Explore your ancestry with a free trial!

Genealogy Resources

A Review of Family Tree Magazine

🎧 Listening to the Podcast on YouTube or iTunes.

Whether you are new to the world of genealogy or have been in it for a while, you will want to keep up with news and trends in this unique world. One of the best ways to do that is to subscribe to a genealogy magazine. There are several out there, and all have something unique and interesting to offer. Based on your interests and research needs, you can go with something entertaining with practical tips for discovering your ancestors, or something more scholarly, with family studies from professionals as well as directions for getting published yourself.

Explore your ancestry with a free trial!


One magazine that reaches across both the entertainment and scholarly sides of genealogy, so it is appealing to genealogists of all levels, is Family Tree Magazine. It is a stalwart of the genealogy industry, and well known by beginners and professionals alike, a beloved favorite publication of the genealogical community. What does Family Tree Magazine have to offer you? So much more than you realize. It is the perfect place to begin your genealogical journey, or take it to the next level. If you are thinking of subscribing to it, you should. Here is a review of Family Tree Magazine.

This is a beautifully laid out, glossy magazine that comes with plenty of pictures and a format that is easy to read. It not only touches on genealogical research topics but also gets around to nearly everything that is remotely related to genealogy. You will find things such as articles on ethnic heritage, scrapbooking, family reunions, genealogical travel, and DNA research. Book reviews, historical articles, and more are all proudly part of Family Tree Magazine.

Not only that, but you will find articles on research collections, methods of doing research, and even articles on how to do research in other countries. Family Tree Magazine really is for everyone, and it can help you take your genealogy research to the next level and beyond. The cool thing about it is that even though the magazine is geared primarily toward beginners to intermediate genealogists, it usually has things in it that can help even experienced professionals expand their skills, or help their clients connect more with their family history. It is one of those magazines that you can lose yourself in for hours, even if you only have a cursory interest in genealogy. The articles are written in riveting ways that are designed to keep you glued to the page.

When experienced genealogists are recommending magazines to their clients or friends who are just getting involved in genealogy, this is one of the first ones they usually mention. It is that user-friendly and engaging. If you have a friend who is curious about exploring the world of genealogy, this is an excellent one to recommend to them, because it will quickly attract their interest, pull them into the world of ancestor discoveries, and make them the genealogist they were always meant to be. You can’t go wrong with Family Tree Magazine, either for yourself or for someone else.

As an example, a recent issue had such wide-ranging articles as a guide to cemetery research, a list of tricks for using online search engines to find your ancestors, an article on DNA research and how to do it, an article on Native American genealogy, a neighborhood research tutorial, a how-to on how to get photos out of sticky albums without ruining them, and a website review of the National Archives.

These are a wide range of topics for one issue of a magazine, and it shows you just how diverse and engaging this magazine is, and it is this way consistently, with every issue. You might find articles about how to plan the perfect family reunion alongside articles about the Christmas holiday traditions of your ancestors, how to use the 1870 census, and how to start a DNA research group for a particular family. You will discover articles on Scottish genealogy, Irish genealogy, English, Russian, German, French, Polish, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian genealogy, and more. You will also find articles on where to look for records for those ethnicities both online and in person.

If you are planning a genealogy road trip to research your ancestors where they lived, Family Tree Magazine is the perfect place to get a checklist on how to do it right, to get the most out of the trip. If you have a particular genealogical brick wall you need to overcome, this is the magazine to offer you the tip or tips you need to get past it or around it and find those missing ancestors. If you are interested in genealogical crafts, such as scrapbooking, photo restoration, framing, preservation, or even making genealogically significant Christmas tree ornaments, this is the magazine for you. And, if you would like to learn about and bring back or preserve old family holiday customs, for any holiday, you will find out about those traditions, or at least how to discover what they were, in Family Tree Magazine.

The magazine comes out seven times a year, and it never fails to impress. It is even something you can get the whole family involved in. There are articles in most issues that kids will love. A recent issue had an article about making a family history trivia game the whole family can enjoy and play. What kid wouldn’t want to get involved in something like that?

You don’t even have to plow through the search engines looking for all the best genealogy websites and how to use them if you have Family Tree Magazine. Many issues include website reviews, and the magazine’s tie-in website has a whole giant collection of them. With the website, Family Tree Magazine becomes a truly interactive genealogical reading and participation experience. It doesn’t get much better, or more fun when it comes to genealogical publications.

You will love this magazine, as I do. If you’ve never read it, have a look at a copy at your local bookstore or visit their website. You will be convinced it’s the genealogy magazine for you.