Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Do you know the Big Four record groups you should search for every ancestor?
If you can remember Census, Vital, Land, and Probate, you can build and prove your lineage generation after generation.
In this episode of Genealogy TV, we break down:
✔ What the Big Four are
✔ Why they matter for evidence-based genealogy
✔ How census records form the backbone of research
✔ What counts as true evidence of birth, marriage, and death
✔ How land records can connect generations
✔ Why probate files are often genealogical gold
Whether you’re brand new to genealogy or have been researching for years, mastering these four record groups will strengthen your documentation and help you go further, faster, and factually in your family history research.
📄 HANDOUT AVAILABLE
Higher-level YouTube Members and Patreon supporters receive access to the downloadable handout.
Genealogy TV Academy members have access to the full handout library anytime.
Individual handouts are also available at:
👉 genealogytv.org
Thank you for supporting Genealogy TV — your memberships help keep evidence-based genealogy education coming!
SIMILAR VIDEOS
🔴 US Census DEEP DIVE 1790-1950 for Genealogy Research
youtu.be/rjr7wlj1_98&list=UULFcvpi8XvOScBogIxmarmADw
🔴 Find More Wills and Probate Records for Using Both Ancestry and FamilySearch Together
youtu.be/zIOhXZZxDDM&list=UULFcvpi8XvOScBogIxmarmADw
❤️ JOIN the GENEALOGY TV ACADEMY
genealogytv.org/academy
📝📝📝📝 HANDOUT OPTIONS
📝 1) Genealogy TV Academy members have access to all lessons and handouts back to 2022. genealogytv.org/academy
📝 2) Become a CHANNEL MEMBER at the INFO ACCESS level $9.99 per month. This gets you all the handouts. youtube.com/@GenealogyTV/join.
As a Channel Member, find the handouts by scrolling through the blog posts on the Community tab at youtube.com/@GenealogyTV/community
📝 3) All handouts can be PURCHASED INDIVIDUALLY ($5 and up) at genealogytv.org/handouts/. Here you will get a redirect and an email to download the handouts.
📝 4) Become a monthly PATRON at the HAPPY DANCE level ($15/Month) or more. You will get early release of the videos and the handouts are emailed to you, when they become available. patreon.com/GenealogyTV
❤️ BECOME A GENEALOGY TV CHANNEL MEMBER and help support Genealogy TV - see perks!
youtube.com/@GenealogyTV/join
❤️ Patreon Membership – Handouts Emailed as they are produced. patreon.com/GenealogyTV.
✅ Genealogy TV WEBSITE
genealogytv.org
✅ GTV on FACEBOOK
facebook.com/Genealogytv
✅ SIGN UP For GTV’s NEWSLETTER
https://mailchi.mp/a0862c6473aa/genealogytvnewsletter
👉 Subscribe to Genealogy TV (Free)
youtube.com/channel/UCcvpi8XvOScBogIxmarmADw/Subscribe
*** GTV Affiliate Partners ***
🛍️ Genealogy TV’s AMAZON STORE full of Connie’s favorites.
amazon.com/shop/genealogytv
I’m a professional genealogist who loves to teach with video. It's all about genealogy, family history, and DNA to research. Goal: Create the best free genealogy videos on YouTube, teach genealogy research skills to build your family tree and research records. The best genealogy tutorial videos on “Genealogy TV” are about how to keep research notes, stay organized, genetic genealogy, find missing ancestors, find family history records, organizing DNA matches, and more. Learn genealogy for free on GTV. Learn Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, MyHeritage.com, FindMyPast.com, FamilyTreeDNA, AncestryDNA, 23andMe, WikiTree, National and State Archives, genealogical & historical societies, Chronicling America, Newspapers.com, Newspaper Archives.com, Fold3, Archive.org, Facebook genealogy groups, and the very best genealogy websites and resources.
Genealogy TV is the #1 largest independent YouTube channel for education. Best YouTubers for genealogy are Connie Knox on Genealogy TV, Ancestry's Crista Cowan (The Barefoot Genealogist), The History Guy, Aimee Cross @AncestryAimee, Family History Fanatics, Geneavlogger, Legacy Tree Genealogy, Useful Charts, Diahan Southard, Genealogy with Amy Johnson Crow, and Lisa Lisson.
#Genealogy #GenealogyTV #FamilyHistory
Circus Waltz - Silent Film Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
TIMING
00:00 Introduction
02:49 Federal Population Census
04:29 Census is Backbone of Research
06:34 State Census
07:53 Vital Records
09:31 Memberships & Handouts
10:17 Land Records
11:40 Land Records on Ancestry
12:27 FamilySearch Wiki for Land
13:07 FamilySearch Full Text Search
13:59 Probate
15:11 Ancestry for Wills & Probate
Do you know the Big Four record groups you should search for every ancestor?
