Genealogists with ancestors who immigrated from certain parts of Europe are used to dealing with boundaries that were somewhat fluid. It is important to remember that changing boundaries after your ancestor left a region can result in varying places of births given in later records. It may even impact the current location of records created long ago. The place of birth for my ancestor Anke Hinrichs Fecht was either Hanover, Prussia, or Germany-depending upon when she was asked. She was not the only person whose “country” of origin changed during her lifetime. Even an ancestor who indicated in 1860 that they were born in Virginia might have actually been born in what is now West Virginia. Check out Genealogy Tip of the Day book version for other tips and questions […]
An announcement in a 1940 newspaper indicated that a local girl, after meeting a foreign student at a nearby college, had flown to New Zealand to marry him. Curious what happened to her after the marriage, I did little research on her. While I am not certain what happened in New Zealand, two years later in her home state of Missouri, she married another man using her maiden name. The reminder here is that the intention to marry is not the same thing as actually getting married. Only enter a couple as married in your genealogical database as married when you have evidence that the marriage actually took place. This usually means seeing the returned license or seeing evidence of a date and place of the marriage along […]
5-week class on Using FamilySearch’s Full-Text Search With Michael John Neill Are you getting the most from FamilySearch’s Full-Text Search? Our five session class on FamilySearch’s full-text search will help you to get the very most from this truly paradigm-shift way of searching. Presentation and discussion is practical and down-to-earth. Students will receive practical and easy-to-implement search strategies and will be encouraged to share successes and failures with other class members via an online group and discussion sessions. Week 1 Overview of FamilySearch full-text search. This session will provide an overview of full-text search methodology, discuss how full-text search is different from typical searches, discuss workarounds for transcription errors, searching specific sets of images, and search organization. Week 2 Sourcing and Determining what has been found with FamilySearch […]
Associations between individuals other than those of biology and marriage can sometimes be difficult to determine. Biological connections may be documented in a variety of records, vital records, court records, probate records, DNA, etc. Relationships by marriage may be documented by the record of the marriage (or evidence of the marriage) in addition to records that can document a biological connection. It can be more difficult to determine other connections between two individuals. Determining that connection frequently involves researching everything extant that mentions one of the two individuals to see what overlap there is. That overlap can be difficult to determine, but admittedly sometimes the connection is more of a curiosity than a research necessity. Scanning through my hometown newspaper for obituaries, I ran across a name I […]
There’s more to analyzing a census entry than trying to figure out the relationship among the various household members. Several additional things should be considered–depending up on the census year and what details are actually provided. How much geographic specificity does the entry provide? Is it just the county? Is it a general region of the county or a more precise one? Is there an address given? Is it possible to determine from the names of neighbors where in the county the individuals likely lived? How does the family’s likely structure compare to that of neighbors? How do the places of birth for members of the household compare to that of neighbors? Does the family appear to have recently moved into the area? What about their neighbors? How similar are the family’s occupation(s) to […]
“I had a large client report.” The report, or more accurately the client report, was what was large–not the client. In this case, it is probably pretty clear that the word “large” does not refer to the actual client. But ask yourself when reading any statement: is there another way to read that? Is there a different interpretation that is reasonable? Don’t get stuck on your first interpretation of a word, phrase, or sentence. Some items genealogists use are poorly edited for clarity, particularly 19th century county histories, “mug books” of biographies submitted by family members, and more newspapers than one may care to admit. If that’s the case, references to certain items may be ambiguous. Always ask yourself: Is there another reasonable way to interpret this?
Sometimes relatives open up more about relatives after another member of the family dies. For one reason or another they may feel more comfortable telling certain stories when a certain member of the family is no longer living. These stories may about the deceased relative directly or about certain close relatives of the recently deceased family member. Consider (if possible) re-interviewing relatives after another close family member dies. It’s not just “family secrets” that may come to life. Sometimes the fact that someone died causes living relatives to remember things they could not remember before–even details that are of an innocent nature.
