<div dir="ltr"><div><div><div><span style="text-align:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:georgia,serif">Need to </span><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/mailman/listinfo/genealogy_genealogytipoftheday.com" target="_blank" style="text-align:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:georgia,serif">unsubscribe</a><span style="text-align:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:georgia,serif">?</span></div><div><br></div><div><span style="text-align:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4">Genealogy Update 22 Sept 2026</font></span></div></div><div><span style="text-align:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4"><br></font></span></div><div><span style="text-align:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4">** </font></span><span style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;background-color:transparent">Getting Older and Educational Levels</span></div><div><span style="text-align:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4">** Using AI as a Genealogy Consultant</font></span></div><div><span style="text-align:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4">** Your Ancestor Was</font></span><span style="font-size:large;background-color:transparent;font-family:georgia,serif;text-align:initial"> </span></div><div><span style="text-align:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4"><br></font></span></div><div><span style="text-align:initial;background-color:transparent"><font size="4" face="georgia, serif">---------------</font></span></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Getting Older and Educational Levels</font></div><div><span style="text-align:initial;background-color:transparent"><font size="4" face="georgia, serif">---------------</font></span></div><div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><i><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">I posted this to Facebook yesterday and thought I would share it with readers here as well.</font></i></p><div class="gmail-xdj266r gmail-x14z9mp gmail-xat24cr gmail-x1lziwak gmail-x1vvkbs gmail-x126k92a" style="white-space:pre-wrap;margin-bottom:0px;margin-top:0px;color:rgb(8,8,9)"><div dir="auto" style=""><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">I was reminded that everyone is not like me and that I&#39;m getting older every day. </font></div></div><div class="gmail-x14z9mp gmail-xat24cr gmail-x1lziwak gmail-x1vvkbs gmail-xtlvy1s gmail-x126k92a" style="white-space:pre-wrap;margin-bottom:0px;margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(8,8,9)"><div dir="auto" style=""><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">A commenter indicated that their great-grandparents (or at least some of them) had went to high school). I thought about my great-grandparents (fortunately they were living in 1940 in the US [some of you know why that matters]). </font></div></div><div class="gmail-x14z9mp gmail-xat24cr gmail-x1lziwak gmail-x1vvkbs gmail-xtlvy1s gmail-x126k92a" style="white-space:pre-wrap;margin-bottom:0px;margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(8,8,9)"><div dir="auto" style=""><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">My great-grandparents went to school no further than the 8th grade...at least the 6 who were listed in the 1940 census (5 went to 8th grade and 1 went through 6th grade). Two I don&#39;t know. </font></div></div><div class="gmail-x14z9mp gmail-xat24cr gmail-x1lziwak gmail-x1vvkbs gmail-xtlvy1s gmail-x126k92a" style="white-space:pre-wrap;margin-bottom:0px;margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(8,8,9)"><div dir="auto" style=""><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Great-grandpa Trautvetter (dead by 1940)  probably went through 8th grade....probably.  Great-grandma Trautvetter may not have went that far as I&#39;m not certain how important her family of origin or her foster family saw school. No one I can ask now. </font></div></div><div class="gmail-x14z9mp gmail-xat24cr gmail-x1lziwak gmail-x1vvkbs gmail-xtlvy1s gmail-x126k92a" style="white-space:pre-wrap;margin-bottom:0px;margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(8,8,9)"><div dir="auto" style=""><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Then I realized that there are genealogists whose great-grandparents were probably born long after mine--mine were born between 1869 and 1895). My children&#39;s great-grandparents were born between 1903 and 1924 (interestingly enough the oldest one and youngest one were from my side of the family). They had four great-grandparents who went through 8th grade, three who went to high school, and one great-grandparent who got his GED at some point while he was working in a manufacturing plant in Illinois. </font></div></div><div class="gmail-x14z9mp gmail-xat24cr gmail-x1lziwak gmail-x1vvkbs gmail-xtlvy1s gmail-x126k92a" style="white-space:pre-wrap;margin-bottom:0px;margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(8,8,9)"><div dir="auto" style=""><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">That was an interesting little exercise. Didn&#39;t write any of the details from memory--the 1940 census told me most of the information...except for a few key details. </font></div></div><div class="gmail-x14z9mp gmail-xat24cr gmail-x1lziwak gmail-x1vvkbs gmail-xtlvy1s gmail-x126k92a" style="white-space:pre-wrap;margin-bottom:0px;margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(8,8,9)"><div dir="auto" style=""><font face="georgia, serif" style="" size="4">Your family may be different. That&#39;s fine. It&#39;s not a contest...your family history is what it is. </font></div></div></div><div><span style="text-align:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4"><br></font></span></div><div><div><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:xx-large;font-weight:700;text-align:center;white-space:pre-wrap">Using AI as a Genealogy Consultant</span></div><p style="font-family:georgia,serif;text-align:center;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:large;background-color:transparent"><u><b>Our approach is to always use AI responsibly and practically a</b></u></i><font color="#000000"><i><font size="4"><b>s your own genealogy consultant.</b></font></i></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Maybe you can\u2019t afford a consultant for your own research or you have too many genealogy problems to hire help with every one.  AI can serve as your own genealogy research consultant. </span></p><br style="font-family:georgia,serif"><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">As with a human consultant, you\u2019ll need to do the initial work on your ancestor, gather what you have, and familiarize yourself with basic sources in the area. There is no guarantee that AI will solve your problem. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">But using AI as your personal research consultant can help. Not by doing the research for you,  or inventing ancestors that never existed, but by doing what a good consultant actually does: looking at what you have, summarizing it, discussing it, and giving you ideas on where to look next or to help you see things in a different way.  