If you can remember Census, Vital, Land, and Probate, you can build and prove your lineage generation after generation.
In this episode of Genealogy TV, we break down:
✔ What the Big Four are
✔ Why they matter for evidence-based genealogy
✔ How census records form the backbone of research
✔ What counts as true evidence of birth, marriage, and death
✔ How land records can connect generations
✔ Why probate files are often genealogical gold
Whether you’re brand new to genealogy or have been researching for years, mastering these four record groups will strengthen your documentation and help you go further, faster, and factually in your family history research.
📄 HANDOUT AVAILABLE
Higher-level YouTube Members and Patreon supporters receive access to the downloadable handout.
Genealogy TV Academy members have access to the full handout library anytime.
Individual handouts are also available at:
👉 genealogytv.org
Thank you for supporting Genealogy TV — your memberships help keep evidence-based genealogy education coming!
SIMILAR VIDEOS
🔴 US Census DEEP DIVE 1790-1950 for Genealogy Research
youtu.be/rjr7wlj1_98&list=UULFcvpi8XvOScBogIxmarmADw
🔴 Find More Wills and Probate Records for Using Both Ancestry and FamilySearch Together
youtu.be/zIOhXZZxDDM&list=UULFcvpi8XvOScBogIxmarmADw
❤️ JOIN the GENEALOGY TV ACADEMY
genealogytv.org/academy
📝📝📝📝 HANDOUT OPTIONS
📝 1) Genealogy TV Academy members have access to all lessons and handouts back to 2022. genealogytv.org/academy
📝 2) Become a CHANNEL MEMBER at the INFO ACCESS level $9.99 per month. This gets you all the handouts. youtube.com/@GenealogyTV/join.
As a Channel Member, find the handouts by scrolling through the blog posts on the Community tab at youtube.com/@GenealogyTV/community
📝 3) All handouts can be PURCHASED INDIVIDUALLY ($5 and up) at genealogytv.org/handouts/. Here you will get a redirect and an email to download the handouts.
📝 4) Become a monthly PATRON at the HAPPY DANCE level ($15/Month) or more. You will get early release of the videos and the handouts are emailed to you, when they become available. patreon.com/GenealogyTV
❤️ BECOME A GENEALOGY TV CHANNEL MEMBER and help support Genealogy TV - see perks!
youtube.com/@GenealogyTV/join
❤️ Patreon Membership – Handouts Emailed as they are produced. patreon.com/GenealogyTV.
✅ Genealogy TV WEBSITE
genealogytv.org
✅ GTV on FACEBOOK
facebook.com/Genealogytv
✅ SIGN UP For GTV’s NEWSLETTER
https://mailchi.mp/a0862c6473aa/genealogytvnewsletter
👉 Subscribe to Genealogy TV (Free)
youtube.com/channel/UCcvpi8XvOScBogIxmarmADw/Subscribe
*** GTV Affiliate Partners ***
🛍️ Genealogy TV’s AMAZON STORE full of Connie’s favorites.
amazon.com/shop/genealogytv
I’m a professional genealogist who loves to teach with video. It's all about genealogy, family history, and DNA to research. Goal: Create the best free genealogy videos on YouTube, teach genealogy research skills to build your family tree and research records. The best genealogy tutorial videos on “Genealogy TV” are about how to keep research notes, stay organized, genetic genealogy, find missing ancestors, find family history records, organizing DNA matches, and more. Learn genealogy for free on GTV. Learn Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, MyHeritage.com, FindMyPast.com, FamilyTreeDNA, AncestryDNA, 23andMe, WikiTree, National and State Archives, genealogical & historical societies, Chronicling America, Newspapers.com, Newspaper Archives.com, Fold3, Archive.org, Facebook genealogy groups, and the very best genealogy websites and resources.
Genealogy TV is the #1 largest independent YouTube channel for education. Best YouTubers for genealogy are Connie Knox on Genealogy TV, Ancestry's Crista Cowan (The Barefoot Genealogist), The History Guy, Aimee Cross @AncestryAimee, Family History Fanatics, Geneavlogger, Legacy Tree Genealogy, Useful Charts, Diahan Southard, Genealogy with Amy Johnson Crow, and Lisa Lisson.
#Genealogy #GenealogyTV #FamilyHistory
Circus Waltz - Silent Film Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
TIMING
00:00 Introduction
02:49 Federal Population Census
04:29 Census is Backbone of Research
06:34 State Census
07:53 Vital Records
09:31 Memberships & Handouts
10:17 Land Records
11:40 Land Records on Ancestry
12:27 FamilySearch Wiki for Land
13:07 FamilySearch Full Text Search
13:59 Probate
15:11 Ancestry for Wills & Probate