It is important somewhere to keep track of your research logic as you progress. Otherwise you might not remember why you are researching a certain person or why you focused on a certain location. While on a recent research trip, I focused on a certain Benjamin Butler in the 1850 census as being “mine.” Using that enumeration as the starting point, I searched other records and made research progress. A stack of papers, a file full of digital images, and records located were the end result. One problem–I didn’t track WHY I thought this 1850 census entry was for the correct person. It took me hours to reconstruct my reasoning. That was time wasted. When I decided the 1850 guy was “mine,” I should have written down my reasons. […]
Some records were created before an event took place, usually in preparation for the event itself. The issuance of a marriage license does not guarantee that the marriage ever took place. The announcement of marriage banns also is not evidence of the actual marriage. Even a church bulletin announcing my baptism that day in church does not guarantee it took place. It does indicate the event was planned and scheduled for that day. And, in all likelihood, it did take place. But if one document said something was going to happen and other reliable information indicated that event did not happen, remind yourself that not every event intended to be actually comes to pass.
It’s always advised to determine what the record is actually saying–without inferring statements that are not supported directly by what is in the document, consistent record-keeping practices, state or federal law, etc. Don’t put statements in records that are not there and ask yourself “does the document really say” that or am I just wanting it to? Pre-1880 US Census records don’t provide proof (at least not by themselves) of parent-child relationships, heirs to an estate are not necessarily children, paying property taxes in a location does not imply residence there, etc. Be dogged in your approach to understanding what records say–as Riley suggests. While he never says he wants a treat, that’s usually a safe bet.
Every database, index, record, or compilation has limitations. Do you know at least one limitation for each finding aid or actual record you use? For every source you use, every database you query, every book you read–ask yourself what limitations there may be. Knowing the limitations doesn’t mean that we don’t use the item. Knowing the limitations makes us better informed users.
Was your relative married to someone before they were married to the spouse with whom they had all their children or the spouse from whom you descend? Have you fully researched that person? The temptation sometimes can be to not spend much time on these individuals, yet they can potentially provide more information about your relative’s origins than their later spouses. That first spouse may have been more likely to have known the ancestor in the old country or had some connection to them that my provide clues as to their origins. Any marriage your ancestor had is a clue to more information about their life. Don’t ignore it. Have your reviewed all of your various ancestors’ spouses to make certain you have researched them as fully as […]
In October of 1815 Augusta Newman and Sally Sled signed a marriage bond before the marriage of Augusta Newman and Belinda Sled could take place. The value of the bond was fifty pounds “current money” the payment of which was “to be made.” Not was made. Not has already been made. But “to be made.” The agreement signed by Newman and Sled concludes with “…if there is no lawful cause to obstruct the said Marriage then the above obligation to be void.” Otherwise to remain in full force. That “otherwise” was if there was lawful cause to obstruct the marriage. The amount of the bond “was to be paid” if the agreement was in full force. The agreement was to remain in full force if there was a […]
Your ancestor’s residence may not be stated on an affidavit, but if the document is notarized there may be a residential clue there. Notaries usually had jurisdictions in which they were authorized to operate. This one from 1886 was authorized to work in Dawson County, Nebraska. This does not mean that the affiant (Goldenstein in the illustration) lived in Dawson County–only that he was there on that date. But it is still a clue.
It can be tempting to go with that first source or reference to an ancestor. It can be even more tempting to go with that conclusion if a second source agrees. An online tree (or recent book) agrees with what you find printed in an 1895 genealogy that has been digitized. That’s two sources that agree. Oh boy. While they are “sources” since they contain information, they are derivative sources since they have been derived from something else. Derived sources are only as accurate as the information from which they were derived and the thoroughness of the person reaching the conclusion. There’s room for error there. They may not even be two sources–the online tree (or that recent book) could have been derived from the 1895 genealogy. It […]
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