There are things that researchers will not be able to pinpoint precisely. No record might exist that provides great-grandfather’s exact date of birth–and March of 1874 may be as specific as you are going to get. Keep perspective though. Bigger concerns are that you have this ancestor tied to the right parents, sibling, spouse, children, etc. A date of birth that is not specific is not always the end of the genealogy world. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I’ve seen quite a few deeds in my genealogy research. Recently I located one where the wife was listed first, instead of the husband. What it likely means is that the money to buy the house in Chicago was hers, in this case likely an inheritance from her father. It is rare to see a woman listed first in a legal record when she and her husband are listed. If she is listed first, see if you can determine why. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
More material than ever is available in digital format, either free or on a fee-based site. Remember that a significant amount of material exists only in paper form, in the original location where it was recorded. You are missing out if you only access digital images and microfilm. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Planning a trip to a remote courthouse or archives this summer? Do not assume they will be open just because you are coming. Offices have temporary shutdowns for a variety of reasons. Find out before you go–not when you are at the office door. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
You’ve found your ancestors in the 1850 census, but there appear to be gaps in the ages of the children. It is possible that some died and it’s possible that some are living with neighbors or other family members, perhaps helping out with children, farm work, etc. It is also possible that great-great-great-grandma didn’t have any children between Henry in 1832 and Sarah in 1840, but there might have been ones in between that are either deceased or just are not in the household. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Just because someone is left out of an ancestor’s will does not mean they were not the ancestor’s child. They might have received property earlier or might have had a falling out with the parent and been left out of the will for that reason. Sometimes a will will mention the child and give them a dollar or a mere pittance so that they cannot say were left out, but that doesn’t always happen. The 1850 era will of Thomas Chaney in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, only mentions a handful of his ten known children. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Is it possible that the census taker got off a line while writing up the actual census that we are using? It is possible that he got the ages off and didn’t even notice it. This image from 1870 in Nebraska shows a census entry where it was realized that a mistake was made–but it’s always possible the enumerator didn’t realize or care that he made a mistake. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember when transcribing any document items should be copied as is. If you see an obvious error, you may wish to insert [sic] after it to indicate that the mistake was not yours. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Think about all that you know about your “brick wall” ancestor. Now, cross one of those “facts” as being not true–even if you really think it is. How would your research approach change? What would you do differently? Where else would you look? Now, is it possible that one or more “facts” aren’t true? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When finding anyone in a census record, remember to read the entire page. There may be notations in the margin and at the very least those columns on the “edge” sometimes do mean something. Remember that some early census records are spread over two pages. There may be clues lurking off to the side. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Did any of your aunts receive a Civil War pension, Revolutionary War pension, etc.? Don’t think it couldn’t help you in your research. If the aunt tried to qualify for a pension, she would have had to have proven her marriage–that place alone could be a clue because if your ancestor’s sister was living there, other family members could have been too. And if the aunt couldn’t find paper proof of her marriage, she might have had relatives provide affidavits testifying to the date and place of marriage and perhaps your ancestor made out one of those. Neat way to get information and an even neater way to get a signature. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Don’t just use one database when performing searches. If there is another site that indexes the same data, their index might allow for different searches or might have included transcriptions done differently. You might not have to subscribe to one of the pay sites “forever,” but make a list of things you can’t find on the free sites and consider subscribing to a pay-site for maybe a month and doing your searches and then let it expire. But never rely solely on one site for all your indexes. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you see your ancestor as a party on a quit claim deed, pay close attention to whom he was buying land from or to whom he was selling it. A high proportion of quit claim deeds are among relatives, generally to clean up an inheritance. Not always–but it’s worth a clue. A quit claim means you are giving up your claim, something that heirs are likely to do among themselves after the owner passes away. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When analyzing any record, remember that it may be partially true and partially false. Most documents contain several statements. Rarely is a document entirely correct. One part may be true, other parts may be false. Some parts could be partially correct–the year of an event may be right, but the month may be wrong. The state may be correct, but the town may be incorrect. Keep an open mind to the very real possibility that most documents contain true statements, false statements, and statements somewhere in between. That’s why it is important to transcribe each document as it is written and do the analysis elsewhere. Don’t play proofreader when transcribing a document. The changes you make may not be the right ones. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for […]
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