Multiple Handwriting on One Document

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.

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Search for Name Abbreviations

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.

Were They Dead Then?

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.

Omission Means Nothing

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.

Don’t Grab the First One

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.

Look It Up!

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.