A reminder about relationships: If A and B are both related to C, that does not mean that A and B are necessarily related to each other. A and B could be related, but they do not have to be related to each other simply because they share C as a relative. My Mom and my Dad were both related to a person named Mary Anne. My Mom and Dad were not related to each other at all. Mom was related to Mary Anne’s dad and my Dad was related to Mary Anne’s mother. Always stop and think about what relationships are implied by relationships and which relationships are not. And remember–sometimes our own family makes good examples and sometimes they do not.
The checks don’t indicate what they were for, but a little work made it clear that they were written to pay for my father’s birth. My Dad was born on 14 April 1941 and the first check (22 April 1941) was written to the St. Joseph’s Hospital where he was born. The check from 15 April was written out to Dr. C. A. Runyon–the doctor who delivered my Dad according to his birth certificate. Less direct evidence was the fact that these two checks were tucked into an envelope that was in an album of childhood pictures and other items from my father’s childhood and high school years. It seems reasonable that someone (likely my grandmother) put the checks in dad’s album because they were written when he […]
“Well-known Carthage nimrods” went hunting in the early 1940s. One might be tempted to think the newspaper was making a snide reference. It was not. “Nimrod” is not just a reference to someone who is dim-witted. It can also mean someone who is a good hunter. Never assume a word means something when you are uncertain of its definition. If what you think a word means seems inconsistent with the way it is used, look it up. Nimrod has two current meanings still in use. Other words may have had meanings 100 years ago that they no longer have. Make certain. Do not assume. Assumptions are a great way to create additional brick walls in your genealogy research.
While DNA passes from parent to child, each child only gets half of each of their individual parent’s DNA. Consequently, as a lineage is worked back in time, there will be ancestors in your genealogical tree with whom you might not share any DNA. It doesn’t mean that the ancestor is not your ancestor. It simply means that their DNA did not makes it’s way all the way down to you. While DNA is microscopically small, there’s only so much your body needs. Some suggest (for example, Blaine Bettinger in his  The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy) that once a lineage is traced back to the 4th great-grandparents that there are paper genealogy tree ancestors with whom you do not share DNA.  That’s why you […]
From a while back… If a veteran or his widow received a land warrant for service in the War of 1812, they had one of two choices: haul their happy self to territory that had unclaimed federal land sell the warrant and assign it to someone who did want to haul their happy self to territory that had unclaimed federal land Then whoever had the warrant would claim the appropriate amount of acreage in the federal domain and surrender the warrant in exchange for title to the property. The warrant was what was used for payment or consideration. After the paperwork was completed, the individual who surrendered the warrant would receive a “first deed” (patent) giving them title to the real estate they had claimed. The application to get […]
In March of 1831, the real estate of Thomas Sledd in Nicholas County, Kentucky, was partitioned out among his wife and five children. Sledd had actually died in 1815 and his estate was settled at that time in Bourbon County. Why the delay and why the change of location? It may be tempting to dream up some crazy soap opera scenario but the reality is likely buried in mundane details. It is known that after Thomas’ death and estate settlement, the county line between Bourbon and Nicholas County was changed from a straight line to one that, for the most part, followed a creek. The line change made Sledd’s farm in Nicholas County. The reason for the delay until 1831 is speculative, but it is known that Thomas […]
When utilizing gravestone photographs on FindAGrave, look at the largest version of the image you can and see if there are surrounding tombstones pictured. Some submitters crop the images closely, but others do not. There were clues of other family burials in the background of thepicture of a tombstone from Clinton County, New York for Louis Demar and his apparent mother.
I hate to call them “variant” spellings because that suggests the family actually used the spelling at one point or another. Sometimes errors are simply errors. And there can always be one more incorrect rendering of a last name no matter how many other spellings have been located. For me the actual last name was Tammen and the “new” variant was Tanney. It’s from a transcription and little thought is needed to see how two “m”s can be read as two “n”s. The “n” as a “y” is a little more suspect, but without seeing the original handwriting it’s hard to say how reasonable the interpretation was. Getting the original document is on my to-do list. Just a reminder to keep your mind open to other renderings when […]
It can be tempting for genealogists to assume that the structure of things today are the way they have been for longer than they may have. Two of my grandparents graduated from the same high school I did. It was after I had been researching my genealogy for some time when I discovered that they didn’t attend all their high school years at that same school. They both attended the first three years of high school at high schools very near to where they lived, but ones that only offered the first three years of high school. They both chose to attend the county seat high school for their fourth year. I had just assumed they went there all four years like I did. It’s not just high […]
Old newspapers and obituaries often contain the abbreviation viz. Some genealogists wonder exactly what viz means, so in this tip we will look at three abbreviations that often are confused. e.g. from exempli gratia – “for example” (common usage is that what follows e.g. is an example and not a complete list of items) i.e. from id est – “that is” or “in other words” (common usage is that what follows is a restatement of something previously stated) viz. from videlicet – “it may be seen” (common usage is that what follows is a complete list) A little story serves to illustrate. The reality: James Jones was born in Harford County, Maryland and his wife was born in Smith County, Ohio. They were married in Smith County, Ohio, in 1830. James and Elizabeth (Smith) Jones had children named Riley, […]
Before you reach conclusions or create a story, get your facts straight. Years ago, I was given a baptismal certificate for a relative. My 3rd great-grandparents were the sponsors. Their names were on the certificate. As I held the document in my hand, I thought of how neat it was that I was holding a piece of paper that my ancestors may have touched or at the very least might have been nearby when it was being created. It was some time later when I read the item more carefully. It was not a certificate made out when the baptism took place. It was on the certificate the pastor had created a few years after the fact. It was still an interesting document and one I am glad […]
If she was, her application papers could provide valuable research clues, even if you have no interest in joining the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). Older applications were approved with less stringent standards than today, but there may still be pieces of information contained in those applications that is unavailable elsewhere. Visit the DAR Archives page or the DAR Genealogy pagefor more information.
The clerk, enumerator, or records official may not have followed the directions they were given. The 1950 US census instructions indicate that individuals born in a hospital outside of the state in which their parent resided at the time of their birth should be listed with a place of birth of where the parents were living. Based on those instructions, my parents (whose parents lived in Illinois, but whose nearest hospital was in Iowa) should have had Illinois listed as their place of birth in the 1950 census. Their place of birth is listed as Iowa. Sometimes directions are not followed.
One can be tempted to think that records created at the county level (land records, court records, probate records, etc.) are always maintained at the county level. In some states, counties that find themselves unable to maintain their older records are encouraged (if not required) to turn them over to a state agency for safe keeping, retention, and preservation. Do you know what the policy is in the state in which your ancestor lived? Have you looked recently at websites of state archives to see what records they have other than those that were created by state agencies?
There are no guaranteed results with any genealogical research. No one can guarantee to find something unless they already know it is there. No one can guarantee to solve a genealogical problem unless they already know the answer to it. All a researcher can guarantee is that they will research the records to the best of their ability and accurately report their findings. Of course when one hires a researcher, they want to hire someone who has experience in searching the records; is familiar with how the records were created, organized, and maintained; and is skilled in their interpretation and analysis.
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