It is relatively easy to find the names of those who were godparents for your ancestor’s children. Those names are big clues. However, when the records are unindexed, finding the names of children for whom your ancestor was a godparent is not as easy. It requires manual searching of each entry. But it may be worth it, because the parents of that child could be relatives of your ancestor and provide significant clues to your research. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Users of Genealogy Tip of the Day are welcome to reprint tips from the site. I just ask that: the author’s name be listed (Michael John Neill), with a copyright notice. the website be listed http://genealogytipoftheday.blogspot.com/ the tip’s date be listed That’s it! Questions can be directed to me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Ok, so this is a little bit of trivia, but I found it interesting.According to David Rencher of the Family History Library, the online version of the Family History Library Card Catalog is updated every half hour. I’m not suggesting you search the catalog constantly…….and I’m not really certain I should refer to it as a card catalog either. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Are you checking the same sites almost too regularly, hoping for an update? Are you posting queries to message boards and other sites, hoping to find something or get a helpful reply? Consider changing your approach or spending less time on the Internet or more time on different sites. My Ancestry.com subscription lapsed and eventually I will renew it. But now that I don’t have 24/7 access to it, I am getting back into records I had ignored for too long and even reviewing my files. And when I do have access to Ancestry.com I make better use of it and am more efficient because I know I don’t have it constantly. And frankly some days I spent too much time “randomly” searching on Ancestry and not enough […]
Remember that we do not live in the same times as our ancestors. If you are working on families from two hundred years ago, consider reading contempory material from that era. Transcribed diaries, newspapers and other materials are a great way to get a better “feel” for the times, in addition to reading non-fiction history covering the same time period. Reading someone else’s diary from the time, even if a complete non-relative, may give you a fresh perspective on your ancestor life and times. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Are you using an 1820 census enumeration where the names appear to be listed in roughly alphabetical order? Census takers and some tax collectors, in an attempt to be helpful, roughly sorted names by the first letter of the last name. The problem for genealogists is that this strips the record of all sense of neighborhood. Keep this in mind when you think all the “B”s in an area lived together. No group of people are that organized. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Make certain to read through all those papers in a probate file or an estate settlement. The widow may be listed under a new married name in later records, providing a clue to her marriage. This can be a great help in states that do not have marriage records for the time period being researched. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Keep in mind that there are several factors that might have caused your ancestor to move from point A to point B. They include: Economic concerns–land opportunities, jobs, etc. Politics and political unrest Family–others in their family had already moved. Acquaintances/friends–people in this group had already moved. Religion–your ancestor was a part of a religious group that migrated. There are other reasons, but consider these and ask yourself if you have really looked into these causes. Doing so may provide the answer to your family history puzzle. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Periodically revisit sites that contain data you have used in your family history research. It is not necessary to revisit them every day, but monthly or even quarterly visits may result in undiscovered finds. No matter how many genealogy ezines and blogs you read something can easily slip past your radar. New information is always being made available. Take the time to look. Make a list of sites and visit them regularly. Not obsessively, however (grin!) ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Keep in mind it is not the number of generations in your family tree that is important. What is important is that each generation be documented accurately. Bigger is not always better. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
We are offering a $25 discount on the complete price on our 2010 Salt Lake Research Trip for those who make their deposit by 30 June 2009. The complete registration price for those registering by this date will be $175. The balance of the fee is due in December, just the deposit is necessary by 30 June. There is more information about the trip on our site at http://www.rootdig.com/slctrip.html This discount won’t be posted on those pages, email Michael at mjnrootdig@gmail.com for a registration brochure with the discounted price or questions. Thanks! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Scanning documents is great and an excellent way to preserve them. But transcribing serves a purpose too. It forces you to actually READ the document. That is a great way to notice phrases or words that sometimes get overlooked. And there are times when that one word or phrase can make all the difference. Transcribe something today. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
How many pieces of information are in your family tree or genealogy database from “memory” or some unidentified source? Check them out. They could be the real reason you have a brick wall. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Try searching Google books for every ancestor, even the ones you think will never be in there. I located my paternal grandfather in an Angus breeders’ directory from the 1950s and a 4th great-grandfather in an 1830s era directory from Germany. http://books.google.com ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Just a little piece of advice. Before you buy a CD with a PDF or a scan of that out of print book, make certain it’s not available on www.archive.org or the BYU website for free. Then you could download it and search it for free and make your own CD. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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