Catalogers make mistakes when going through materials. Consequently what appears as the description in the card catalog for an item can be incomplete or wrong. Items get missed when being microfilmed or digitized. Look at page numbers and dates of entries, could some be missing? It may be necessary to go back and view the original. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Make certain you read the entire set of court, probate, divorce papers, etc. There may be incomplete or incorrect information in one part of the file that may be corrected or discussed in more detail in a later section. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I’m not talking about one hiding in the basement. Instead does a man have a first and a second wife both named Mary? Does a woman marry a man who has the same last name as her maiden name (that’s happened more than you think)? Was there a first, short-lived, marriage because a spouse died young? Just something to think about. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Is it possible that your ancestor never moved, but where he lived changed? In early days of settlement county boundaries were sometimes in flux. And in urban areas, street names or numbers sometimes changed as occasionally did city boundaries. Was your ancestor annexed? Just something to think about. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If your ancestor divorced, determine any relationships with those who provided testimony. Siblings and relatives may provide testimony in a divorce case without specifically stating their relationship. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Think about the record you are using and the pieces of information it contains. Are there facts that don’t really need to be accurate? Yesterday’s tip mentioned a marriage date in a divorce record. Think about it for a minute. In most divorce cases, is it material if the date of marriage is slightly incorrect? Probably not. The key fact is that the couple is married. Uusally a date being sightly off is not going to impact the divorce case in any significant way. Always keep the intent of the document in mind when analyzing the information is contains. It doesn’t mean things have to be wrong, but there may be certain facts that don’t have to be 100% precise. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of […]
A 1921 divorce case I’m looking at for an upcoming issue of Casefile Clues indicates several times that the couple was married in 1908. Just because this year is repeated in several places does not make it more likely to be correct. Frequency does not mean accuracy. Errors can easily be repeated and a divorce record ten years after the marriage is not a primary source. Just because you see something repeated numerous places does not mean it’s right. That’s true even if legal documents are being used. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When searching for materials in the Family History Library Card Catalog, make certain you have searched for materials cataloged at all jurisdictional levels, not just the town. In some areas, this may include township, county, state, province, nation, etc. Don’t just look at the town or village level records. There may be other available materials. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I’m working on a case where the husband’s probate in the 1880s doesn’t tell me very much. The widow survived. What I need to do is: search for a probate/will for the wife see if there are settlement deeds for any real estate after her death check for court action of non-probate courts in case there was an estate squabble after her death. The problem may be that there just wasn’t anything left to settle after her death. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Revisit repositories, libraries, websites, etc. that you’ve not visited in a while. They may have cataloged new materials, created new indexes, or acquired new materials since your last visit. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Don’t assume that your sixty something ancestor would never have immigrated. If all their chidlren had left the old country, it’s very possible that Grandma or Grandpa (or both) got on the boat with the last child instead of being left in the homeland all by themselves. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you are unfamiliar with researching members of your ancestor’s ethnic group, considering joining a mailing list specifically for individuals researching people from that region. Networking with others who have ancestors from the same area can be extremely helpful. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Did you ancestors “head west” only to “head back east?” Not everyone who went west stayed. Is it possible that the ten years you can’t find your ancestor is because he was in California, Oregon, etc. only to return “home” in time for the next census? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
In one family that I’ve worked on for sometime, I realized that the step-children separated from the step-father about the time some of them reached the age of majority. I’m not certain exactly what went on, but I’m starting to think that when some of them reach “age,” they struck out on their own, taking their younger siblings with them. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Your ancestor might really have believed they were born somewhere they were not. As a result, every record where they provided their place of birth might be incorrect. My grandmother insisted she was born in Tioga, Hancock County, Illinois. She actually was born in nearby Wythe Township according to several contemporary records (discussed at length in an issue of Casefile Clues). Grandma insisted she was born in Tioga and listed that on every document where she provided the place of birth. This tip was well timed—Grandma would be 100 years old today! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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