Genealogy Tasks to Do on Your Lunch Break
- geneal1
- Sep 26
- 2 min read
Your computer makes most of these lunch-hour genealogy projects possible.
1. Google Your Ancestors - a perfect lunch-hour research project, since it requires only internet access and a few facts about your family tree.
Check on your DNA matches - scroll through your matches to see if you've found any new connections.
Download Military Records - Ordering an ancestor’s military records from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) can take weeks or months, but now you can download digital images—not just transcriptions—of many military records during your lunch hour. Fold3 has a license to digitize NARA files. To date, they include most key Revolutionary War and a growing number of Civil War records, plus selected files from other conflicts.
Request a Death Certificate - Another document-retrieving chore you can accomplish on a lunch hour is ordering—and in some cases, downloading—a death certificate. What may seem grisly to non-genealogists is actually quite helpful: Besides the date, place, and cause of death, these certificates often include information about relatives and the deceased person’s birth.
Interview a family member - Now, I am not suggesting you use your company’s long-distance service to call a remote relative (that’s what cell phones are for). Still, lunch hour is perfect for a local family call, or to make an appointment for a longer call or a visit.
Join a Society - Your lunch hour is ideal for making good on your New Year’s resolution to join a genealogy or history society. This doesn't mean just your local group: Membership in a society covering the geographic area you’re researching, whether at the state or county level (or both), can pay big dividends.
Update Your Family Tree
Besides securing your pedigree files in the event of an unfortunate computer crash
Back Up Your Family Tree Files - If you’ve brought your digital data to the office (or you’re working from home), lunch hour should provide the perfect time to back up all your hard work. Wouldn’t you hate to see your electronic research notes and painstakingly assembled pedigree files vanish behind the “blue screen of death”? Another data-backup option is online storage.
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