If a document refers to your ancestor as the lessor on lease–he owns the property that is the subject of the lease. If your ancestor is referred to as the lessee, he is the person being given temporary use of the property. The lessor owns it, the lessee borrows it–generally speaking. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Ever consider the possibility that the place name simply changed instead of something moving? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember there are several United States censuses that provide evidence of ownership of real property. Some ask for values of real property, others ask if the home was owned or rented. Documenting that land ownership through local land records may lead to additional information on your ancestor. Are you getting all the clues from the census? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember–no site has every record, every file, and every index. Don’t do all your research via one website, one repository, or one library. You wouldn’t just use the census only for your research would you?Expand your research horizons and your family tree–use a resource or a facility today that you’ve not used in a while. You may be pleasantly surprised at what you find. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember that if someone truly died at the age of 30 in 1900, they could have been born in 1869 or 1870 depending upon when their date of birth was in relationship to the date they died. If they were born in 4 March 1869, they would be 30 on any document in 1900 dated before 4 March and 31 on any document dated on 4 March or after. So if a tombstone says the person died in 1900 at the age of 30, they could have been born in 1869 or 1870, if only the years are given on the stone. Whether or not the age is correct in the first place is another matter. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember when reading any foreign language material that is handwritten, that not only are the words in a different language–the script may not be what you are used to either. What appears to be an English “L” could be a different letter entirely. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Keep in mind that information contained in court records is only as accurate as the individuals providing the information. This can be true in any type of court action. A deceased individual had two daughters who had children with the same man. Instead of listing the children separately in the estate settlement (as was done with children of others), the children were all listed together as if they had the same mother and father. No mention was made of the one sister. Another estate settlement from the 1980s completely ignored a half-sibling who should have been listed in the intestate settlement. Court records are usually accurate. But, if information they contain seems to conflict with other information, obtained independently from other sources, consider the possibility that the court […]
Keep in mind that the spelling of last names was not standard for a long time. The main concern when trying to determine if a last name could be the same is whether the two spellings would likely be pronounced in the same way. It is worth remembering that concern about spelling consistency of names is a fairly recent one. Your ancestor, even if he was literate, might not have worried if the record spelled his last name with one “l” or two. He still knew he owned the land, his neighbors did as well, and the tax collector knew he had paid taxes on it for the past thirty years–that was what likely mattered. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Local court cases usually only index the name of one defendant and one plaintiff, regardless of how many people are involved in the case as defendants and plaintiffs. Witnesses and others who may be mentioned in testimony and other court cases will not appear in indexes either. For this reason it is important to search for names of relatives of your direct line ancestor in defendants’ and plaintiffs’ index to court cases. Otherwise you may easily overlook something involving your ancestor, especially if he and his siblings were sued and the name of his sibling is the one under which the case is indexed. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
A derivative citizenship is one that is derived from the citizenship of the parent, usually the father. In the easiest of cases, foreign born children under the age of majority when their father naturalized would be considered naturalized themselves and would not have to go through the process themselves. If your ancestor immigrated as a child, indicates he is naturalized but you cannot find any papers in his name, then consider the possibility that he had derivative citizenship through a father’s naturalization. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember that just because your ancestor appears on a 1830 real property tax list for Coshocton County, Ohio, it doesn’t mean he lived there. A person could have owned property in a place without living there. People on personal property tax lists are more likely to have lived in the location. But as for the real property lists, your ancestor might have speculated on property, inherited it, acquired it through military service, etc. and never lived on it. Most property owners lived on or near the property, but don’t use your ancestor’s name on a real property tax list as your sole proof that he lived there. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
That family story may clearly be incorrect or greatly exaggerated. Before you throw the story out completely, think about what sources or records might have been created if it were true. Consider breaking the story into the parts you could prove and the parts you could not prove. And then go from there. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
You may have several different records on your ancestor, various census enumerations, city directory references, an obituary, a mention in a county history, a marriage register entry, a death certificate, a mention as a witness on a document, etc.? How certain are you that each of these references are to the same person? Could there have been two people with the same or similar names? Have you possibly confused two first cousins, a father and a son, or two unrelated people. It is always possible and something to keep in mind. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Some smaller libraries will search specific items for specific people for a nominal charge or just the cost of copies. It can be a good way to get access to material you may not be able to access otherwise. Many genealogical publications (especially out of print books that are still in copyright) can be difficult to get online or via interlibrary loan. If you find that a library has a copy of that unusual book, see if they will search it, copy the index, etc. It is worth a try. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you cannot locate relatives who are interested in your ancestor, have you at least tried and contacted other genealogists who are researching in the same location? While they might not be related, they might have ideas for sources or repositories where you should conduct your research. Others might know what records have been microfilmed or digitized, etc. Don’t just limit yourself to trying to find relatives–others with similar areas of research may be able to help you even more. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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