I had the death certificates for two siblings. The mother’s maiden name was not the same. They were clearly different and the script was precise and legible. One was Fox and one was Conner. Further research indicated the mother’s woman’s last name at birth was Conner and that after her Conner husband died, she married a man with the last name of Fox. So the Fox reference was not to her maiden name, but to a different married name. The informant made an error, but gave me another name from that woman’s past. Many times those “wrong” pieces of information are clues to something else (the exception to this seems to be dates–people often didn’t know their age or lied about it). Any other piece of information that […]
I’m looking for a woman named Wilhelmina Senf who immigrated to the United States between 1846 and 1852. Sometimes her first name is rendered as Mina and sometimes her last name is spelled Senf, Serf, Senft, Serft, Zenf, Zerf, Zenft, Zerft, etc. I need to make certain that my searches are covering all these possible variations of her name. To do that I made a chart with the name variants spelled out. The problem is that soundex and “sounds like” options for Senf may not catch all the variants that begin with an “S.” The same thing is true for the variants that start with a “Z.” The “n” being read as an “r” creates that problem. I also need to make certain that while she’s usually listed […]
Researchers who encounter two different years of birth for a relative in records that only provide an age may wonder which is “correct.” The reality is that neither may be right. Both ages could be off and the actual year of birth could be in between the two that are suggested by the available records. Don’t just “average” them and call it a day. Include each year of birth in your records as an alternate date and cite the source from which it was taken. There may be no other sources for the date of birth and it may be impossible to tell which of the two records is most likely to be accurate. Of course one should look for other records as much as possible, but sometimes […]
A witness to a document is simply testifying that they saw a person sign (or execute) a document and that they know who that person is. Witnesses do not have to have any relationship to the person executing the document although they have to be old enough to legally sign a document themselves. Do not assume that witnesses are related to the person signing the document. The witnesses could simply be other people who happened to be nearby when the document was signed. They could even be the person who wrote the document if your ancestor only signed the document and did not actually take pen to paper and write it himself.
When is good enough good enough? I know approximately where my Mom lived from birth until her senior year of high school. My grandfather rented a farm probably 5 or so miles from where I grew up. I should have asked Mom to show me where the house was, but for some reason I never did. It was rural Illinois in the 1940s/1950s. Rental agreements were not recorded. My grandparents didn’t have any old ones in the papers when they passed. There were no lawsuits regarding the lease (I’ve looked). I know the name of the landowners, so I have a general idea of where the property was at. The house and the house of the owner are likely not standing. It’s possible there is some reference in […]
Sometimes a tombstone for a married couple will be erected after the first spouse dies. The spouse’s name may be on the stone with a blank left to complete the death information when that time arrives. That blank sometimes does not get filled in. Just because that death date is blank does not mean the surviving spouse is still alive. They could have been buried elsewhere (perhaps with a new spouse), been cremated and with their ashes spread somewhere, or no one had a stone cutter complete the date of death for the surviving spouse.
Depending upon the location and the time period, an individual’s probate file may have a “proof of death” statement or affidavit. The court wanted to know that the person whose estate was being probated was actually deceased. In other places there may be no such record and the best estimate of date of death is simply before the first date the individual is listed as “deceased” in the records.
Sarah (Newman) Graves was born in about 1851 in Rush County, Indiana. Obituaries for several of her siblings in the early 20th century indicated she lived in Macon County, Missouri, and was Sarah Graves. Online compilations contained little detail and, without any sources, were somewhat suspect. While it is suggested to research from the present to the past and that is often an appropriate approach, I opted to research from the past to the present–starting with Sarah in the 1860 census with her parents and moving forward. The short version is that this approach was the successful one. Marriage and census records quickly painted a tentative picture of Sarah’s life: The process to get to this point is too long for one of our tips, but there are […]
It’s unusual for a person to give a complete list of children in their will and state “This is a list of all my children. I have no others.” Wills that give property to some children and name others only to give them nothing or a seemingly token amount may appear to have named all children (the token amount clause is usually done so the child cannot say they were omitted). It is worth noting that a will is a legal document to dictate property transfer upon a person’s death and not to provide a genealogical record of all the testator’s children. The wills that appear to only mention some children that are more confusing and raise questions. It’s possible that other children were provided for separately prior […]
Special Announcement Introduction to Artificial Intelligence for Genealogy ready for immediate download practical and hype-free presentation by Michael John Neill of Genealogy Tip of the Day Been curious about using artificial intelligence for your genealogy research? In this hour-long session, we will provide an overview of responsible and simple ways to use artificial intelligence to assist with your genealogy research. Our focus will be practical, easy-to-follow techniques to use artificial intelligence to jumpstart your research in a responsible manner. We won’t talk about ways to create images or fiction but will show you how to incorporate AI into your research in down-to-earth ways that don’t waste your time. We will see how to use AI to get research ideas, focus your research, transcribe handwriting, organize and extract information—and how […]
When manual searches of newspapers are necessary, don’t neglect searching the gossip or local correspondents’ columns before that relative dies as well as afterwards. If the person had “taken a turn” or been ill for a few weeks or months before they died, there may be mention of it in the newspaper with details not mentioned after the death. The illustration mentions Nancy Rampley’s illness in the paper not long before she actually died in 1923 and provided the name and residence of her sister. The name was slightly wrong, but it was a clue and the location was helpful as well.
Brick Wall Busters 2026 Need to jump-start your research? This hour-long presentation is geared towards advanced beginning or intermediate genealogists. Our focus will be on problems in the United States between roughly 1700 and 1900. Brick wall ideas will be pulled from consultations with clients and personal research experience. Approaches will be practical and down-to-earth. Handout included. Presentation made by Michael John Neill. Michael has forty years of research experience in families throughout the United States. Presentation is based on his personal experience and consultations he has made to clients on research trips and via virtual consultations. Presentation and handout available now for immediate download–for $26. Download link sent immediately after purchase.
Don’t assume that just because the names are “close” that they have to be a match. I was looking for information on a William Bell who married a Martha Sargent in Iowa. Turns out there was another William Bell in the same part of Iowa who married a Lorinda Sargent. Totally two separate couples from two separate families. How many William Bells can marry a Sargent and live a few counties away from each other? Apparently two. Two distinct ones.Remember that sometimes there is a relationship and sometimes there is not. Always look for additional information to confirm that you really have the same couple and not another couple with the same or similar names. In this case, both marriages were in the 1870s and the 1880 census […]
The pension index card for Illinois Civil War veteran Charles Schrader indicated an application number but no certificate number. This usually means that the application was denied. This is what happened in Schrader’s case–he received no pension. Don’t neglect denied pension applications. They can contain just as much information as approved pensions and the denial does not mean the applicant did not serve. It simply means he was not qualified for a pension under the laws in effect at the time of the application. Schrader’s application indicated that he applied in 1866. This was shortly after the war when fewer applications were approved. Had he lived until the 1890s, he probably would have received a pension as the laws had relaxed by that point in time. Neither he […]
Need to jump-start your research? This hour-long presentation is geared towards advanced beginning or intermediate genealogists. Our focus will be on problems in the United States between roughly 1700 and 1900. Brick wall ideas will be pulled from consultations with clients and personal research experience. Approaches will be practical and down-to-earth. Handout included. Presentation made by Michael John Neill. Michael has forty years of research experience in families throughout the United States. Presentation is based on his personal experience and consultations he has made to clients on research trips and via virtual consultations. Presentation and handout available now for immediate download–for $26. Download link sent immediately after purchase.
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