Avoiding Abbreviations

Use abbreviations sparingly. Does “w/o James Rampley” mean “wife of James Rampley” or “without James Rampley?” Of course on a cemetery transcription site, what it means is obvious. But remember, what is one person’s “obvious” is someone else’s “huh?”

Abbreviations can easily confuse–use them with care. Avoid them if at all possible.

Cemetery Calling Card

If visiting a cemetery where your ancestor lived, consider leaving your name and address on an index card at the stone you’ve been to visit. Put the card in a plastic baggie and use something (such as a rock, etc.) to keep it from blowing away. Don’t harm the stone in the process, but perhaps someone visiting the cemetery another day will find your baggie and contact you.

Not everyone with genealogy information goes trolling the internet, but they may go cemetery visiting.

Casefile Clues Memorial Day Offer

Over the Memorial Day Holiday, you can take advantage of our Casefile Clues subscription offer–$25.50 for the first 35 issues of Year 2plus another year of issues. A list of topics from year 2 can be viewed here.

Orders can be processed here with a credit card (PayPal account not necessary although PayPal processes our payments).

Subscribe now before you forget–this post will be pulled when the offer is over.

You can request samples by emailing samples@casefileclues.com.

Who Is Alive?

Think about who is listed on a document and who that document implies is alive at the time the document is written. A will mentioning children usually means that the children are alive at the time the will is written.

There’s no guarantee the children are still alive when the will is admitted to probate.

Widow’s Probate? Or Not.

In locations and time periods where women had few property and legal rights, there are not often estate settlements if the wife dies first. However, if the wife dies last always look for an estate settlement, quit claim, or some type of settlement deed to tidy up the estate.

People assume that because women who die first don’t often have estate or probate records that they won’t when they die last either. That’s not necessarily true.

Are Their 1850 Neighbors the Same as the 1750 Neighbors

I have a family that moved from Virginia into Kentucky around 1800. The interesting thing is that the names of neighboring families to my ancestors in 1750 Virginia are the same names I see as their 1850 Kentucky neighbors in 1850.

I’ve got another set of German families that essentially “transplanted” a village from northern Germany to Illinois in the mid to late 1800s.

Some people tend to stick together even when they move. Use this to your advantage in your research.