Celebrating a Twenty Year Find

After twenty years, I’ve finally discovered contemporary evidence that a relative was killed by Bushwackers in Missouri in 1864. Sometimes it just takes patience. We recently posted that information on this blog.

Those with an interest can learn more about the discovery here:
In celebration, we’re offering a Buy-One, Get-One discount on our webinars through 11:59 PM Central time on 6 October. There is a complete listing of our webinars at:
Discount code is discovery at checkout.
Topics include:
Females
Seeing Patterns
Court Records
Genealogical Proof
Organizing Information
Land Records
Brick Walls
and much, much, more
Enjoy and good luck with your own research!

Named for a Neighbor?

Keep in mind that an “unusual” first name could easily have resulted from a child being named for a neighbor and not necessarily a relative. And that neighbor may (or may not) necessarily be a relative. The name could still be a good clue, just not quite in the way you think.

You Are Not Your Ancestor’s Judge…

To technically be your ancestor’s judge would violate the laws of space and time. Remember that.

Report the facts on your ancestor as clearly and as accurately as you possibly can. Let the information you locate determine the conclusions you reach about your ancestor. There are many reasons to leave the judgments to someone else, but the biggest one is that we, as genealogists, rarely know the whole story.

The only information we have is what got recorded and we only have that recorded information which was preserved. And that often is a fragment of the reality.

Are You Crossing A Fence?

If a cemetery visit is to a cemetery on private property or requires access through private property, contact the landowner and get permission prior to making your visit. If the land owner knows what you are doing, it probably won’t be a problem. Most landowners frown on people they don’t know traipsing on their property.

One Office–Many Courts

One location may be the local “court” office, but keep in  mind that there may be several different courts in the same physical location, each with a separate series of records. Just because you’ve been through one series of indexes, does not mean you’ve been through all the records. There may have been a probate court, a criminal court, and a court of equity in the same physical location.

And they may have had the same judge.

Unidentified Pictures?

This is your periodic reminder–do you have photographs with unidentified people in them? When was the last time you asked around as to who they might be?

And do you have pictures with people you know, but where you have not noted the identities on the photo? Don’t let these pictures become future unknowns.

October 2012 webinar schedule

October 2012 webinars–Intro rate of $4 through 2 Oct
Registrants who are unable to attend will receive a download media file of the presentation at no extra charge. But don’t wait to register as spaces are limited.

Time
Topic
Description
Register
7:00 PM 16 October 2013
Crossing the Pond—Part II
This webinar will discuss reading, interpreting, and using passenger lists between 1820 and 1920. This session will not discuss search techniques of online databases, but will cover where to go once the manifest has been located, making certain you have the correct family and getting the most from what the manifest says.
Attendees may wish to purchase our US Passenger Lists at Ancestry.com ($8.50) webinar which discusses searching these lists or our Crossing the Pond ($8.50) webinar which focuses the methodology of tracing immigrant origins in the 18th and 19th centuries.
7:00 PM Central 17 October 2012
Understanding What’s On FamilySearch: Do Multiple Databases with Similar Titles Confuse You?
This presentation will focus on American databases on FamilySearch.org. Do you know what you are really searching when you search a FamilySearch database? Do you understand the difference between three databases with similar titles that cover “the same thing?” We will look at several examples during this presentation and provide a general framework for determining (when you can) what a database really is.
1:00 PM Central 19 October 2012
Connecting with Online Researchers
We will discuss ways to connect and interact with other researchers online and offline—including how to dig people out of the woodwork. We’ll discuss social networking, message boards, mailing lists, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
2:30 PM Central 19 October 2012
Your 19th Century Immigrant
This presentation will discuss search strategies for breaking down brick walls on those 19th century immigrants to the United States. We will look at US records that may provide the answer as well as Immigration records from Europe. If time allows, we’ll see a short case study or two.
7:00 PM Central 25 October 2012
Problem-Solving for Genealogists
This presentation will look at a variety of approaches and mindsets designed to get genealogists to think “outside the box,” or perhaps even get rid of the “box” altogether.
Questions? Email Michael at mjnrootdig@gmail.com
You need to make certain you have the system requirements to view and participate in the webinars for which you are registered. Having adequate equipment is your responsibility.
Requirements:
On a PC
·         Internet Explorer® 7.0 or newer, Mozilla® Firefox® 3.0 or newer or Google Chrome 5.0 or newer (JavaScript and Java enabled)
·         Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
·         Cable modem, DSL or better Internet connection
·         Minimum of Pentium® class 1GHz CPU with 512 MB of RAM (recommended) (2 GB of RAM for Windows® Vista)
Participants wishing to connect to audio using VoIP will need a fast Internet connection, a microphone and speakers. (A USB headset is recommended.)
On a Mac®
·         Safari 3.0 or newer, Firefox® 3.0 or newer or Google Chrome 5.0 or newer (JavaScript and Java enabled)
·         Mac OS® X 10.5 – Leopard® or newer
·         Intel processor (512 MB of RAM or better recommended)
·         Cable modem, DSL, or better Internet connection
Participants wishing to connect to audio using VoIP will need a fast Internet connection, a microphone and speakers (A USB headset is recommended).

Who Knew?

Think about “who knew” that information you are trying to locate. Is there any record on them that could provide that information? As one quick example, the place of birth for a cousin could be helpful in locating where your immediate family lived–at least for a time.