It may even tell you where you need to go to improve your research skills. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">After using AI, you still may decide to use a human consultant. The work you did with AI will help you prepare to get the most from that advice from a real person and to make the best use of your time and money should that be necessary. We acknowledge in this presentation and approach that AI does not know everything, is not perfect, and cannot solve every problem. It\u2019s just another tool.  </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">You&#39;ll see how to frame a research problem so AI gives you something useful instead of something vague. You&#39;ll learn to recognize when it&#39;s guessing, because it will, and how to catch hallucinations and how to use AI in a discerning fashion.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The goal isn&#39;t to replace your judgment. It&#39;s to give you a thinking partner available at two in the morning when you finally realize you need to get outside your own mind on a certain ancestral problem. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&amp;hosted_button_id=3SJCPREXK5EUC" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Pre-order the presentation now.</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Release date:</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> 25 September</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Price:</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> $15.99</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Includes the full presentation, a detailed handout, and a ready-to-use set of prompts you can adapt to your own research problems.</span></p><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">--------------------------------------</font></span></p><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Your Ancestor Was</font></p><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="georgia, serif" size="4">--------------------------------------</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><br></font></p></div><div><div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">At one point in time, all of our ancestors were living, breathing humans. Sometimes in our search for records and answers this crucial fact is forgotten. This week we discuss several facts and characteristics of individuals that can cause them to be listed in records (or even sometimes to be omitted). Are there features of your ancestor that you are overlooking? Remember that your ancestor lived in an actual time and in an actual place and interacted with other people. Perhaps these features or these interactions, where applicable to your ancestor, have generated additional records.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Was Born<br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"></b>Have you looked for birth records (both civil and church)? Have you looked for baptismal records?</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Was Married (Probably<span class="gmail-GramE" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">)</span><br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"></b>Have you looked for complete marriage records (both civil and church)? Have you looked for marriage bonds and marriage banns? Was there a notice in the newspaper?</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><span class="gmail-GramE" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your</b></span><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"> Ancestor Died</b><br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Have you looked for death records (both civil and church)? Have you looked for cemetery or sexton\u2019s records and obtained the information on the tombstone? Have you looked for probate and will files and guardianship records on any minor children?</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><span class="gmail-GramE" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your</b></span><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"> </b><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Ancestor</b><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"> </b><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Owned</b><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"> </b><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Land</b><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"></b>Have you found records indicating how the land was obtained and how the land was transferred from your ancestor\u2019s ownership? Have you looked for property tax records? Have you looked for county plat books or atlases, which may provide additional information on the property?</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Paid Taxes<br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"></b>The census taker may miss your ancestor, but the taxman usually does not. Personal property or real estate tax records may help you establish when your ancestor resided in a certain area, when he died, or when he obtained property.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Was Not Home When the Census Taker Came to the Door<br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"></b>Did a child answer the door AND the census questions that soon followed? Did an uncertain neighbor answer the questions instead of a family member? The census will not tell you who provided the information or how reliable of a source they were.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Had Neighbors</b><br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Do records on these neighbors\u2013particularly land, probate files, or court records\u2013mention your ancestor? Perhaps he is mentioned as sharing a property line, purchasing items at an estate sale, or testifying at a trial.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Was an Immigrant<br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"></b>Are there records of his arrival? Are there records of departure in the country from which she came? Are there records of a declaration of intent or naturalization?</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Was a Citizen</b><br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Are there records of the ancestor voting or serving on a jury? If so, these records may help you approximate the year of birth for your ancestor.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Was a Revolutionary Patriot</b><br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">If <span class="gmail-GramE" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">so,</span> there may be records of oaths of allegiance, military service, or military pension. The National Archives (<a href="http://www.nara.gov/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-decoration:none;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(3,169,244);text-align:initial;max-width:100%">www.nara.gov</a>) or appropriate state archives may have additional information.