In some of my families, first names are repeated. And repeated. When writing about these individuals, clarification is necessary–to keep the reader and the writer from getting confused. Pick a style and stick with it. A few options are: James Rampley (born 1803) James Rampley (son of Thomas) James Rampley (born 1803, son of Thomas) In some families the third option might be the best as there could even be repetition of father-son relationships. The key is to be clear. Sometimes when writing the person to whom you are referring is obvious. Sometimes it is not. Clarify, clarify, clarify.
For those who were unaware, FamilySearch has a database, United States Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890, that may help those whose Union veteran (or widow) who lived until 1890. The census is not entirely extant and only includes states alphabetically from Kentucky through Wyoming.
If you know your ancestor owned real property at their death and you can’t find a probate, check for a partition suit among the heirs. Those suits should list all the heirs and may clearly delineate the relative portions of the estate they received. Even if the portions they get are not listed, the relative amounts of money they get may help you determine relationships. In the United States, these would local county court records. This partition suit from 1924 is being analyzed in an upcoming issue of Casefile Clues.
When dealing with geographic and political regions where your ancestors lived, do you have an idea of the relative size of the parishes, townlands, hundreds, townships, counties, etc. in which you are working? If you don’t, it could be easy to assume places are closer than they really are or not as close as they actually are. Without a sense of distance, your senses may be off.
FamilySearch has a database of Ireland Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958 which includes over 23 million names. There are no images, but parents’ names are a part of the database.
Irish civil records indicate that several members of my Neill family lived in Derry Beg in the north of Ireland in the 1850s-1880s. The handwriting in the records being used made it look like “Derrybeg” so I assumed it was one word. I had a difficult time finding it on a map in the appropriate place (parish of Drumachose) until I realized that it was Derry Beg–two words. There were several other places in Ireland named Derrybeg as well. I knew I they were the wrong ones because the county was incorrect. There can easily be more than one place in a country with the same name and when searching for places, spaces matter.
A few years ago I discovered a probable sister of an ancestor in Ireland. In reviewing the information later I wanted to make certain I had not overlooked any other probable siblings of the ancestor. The problem was I could not remember how I found the name of the sister in the first place. My concern was that I got so excited about finding one sister that I researched her before I made certain there were not others as well. It took me half a day to “recreate” the original search to “refind” the sister. All it would have taken was two sentences in my notes on this person and I could have saved half a day. My notes just needed to include a brief synopsis of how […]
For those who were not aware, FamilySearch has digital images of the United States Enumeration District Maps for the Twelfth through the Sixteenth US Censuses, 1900-1940.
Did your ancestral couple permanently separate but not divorce because “we don’t do that in our family?” If so, there may be a court case for “separate maintenance” or a separation agreement filed in the local records. The illustration for this post is from a separation agreement from 1862 filed with land records in Campbell County, Kentucky. The couple was not divorcing, but did separate all their property in the agreement.
We’re excited to finally announce the release of the recorded versions of my two latest webinars: Irfanview and Organizing Digital Media. If you registered for these and did not receive the complimentary download, please email me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com. Irfanview One of the most popular image viewing and manipulation programs around that has the best price–free! This presentation focuses on basic skills that are useful for the genealogist, including cropping, adding citations, adding text, adding metadata, batch renaming, and more. Geared towards those who don’t have much familiarity with the software. Order here ($7) for immediate download–handout included Organizing Digital Media This presentation is not software or operating system specific. It focuses on file organization, file naming, consistency, and reducing duplication of effort. Our focus is on an easy […]
Did your ancestor marry again after the death of a spouse to whom they had been married for decades? Did your ancestor marry at the very end of their life? For female ancestors this could mean that their last name changed which would impact how their name appears in death records, probate records, and other materials created after their marriage? If the time period was right, it could mean that they qualified for a military pension based upon the service of the final spouse. For male ancestors, it could mean additional children, changes in their will, or other records of interest. And the marriage record, if it was created in the right place and at the right time, could provide information on the actual ancestor that is not […]
Mom did not always call it “pie crust.” Often there was an expletive in front of the word “pie.” I’m fairly certain the frustration was directed towards the crust and not the pie. When writing up research notes and stories on individuals whom you remember personally, consider including their favorite swear words. Or, if that’s something you don’t feel comfortable with, at least include those things that frequently made your family member frustrated to the point where they felt like using those words. For Mom, it was pie crust–and that’s a memory I want to preserve.
It never hurts to read that transcription, summary, query, genealogy blog post, etc. over one more time. And one more time again–especially after letting the content sit for a while Errors can easily creep in and sometimes in that last review the “obviously” incorrect becomes more obvious.
OVer 89,000 books (out of copyright) from the Allen County (Indiana) Public Library’s collection of genealogical materials are online free through Archive.org .
“Grandma’s signature looks like my mother’s,” was my colleague’s response when I found her application for a military tombstone for her husband. I could see the excitement in her eyes as she saw the document for the first time. Sometimes when we’ve researched for a while, some of that excitement is gone–or at least we don’t experience it that often. It can also be easy to get stuck in a rut, forget about certain sources, forget basic ways to search, and become lost in our own perspective. Helping a newer genealogist, or just another genealogist, can be the break you need to get a fresh perspective on your own research.
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