If you have urban ancestors (or even not so urban ones), consider using city directories to fill in those off-census years. Directories may list others in the household (particularly if they are old enough to be on their own, but still living at home) and can document moves in off census years. Directories can also help you to find people in the census when the indexes fail. Always copy the page with the abbreviations too. Otherwise they may really confuse you. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Are there two lines squeezed in the bottom of Grandma’s marriage record? Is there something written in the margin of the deed book? If the clerk or officer of the court took the time and effort to “squeeze it in,” then there’s probably a reason for it. It may be a “boring legal reason” or it may be a smoking gun. Even “boring legal reasons” may have significant genealogical consequences. Find out what it says and what it means. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
My brother lives in a rural area a mile or so from my parents on the same state highway. He lives on the east side of the road. They are on the west. The township line runs right on the road–consequently they live in different townships. Is it possible that your “near neighbor” ancestors live in different townships or counties, etc.? That would impact where certain records are kept and stored. Think about where the lines are located and where your family lived. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Just remember a secondary source isn’t necessarily wrong. In 1907 a widow testified as to who the siblings of her husband were. Did she know they were her husband’s siblings because she had first hand knowledge of their parentage? No. She had been told who her husband’s siblings were. Did she have reason to doubt it? Probably not. Was she wrong. In this case that’s not likely. She was suing her husband’s family over her inheritance and the chance that one of her husband’s siblings was left out is fairly slim. It’s not 100% proof she was right, but any source needs to be kept in context. She’s a secondary source of the relationship because she was not present at the births of her husband’s siblings. That doesn’t […]
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