• Since FamilySearch doesn’t have a recent updates list on its record search pilot site, the Ancestry Insider made a widget that shows new and updated databases. Take a look at it here, and click a title to go to that database on FamilySearch.

• Many people start their genealogy searches with certain dearly held beliefs about their families that don’t jibe with historical reality. ("We're related to royalty" and "Our ancestor’s name was changed at Ellis Island" are two that come to mind.) Settle in with a cup of coffee and read Dick Eastman’s explanation as to why such family stories are often fairy tales. (Except the Ellis Island one, which is certainly a fairy tale.)

We've posted a video of Maureen's second segment with Meredith Vieira on the Photo Detective blog.

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1. Whom are you researching? Be equipped with all the names your relatives were known by, and all the possible spellings.

2. What do you want to learn? This will give you some insight into what record you need to locate.

3. Where should you look? Canada’s a big country and records were mostly created and stored locally, and under an area’s geographic name at the time.

4. When did it happen? As in other places, different types of Canadian records were kept starting at different times. If your research starts before certain records were kept, you’ll need to find an alternate record to study. And what’s more, the way variousrecord groups were created and stored changed over time.

5. Why do you need a particular record? For example, maybe you want that marriage registration to learn the names of the couple’s parents. Knowing that can help keep you focused and open up possibilities for research in other records.

Whether you think it's naughty or nice, many family history researchers use holiday communiqués to gather information for their family trees. Determining how to make this request politely requires both focus and brevity.

"I always think it's best to ask as a direct a question as you can," says Sara Skotzke, a professional genealogist based in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, who has included family history questions on past holiday notes. "You're more likely to get a response." Try asking for something specific that can be verified, she said, such as where a person was born, died or was buried.

Sending a genealogy-themed card such as the "Christmas Wish List" ones for sale here ($5.50 for a set of 12) is a way to humorously request the maiden name of Great-Aunt Anna.

Holiday communiqués are also a good platform for soliciting photos from your relatives. When Skotzke asks for pictures of an ancestor, she explains that she will mail the photo back to its owner as well as e-mail a digital copy. "I'll give them incentive to trust me. I will send them a CD of all of the pictures I have of the family—something they get on the other end for doing something nice."

You also could try sharing information about your own family history in the form of a family newsletter to spark dialogue with distant relatives. If you're unsure where to start, word processing programs such as Microsoft Word usually include newsletter templates that you can fill in and print out or e-mail to your family.

As excited as you may be to make headway on your family tree, don't blindside relatives with questions, cautions Doug Collier, a professional genealogist based in Nashville, Tenn. When he writes to say that he's researching the family line, he asks if he can call. "I've always found straight-up verbal conversations, to an extent, to be most-effective," he says, especially when requesting information from older relatives. "Older people have a wealth of knowledge. Every bit of information, regardless of how trivial it may appear, can and does have meaning."