/free-genealogy-software/ Five genealogy tools that are free without a trial clock, what each one is genuinely good at, and where the paywall sits in the ones that only look free. Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/storied-review/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/storied-review/ Storied sells family history records for $19.99 a year. A fair look at what the cheap tier leaves out, what the newspapers are worth, and who it fits. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/goldie-may-review/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/goldie-may-review/ Goldie May turned the humble research log into an AI-assisted sidebar for methodical genealogists. What it does, what it costs, and who should install it. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/familysearch-ai-review/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/familysearch-ai-review/ FamilySearch's AI reads handwriting at a scale nobody else touches, and charges nothing. A fair look at full-text search, the new research assistant, and the gaps. Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/myheritage-ai-review/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/myheritage-ai-review/ MyHeritage has shipped more genealogy AI than anyone: LiveMemory, Scribe AI, Record Finder, Biographer. A fair tour of what each one actually does. Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/ancestry-ai-stories-review/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/ancestry-ai-stories-review/ Ancestry's AI Stories turns a census page into a narrated audio story. A fair review of what the beta does well, where it slips, and who it's for. Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/why-chatgpt-cant-do-genealogy/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/why-chatgpt-cant-do-genealogy/ Ask ChatGPT to trace your family and it hands you a confident, detailed story. The problem: it's guessing. Here's why, and what actually works instead. Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/find-immigrant-ancestor-hometown/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/find-immigrant-ancestor-hometown/ Your tree says "Austria-Hungary" or just "Russia." The real town is usually hiding in an American record, not a European archive. Here's where to look first. Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/five-things-before-you-start/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/five-things-before-you-start/ The people who get the furthest aren't the ones with the most time — they're the ones who start the right way. Here's how. Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/reading-between-the-census-lines/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/reading-between-the-census-lines/ A census page is more than names and ages. Here's how to pull the clues most people walk straight past. Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/when-the-trail-goes-cold/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/when-the-trail-goes-cold/ The ancestor who vanishes after one record isn't gone — you're just looking in the wrong place. A method for finding them. Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/sources-you-can-trust/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/sources-you-can-trust/ Every fact on your tree should be something you can prove. Here's how sourcing turns a guess into a record. Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/dna-meets-paper/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/dna-meets-paper/ A match list is a lead, not an answer. How to combine DNA with documents without fooling yourself. Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/stories-worth-watching/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/stories-worth-watching/ The grandkids won't read a chart. Here's how the records you've gathered become a film they'll actually watch. Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ancestoriq.com/blog/organise-before-you-drown/ https://ancestoriq.com/blog/organise-before-you-drown/ A tree grows fast, and so does the pile of records behind it. A simple system to keep every source findable. Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT