I’m not overly knowledgeable about cars and passed the mechanic’s detailed discussion of my vehicle issues to a friend with more smarts about vehicles than me. Did my friend get a complete and accurate description of the problem from me? Probably not. I wasn’t the best conduit for the information. The same applies to family stories that have been passed down. There could have been details that did not make complete sense to the hearer/reteller of the story and their retelling of that story may have been impacted by that lack of knowledge. Incorrect details can be unintentional on the part of the teller and may not change the essence of the story. But they can cause our research to go astray if we are unwilling to admit […]
I’ve used a cropped version of this cat picture as a fun illustration for years. I always knew it was a cat in my Grandmother Neill’s window, but assumed it was the south window of her home. When recently viewing the entire picture, I realized it was actually a window on the east side of her home. The roof over the front door could be seen in the picture–something I had cropped out of the image I used. I had also cropped out the shadows of icicles that appear on the upper portion of the picture as well. Don’t crop. There could be details in the edges.
Do you have family history ephemera–letters, diaries, day journals, etc. that might be easier to digitize if a digital camera is used instead of a phone? If the writing is legible, photographs may be a great way to quickly digitize an item. Just make certain no detail is lost. Scanning takes more time and taking pictures may be better than intending to scan…but never getting that scanning done. Here’s a longer set of thoughts on the topic.
Some rural cemeteries, especially very small ones that are no longer used, may require crossing private property to access. If this is necessary, obtain permission from the landowner before attempting to access the cemetery. Cemeteries that are along a roadside or have public access are a different story, but there also may be restrictions about “visiting hours,” decorations that are allowed, etc. Remember: just because your ancestor is buried in a grave on private property does not mean you have the right to trespass on that property to view the grave.
If your ancestor owned real property, you should search for at least the following records: In the United States these are usually county-level records, although there are places where these records are kept at the town or city level. Knowing your ancestor owned property is not enough–those records may provide more information.
Some locations have precise geographic borders. Those borders may change over time, but often are reasonably well-established. Some places, particularly those whose names are informal and known to locals, may have more fluid boundaries or just be a general area. Ethnic regions of some urban areas can change over time and have boundaries that are in a constant state of flux or have no precise definition. In some rural areas, certain areas may have a name that known to locals but does not appear on any map, post office list, or other geographic finding aid. Frequently these items are mentioned in newspapers, family letters and correspondence, and other unofficial records. Some thoughts on locating such places can be found in our recent post on Prairie Precinct in Winnebago County, […]
The small picture nearly fell out of the book into which it was tucked. The photo had apparently been clipped from a larger photograph and was likely used in a locket. Fortunately I know who is in the photograph although the back of it is totally blank. I decided to take a picture of it using as the background the page of the book in which it was found. I should have identified the book, but I’m guessing that the placement of the picture in the prayer book was simply to prevent it from being lost. My caption for the photograph indicated what I know about the picture and how identification was made. Is there a picture somewhere still in existence with my grandmother’s image cut out of […]
There’s a difference between nicknames and diminutives. Diminutives are variations on a name that are based upon the sounds in that name. Bill, Billy, Will, etc. are diminutives for William. Calling the same person “Red” because his hair is read is using a nickname. Calling him “hotheaded Bill” is technically both Using the name Kate, Kat, or Kathy in reference to someone named Katherine is also using a diminutive. Referring to my low-German ancestor Trientje by the name Katherine is not using a nickname or a diminutive. In this case it is a anglicization (translation into English) of the name Trientje. Your non-English speaking ancestors “new names” may not have been nicknames or diminutives at all–they could have been translations of their actual name.
From a while back… My relative purchased a farm in the late 1860s. It still owned by a descendant today. The last deed to the property recorded in the local recorder’s office is that deed of purchase in the 1860s. There are no other deeds. That’s because every transfer after that time has been through a bequest in a will when the current owner died–in 1877, 1939, and 1969. The wills served to transfer title. There’s no missing deeds, it’s just that at the time the will served as the “deed” because it transferred title. (This tip is partially due to a reader’s comment on an earlier tip. Thanks!).
Just because a date is inscribed in stone does not mean it is necessarily more accurate than any other source containing a different date. Errors can still be made. Stonecutters may be working from handwritten notes that are difficult to read. The informant may have been misinformed. The stone may have been cut and erected decades after the person died. The inscription may be difficult to read. The purchaser of the tombstone is usually responsible for the information it contains. A tombstone is a source like any other.
The genealogist may be frustrated when an obituary indicates someone is survived by “many grandchildren.” But there are reasons why a family may choose to use this phrase instead of listing all the grandchildren (and great-grandchildren) or using a specific number. A family may wish to not name all the grandchildren for reasons of privacy, because publishing the entire list is cost-prohibitive, or because deciding who to count as a grandchildren can (in some families given some personalities) create family discord (should a former step-child of a child be counted or not?). It’s important for genealogists to remember that documents are not created for us. They are created for others, often for non-genealogy purposes, and genealogist use them because they are what we have.
Many genealogists have seen old photographs where one person’s head has been removed. The joke often is that in the “old days” this was how people were unfriended. It’s not quite that simple. There no doubt were times where a person’s image was removed from every picture another person had of them. The removal was symbolic and may have been cathartic as well. But it’s also possible the removal of the person’s face was due to continued affection and not the end of it. The removed photograph may have ended up in a locket instead of a burn pile. Assuming the removed person had a falling out with someone is incorrect. The opposite could have been true. Now if every image of that person has been cut out […]
From a while back: You are researching your ancestor in a new location. Unless your ancestor moved from the upstairs bedroom to the downstairs bedroom, there’s the chance she crossed a political boundary. Crossing that boundary means: Learning about these things in the new location will help your research. Don’t assume that the address was the only thing that changed when your ancestor moved.
It bears repeating: research not only the people you are “interested in,” but also their extended family–particularly their siblings, nieces/nephews, aunts/uncles, step-siblings, first cousins, long-term friends, etc. I don’t think it’s usually necessary to research the third and fourth cousins of your focus person, but many times something on those close relatives may tell you something on your focus person that you are unable to locate elsewhere. When you find these people on census enumeration, passenger list, or similar record, look at the “paper neighbors” on that record–you may find your actual person of interest.
County and local histories published in the late 19th century often contained biographies of residents. These writeups were often submitted by the subject of the biography or their immediate family and usually required payment. If your ancestor did not have the means to pay or did not have the inclination to pay, the chance they have a biography in some of these books is minimal. There also was little or not fact-checking of the material contained in these books as well. Use the data as clues and validate where you can from contemporary sources with reliable information. What’s in the book may very well be correct, but as the time covered moves further into the past the chance of errors increases.
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