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Was a Civil War Soldier<br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"></b>If <span class="gmail-GramE" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">so,</span> there may be Federal or state records of his service and Federal records of his pension if he was a Union soldier. If his service was Confederate, there may be state pension records.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Was Well-Known Locally<br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"></b>Have you read the gossip columns of the local paper where your ancestor lived? There may be significant information on your ancestor contained in these columns, which are typically more valuable for smaller papers.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Was Less Than Dirt Poor<br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"></b>Perhaps the poor farm or almshouse registers will mention him and his family. In some cases, particularly before the American Revolution, church records may make mention of widows and other families unable to support themselves. Was your ancestor forced to farm her children out to strangers in order to keep them fed?</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Was Dishonest<br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"></b>If he got caught, there might be court records or newspaper accounts of his activity. If he did not get caught, what records he did leave behind may be inconsistent or intentionally incorrect.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your </b><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Ancestor</b><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"> </b><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Attended</b><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"> </b><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Church</b><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"> Regularly<br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"></b>If so, the family may appear in records of the church beyond the typical baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and burial records of many congregations.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Was Literate<br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"></b>Did she leave any letters or diaries behind as a record of her life and existence? Does her will or her estate inventory mention any books by name?</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Did Not Speak the Language</b><br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Consequently was she unable to completely understand questions when asked by various record officials?</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Was Distrustful of the Government</b><br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">As a consequence did he answer census and other questions incorrectly? Did he try and avoid being listed in any government records at all?</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Had In-Laws</b><br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Does your <span class="gmail-GramE" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">ancestor appear</span> in any of their records, particularly as a witness or a bondsman?</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" style="" size="4"><b style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Your Ancestor Was\u2026</b><br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">\u2026more than just a name in a file. He or she was a breathing, living person. Think about all the events that might have happened in his or her life and determine if any records might have been created in the process. Think about how he or she would have responded to various events in his life and determine if dates of significant events correspond to sudden moves or changes in lifestyle. Remember that if our ancestors were not human, they probably would not be our ancestors!</font></p></div><div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(70,112,127);font-family:&quot;Open Sans&quot;;background-color:transparent"><br>--------------------</span></p><div style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><font color="#46707f" face="georgia, serif" size="4">Webinars</font></div><div style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><font color="#46707f" face="Open Sans"><span style="font-size:16px">--------------------</span></font></div><div style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><font color="#46707f" face="Open Sans"><span style="font-size:16px"><br></span></font></div><div style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ready-to-Go Webinars from Michael\u2013download immediate:</span></p><ul style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/creating-childrens-stories-from-genealogy-information/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Creating Children\u2019s Stories from Genealogy Events</span></a></p></li><li style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/creating-families-from-pre-1850-census-records/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Creating Families from pre-1850 Census Records</span></a></p></li><li style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/deedmapper-intro-and-more-deedmapper-webinars/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">DeedMapper webinars</span></a></p></li><li style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/02/19/using-the-familysearch-catalog-webinar/" target="_blank">FamilySearch Catalog</a></p></li><li style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/rooting-around-for-farmers-and-tenants-and-laborers/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Farming Ancestor webinars\u2013landowner and non-landowner versions</span></a></p></li><li style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/08/05/updated-familysearch-full-text-search-webinar/" target="_blank">Full-Text Search at FamilySearch </a></p></li><li style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2025/11/04/common-names-at-familysearch-full-text-webinar/" target="_blank">Full-Text Search at FamilySearch with Common Names</a></p></li><li style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/how-errors-get-in-records-webinar/" target="_blank">How Errors Get in Records</a></p></li><li style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/03/10/genealogy-research-in-illinois-webinar/" target="_blank">Illinois Genealogy Research</a></p></li><li style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/unburying-funeral-home-records/" target="_blank">Unburying Funeral Home Record</a></p></li><li style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/ai-for-metes-and-bounds/">Using AI to Plat Metes and Metes and Bounds Deeds</a></p></li></ul></div><div style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">----------------------------------------<br></font></div></div><div><div><div><div><div><b><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Need to unsubscribe? Do so at:</font></b></div><div><b><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/mailman/listinfo/genealogy_genealogytipoftheday.com" target="_blank"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">https://genealogytip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