OCR May Merge Names

A search of the yearbooks on Ancestry.com located a reference to an individual named “Newport Ufkes” in a University of Iowa yearbook in 1950. The name Ufkes is highly unusual and I was 99% certain the reference to my uncle who attended the University of Iowa Law School.

Turns out the men in a picture were listed by last name only. My uncle stood next a man with the last name of Newport. Seeing “Ufkes, Newport” the automatic indexing assumed it was a person whose name was Newport Ufkes.

Another reason to not always include first names in searches.

Done Posting Old Tips

The old tips that did not get uploaded originally have all been posted to the blog. Thanks for your patience. This should end the “more than one” daily postings.

 

Did Your Relative Take a Teacher Test?

If your relative took a state examination to receive a teaching certificate, there’s a chance that it was mentioned in luella-schoola local newspaper. Have you looked?

This newspaper item from 1918 mentions my aunt, Luella Trautvetter. She would have been 17 at the time she took the test.

Now I’ve got to look and see if she passed–this newspaper reference only indicated those who took the exam in March of 1918 in Adams County, Illinois.

Do You Know the Legal Description?

Do you know the legal description of any real estate your ancestor owned in the United States? The legal description precisely states where your ancestor’s property is located, such as:

  • Lot 5 in block 2 of section 8 of Wilson’s Addition to the City of Warsaw, Illinois
  • The north half of section 2 in township 4 north of the 5th principal meridian.

Some land indexes are organized geographically. Tax records are organized geographically and other records are organized in this fashion as well.

In upcoming tips we’ll have ideas on finding that legal description.

Caught up on Comments

I’m caught up on approving comments. Between being out of town and getting hit with spam, I was overwhelmed. The comments have all been approved. There are a few I need to respond to, but was not certain when that would happen….so I just went ahead and approved them.

Thanks for your patience.

Genealogy Webinar Sales Ending 22 August

It has been fun…but…

 

After nearly 5 years, on 22 August we’re going to close our genealogy webinar saleson our website so that I can direct my genealogical efforts elsewhere. I’m a one person enterprise and it’s time to devote my energies in other directions. We’re keeping the newsletters and the blogs, but webinar distribution will be ending on 22 Aug. Now’s a great time to add any overlooked presentations to your collection before it is too late.

Remember:

  • download is immediate
  • presentation does expire
  • can be viewed as many times as you want
  • our prices are the best in the industry
Our presentations are:
  • down-to-earth
  • practical
  • easy to understand and follow
  • based on in the field experience
Topics include:
  • Organizing
  • Problem-Solving
  • Search Strategies
  • Census Records
  • Court Records
  • Land Records
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • Newspapers
  • FamilySearch
  • Archive.org
  • and more

View the list and order before it’s too late!

Is It Reasonably Close?

For many individuals, records will not provide information that matches 100%. Census records on the same individual will provide slightly different ages or places of birth. Death certificates may provide details that do not agree with other records.

Generally speaking, the genealogist has to be content with relative consistency of information–not that it matches completely. Two different census enumerations for the same person should provide enough consistent items that the researcher is fairly certain that the same person has been located, even if some details differ.

There simply is not 100% consistency in genealogical research.

 

Pretend to Explain Your Problem to Someone Else

One of the presentations I gave while at the Allen County Public Library was on problem-solving and real examples from my research were used. In compiling the presentation, I summarized the problem and then as a group we listed:

  • assumptions
  • records that might be helpful
  • what to try first

The very process of writing my problem and thinking about the assumptions gave me at least one new idea on each problem. Try it for something you’ve been stuck on for a while.