When you locate a deed for an ancestor or relative, look a few pages before and after to see if others documents were recorded at the same time. Going to the courthouse might have been more than a day trip and your relative might have “grouped” his courthouse work. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Sometimes it might be worth it to order a record you “don’t” need. My grandmother’s brother died in the 1930s with little estate to settle up (except for a car and a small amount of cash). On a whim, I ordered a copy of his estate record. There was a paper in the file signed by all his siblings and his mother, waiving their inheritance. It didn’t provide me any “new” information, but it was neat to have the signature of my grandmother, her five siblings, and her mother all on one document. And if I had not already known he was divorced, the fact that he had “no surviving spouse” would have been a big clue too! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day […]
There was a time when “Ia” stood for Indiana, not Iowa. While today the letters “Ia” usually refer to the state of Iowa, there was a time when it did not. One can find census references, particularly some 1860 and 1850 where “Ia” refers to Indiana. Abbreviations can change over time . ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Are you searching a digital version of that county history, biography book, etc.? Try searching for locations as well as names. It can be a great way to see what other biographies and similar material in the book mentions locations where your ancestor was from. A search of an Illinois county history for “coshocton ohio” located several references to people from that county–besides my ancestor. A great way to get names of potential former neighbors, associates, and possible relatives. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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Look carefully at that next original document you see. Does it appear that the handwriting was all done at the same time by the same person? Or were things written over time. My grandfather’s 1903 birth certificate was filled out at three different times. One person apparently wrote the bulk of the document when it was recorded in November of 1903. Someone else wrote his last name in later–the handwriting is different. Someone else wrote in his first and middle name–the ink color is slightly different as is the handwriting. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Think about that letter you think is an “l.” Could it actually be a “t” that simply didn’t get crossed? Even if the creator of the record crossed every other “t” he could have left one uncrossed. And Soundex searches won’t catch it when a “t” and and “l” have been switched. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
We are excited about Tip of The Day making the Top 40 Genealogy Blogs of 2011. The offers originally here have expired, but it’s not too late to get Casefile Clues. Regular subscription–52 issues at $17 All back issues of Casefile Clues (78 issues) and a year for $40 We had to have something with the number 40 in it. Thanks for your support of Genealogy Tip of the Day–please vote for us again next year! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
It was late and I was trying to search for a person I knew I had found in an 1860 census–William Brice. After several attempts, there he was listed as Wm. Brice. Don’t forget that some individuals may be enumerated under abbreviated names. Wildcard searches do not always catch these alternate names. Will* certainly would not catch Wm. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
A gentleman bemoaned the fact that he could not find his ancestor in the 1880 census. When he asked for help, I asked to see what he knew about the ancestor to help formulate a search. Reading the obituary, it was clear the ancestor died in 1875. That would explain the absence from the 1880 census. Make certain your ancestor would reasonably be where you are looking for him before you spend too much time. And if she died in 1902, search the 1900 not the 1920 census. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Online databases change–sometimes they add data or make corrections. Part of your tracking your search should include the date an online database was accessed. Then you can compare the date of an update with the date of your search and know whether you need to search the database again or not. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Google maps does not always get every location correct when you see it marked on the google map. Some cities had renumbering or renaming of streets and there is always the possibility that a house number from 1880 is not the same as the house number today. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember that your ancestor might not have named all his children in his or her will. They might have had a falling out with some children or had already given them their inheritance earlier. Unless the will says “my only children are” and then names them, don’t conclude a will lists the testator’s entire family. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I was lucky that an ancestor married in October of 1870 a few months after the census. Finding her parents was a little more difficult. I searched for everyone with her name in the 1870 census, searching the census in a circle with a 15 or so mile radius of where she married in 1870. Then I researched every person with her name in 1870 and eliminated those that couldn’t be her. The key was that I didn’t just grab the “first one” I found and that I also used variant spellings even after I had a match on the “right name,” just in case. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you don’t know what it means, look it up. Misinterpreted terms can create even bigger brick walls for yourself and other researchers. And make certain you know key dates in local history for the locations where you are researching. When were counties formed, when were streets renumbered, when did the courthouse burn, etc.? Don’t guess. Once in a while our lack of knowledge can aggravate the problem. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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