Years ago, I made an extract from a document and incorrectly typed the year as 1850. I’ve repeated that year numerous times. For an upcoming issue of Casefile Clues, I retrieved the original document and in reading it realized that the year of the record was actually 1852. As the document is the first one that places the person in his “new location,” the year is crucial. Because I corrected myself, I have to go back and re-evaluate some conclusions that hinged upon the 1850 year. It pays to periodically review your own extracts and transcriptions. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Don’t forget that the 1860 US census asks individuals if they were married within the census year. This might be a clue if there are couple with the same name or if you are unable to locate marriage records. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Consider a day (or two) of no actual research to locate new information. Instead, organize and enter into your database information you have already located. You may even make some discoveries in the process. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
The first time you use a database or website, make certain you know what you are using and understand where the data is from. Titles can be misleading. I thought a reference to a relative in Canadian border crossings was wrong because it was from the St. Alban’s, Vermont district. The person I was looking for landed in Vancouver. Turns out the St. Alban’s district extended from Vermont all that way. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Consider how much time you have spent trying to locate that one record. It might be time to work on something else. I have a relative for whom their life from 1847-1855 is documented in several records, marriage, land purchase, declaration of intent, 1855 state census, probate, and guardianship for children. Yet, I cannot find him in the 1850 census. In this case, it might not be worth it to spend days searching for him in the 1850 census. Just a thought. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If the sources don’t match, don’t assume that the information they provide is incorrect. If you have two different dates of birth, is it possible there were actually two different people? There are many reasons records can give differing information, but keep yourself open to the possibility that records you think are for the same person are actually for two different people. Don’t force everything to match. There may be two individuals hanging out in the same location at about the same time who are about the same age. This is a topic we occasionally visit in Casefile Clues in more depth than we can here in a tip. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
There is an old adage in genealogical research that “three sources are proof.” Not so. Remember that three “sources” of the same information may actually come from the same source–think about who likely provided information for the death certificate, the obituary, and the tombstone. They probably were the same person. Try (where possible) to get information from sources that likely had different informants. While that’s not always possible, three sources agreeing is not magic. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Years ago a distant relative interpreted the name of a child of an ancestor as “Pine.” Decades later another relative viewed the original record and determined that the old script did not read “Pine,” it actually read “Jane.” Needless to say, there are still databases today that insist the child was named Pine. Sometimes it pays to go back and doublecheck–even someone who you think knows what they are doing. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Generally speaking, in the United States before 1934, when a father naturalized his minor children automatically became citizens as well. Children who were over 21 did not become citizens through their father’s naturalization and would typically have to naturalize on their own. This might explain why some individuals have no naturalization records and yet appear as “naturalized” on census and other records. This is a topic we occasionally visit in Casefile Clues in more depth than we can here in a tip. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When you are obtaining a “copy” of a document or record, are you getting an “image copy” which usually means a digital copy or a photocopy, a transcription which usually means someone handcopied or typed up the whole document, or an extract which copies relevant parts of the document? The three obviously are not the same and if you have an extract or a transcription and things are not clear you might want to obtain an image copy if at all possible. This is a topic we occasionally visit in Casefile Clues in more depth than we can here in a tip. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I’ve changed the names and location, but here is part of a birth announcement I read recently: “…paternal grandparents are Jim and Lori Smith of Dingdongtown. Paternal great-grandparents are Susan Smith, Plowville, and the late Bubba Smith and Ken and Susan Markle of Allentown.” The question is: are Ken and Susan alive or dead? Of course people living today know what the paper intended. What would someone in fifty years think? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Wonder why great-great-grandma’s age changes so much from one record to another? One reason could be that she wanted to shave a few years off her age. Life was also different. Great-grandma might not have been concerned that if her age didn’t “match” in various records that there might be a problem with her pension, passport, insurance, credit bureau file, and other records. Life was in some ways very different in 1880 than it is today. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Does a document or record indicate how long someone has known your ancestor? Subtract back and see just when the two individuals met? Does it mean they knew each other “somewhere else?” Maybe that was back east, back in Europe, etc. Testimony in court records, affidavits in pension files, passport applications, and other materials may include such statements. Always think about the time frame they suggest and see if there may be subtle clues you haven’t fully used. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If your ancestor was involved in some type of “sensational” court case, check out the newspapers around the time the case was heard in court. A local newspaper may mention the case and provide details not listed in the actual court records. Of course newspapers don’t always get all the facts right, but there still may be nuggets of information in the papers that do not appear in the actual court record. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember that obituaries for women may never mention their name. It may be necessary to search for husband’s names in newspapers long after they are dead. I spent hours searching for the obituary of a Belle Shaw, who died in 1945. Her obituary in the Zanesville, Ohio, newspaper listed her as “Mrs. Louis Shaw.” Her first name is not even mentioned. Shaw himself had been dead several years by the time his wife died. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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