Genealogists often lament the fact that documents fail to include “extra” details that they would like to know. The deed between two men with the same last name that does not state their relationship. The newspaper item that mentions someone from out of town visiting a local resident without stating their relationship. Frustrating, but it is worth remember that, in the case of the deed, legal documents are created for a specific purpose–not for leaving behind details of the relationship between the individuals signing the document. If the relationship is germane to the transaction (they were both heirs to the property, for example) then it may be stated–but not always. The newspaper is about “news” and the “news” is that someone visited–not what their relationship was. Ask yourself […]
Henry Smith leaves a widow and eight children when he dies in 1820. It is possible that she is the mother of all his children, some of his children, or none of his children. Simply surviving him does not make her the mother of all his children.
Don’t forget if you have found that will in the packet of probate papers for your ancestor that there might be a “will record” contained with the probate records as well. The will record book typically includes a complete transcription of the will and is call a “will record” for that very reason. Not all jurisdictions kept these records, but many did. If the handwritten original will has a difficult-to-read portion, is partially missing, or is open to interpretation, the transcription in the “will record,” done at the time the will was proved, may answer your questions. These record copies were the legal equivalent of the original document and were made, theoretically, in an attempt to render the original as closely as possible. Wills are not the only […]
If you are stuck trying to find a document or a record or are having difficulty in interpreting something a clerk has written in a document or in a record, remember the perspective of the clerk. The clerk may not have understood what your ancestor said, may have been poorly educated himself and cared little about the accuracy of the records he left behind. Or the clerk may have been very concerned about the accuracy and reliability of his records and your ancestor may have been vague in his answers, less than honest, or generally grumpy and unwilling to provide information.
Media file and handout released–nearly 60 minutes! Order for immediate download (no streaming) for $24.00. Normal price is $28.00 Confused about what is on FamilySearch? Having difficulty knowing what is online there and how to access it? This presentation will lead you out of the confusion. Contents will include: Various ways the catalog can be searched–the six verbal ways (location, title, keyword, surname, author, subject) and the two more numeric ways (call number and film/image group number). We will see how to: Presentation made by Michael John Neill Purchase for immediate download
I purchase a variety of things on Ebay because of my interest in history and genealogy. I occasionally purchase postcards on Ebay that picture places, buildings, and other things that have some connection to my own family history. Many times these postcards have been used by other and hence have an addressee and someone’s signature. While I want to keep these postcards, I need to keep them separate from my personal family history collection or at the very least indicate they were acquired from an Ebay seller and not from a relative. My purchased postcards are kept in a separate binder solely for that purpose. That way no one later sees a postcard addressed to Mrs. Frederick Schnuffleberger in Newport News, Virginia, and wonders how she is related […]
Do you have a postcard with no date on it? The Smithsonian Institution Archives has a website on “Dating Postcards.” I might have to do that with a postcard I recently purchased on Ebay.
There’s a picture of my Mom in a photo album that belonged to her grandmother. There is no writing on the picture. Several other pictures on the page have the year 1949 written on them in handwriting that appears to be that of my mother’s aunt. My mother appears at the very least to be 10 years old in the picture and probably older. Which evidence is stronger for when the picture was approximately taken? Often in genealogical research we find information that conflicts. The key is to find all relevant information and sources that may provide information about something which we would like to know. Then we can evaluate all that evidence and decide which evidence should be given more credence. In this case, the appearance of […]
If your relative has property values in the 1850 and 1860 census, analyze them in context–not in isolation. The only thing the value tells you by itself is that the relative owned property. Context matters. How does their property value compare to that of their neighbors in both these enumerations? By what percentage does their property value change from one enumeration to the next? Does this same change seem to be taking place with their neighbors as well? An increase in property value could mean more property was acquired, property values in that area went up in general, or improvements were made on the property. A decrease may mean property values declined or property was sold. No matter the value of real property listed in the census, locate […]
When you have finished analyzing the materials in a court case file, make note of the dates of any significant court action. Then search local newspapers for possible mention of the case around those dates. The court record may only give part of the story and may not provide any background information at all. What is in the newspaper may be unsubstantiated, but it may give you a different perspective than what was in the court record. Even if the newspapers can be searched digitally, a manual search may still be necessary as digital searches do not necessarily locate every reference.
If things “don’t quite make sense,” consider that a couple’s first child might not have been both of theirs or might have been born less than the “necessary” time after their marriage. Their last child, particularly if born significantly after the couple’s other children, might have actually been their grandchild. Most of the time a couple’s children are theirs, but there are times where other possibilities could be the reality: It’s also possible that the child you think is the first child is not even the first child at all.
When Barbara Haas of Warsaw, Illinois, executed her will in 1902, she did not actually sign her name. Instead she made her mark. She actually made three “x”s but that’s not really the point. Some may be tempted to assume that Barbara was illiterate based on this signing of her will. That’s not the correct conclusion to draw from this piece of information. It simply means that she made her mark on her will in 1902. She could have been told to “make her mark” and was complying with that request. She perhaps was only physically able to write an “x” instead of her actual name. Barbara’s actual signature appears numerous times in various local records in Hancock County, Illinois, where she lived beween 1850 and her death […]
There are times where seeing things on your screen or being able to search quickly to “figure out who someone is” isn’t quite enough–at least for me. I’ve been working on my Ostfriesen families and the similarity of the names can lead to confusion. There are times where the names Antje Jurgens Ehmen Antje Tonjes Ehmen, Tonjes Jurgens Ehmen, Jurgen Ehmen, Willm Jurgens Ehmen, and Willm Tonjes Ehmen start to run together to the point where I’m about ready to start looking for Tonjes Antje Ehmen (there was no such person). These individuals are all children or grandchildren of the same ancestral couple (and there are more similar names that are not included here). To keep me organized and to where I don’t have to search for them […]
If your relative indicated they were divorced, make certain that you have searched for:
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, etc. Relationships by marriage may be documented by the record 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 recognized. The names of other individuals […]
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