It’s easy to say “yes…I always am aware of my assumptions.” It’s more difficult sometimes to really be aware of what they are. All researchers bring their own background to their genealogical research table. That background effects our assumptions that we make. One way to catch assumptions is to ask yourself, “how is this situation different from others I’ve researched?” Am I “comparing apples to oranges,” “are there things about this ‘new’ area of which I am really unaware?” One challenge I have in this regard is that my upbringing is rural and my ancestors were rural. I grew up in a county where many people were related to each other, many of our parents attended school together, many of our grandparents attended school together. The county had no stoplight […]
Read carefully. These two names look similar, but they are different: Thomas Frame and Thomas Francis. One is the naturalizing individual and the other is his witness. Don’t always assume the clerk made a mistake.
After a hiatus, we are ready to resume distribution of Casefile Clues. You can get free copies following the directions below 2 free copies of Casefile Clues can be yours-simply enter in your email address and “submit” order. There is no credit card or other personal information required. Copy 1 Copy 2 We are looking forward to returning to our research, analysis and discussion of records. And, yes, we are even looking forward to returning to citations. We’ve got stories on some old favorites, follow ups to a few missing links, and new families and locations to discuss. We are excited about what’s coming up in the newsletter. An email about the newsletter was supposed to be sent earlier to all subscribers, but apparently it did not go out. All subscribers will […]
When writing an article about Arvin Butler and Jacob Baker, I kept mixing up the last names of Butler and Baker when writing about the two men. The same thing could have happened to an informant on a death certificate or other record. If the last names were similar or if the person just “got them in their head wrong,” a mix up could have been the result.
When reading a document, try and determine if the handwriting was all done by one person or if more than one person might have written on the document. In one record being used recently, it became clear that the specific date on a document was left blank and completed by someone else.
If you are having difficulty analyzing and interpreting a document or don’t feel you “got all the information” from it, make a chronology based on the document. Use every stated and implied date. You might be surprised at what you discover.
I discussed an 1876 naturalization in a post yesterday on Rootdig. A reader noticed that the date of the naturalization was the day before the presidential election. That’s a good point. The proximity of the date should be noted because it makes one wonder if the naturalization processed was hastened in any way. It doesn’t mean the immigrant wasn’t an immigrant or that his place of birth, etc. was incorrect. If anything it could mean that the naturalization process was sped up in order to allow him to vote. Or it could simply mean that he wanted to complete his paperwork before the election and there was nothing shady going on. And thanks to a Rootdig reader for pointing out the proximity of the date of naturalization to the date of […]
Yesterday’s tip was about determining what record may answer a specific problem. Remember that there may be more than one way to access the same item. County and state offices may have copies of the same record, copies may be on microfilm, digital images may be available, etc. For certain time period, certified copies of some records (marriages and deaths in particular) may be contained in military pension applications .
Now through 16 July, we are offering 25% off any sized webinar purchase. Topics include: Female Ancestors Problem-Solving Where Do I Go From Here? Using Online Directories What to Blog About? Tightwad Genealogy Courthouse Basics Land Records at FamilySearch Court Records Is Your Process the Problem? And many more… View the list here use coupon code july25 at checkout
Yesterday’s tip was about clearly stating your genealogical research problem. Today’s tip is that once you’ve stated that problem determine all the sources that might answer that question, either directly or indirectly. Brainstorm. At this stage don’t think about how the records would be accessed, which ones are more reliable, etc. That comes later. Just make a list of what records could answer your question–including ones you don’t normally use. Be creative with the types of materials that could help.
Can you state your genealogical problem in one sentence? “I need to find Grandma” does not count. Your “problem” generally should involve one or perhaps two people, an event or a relationship you are trying to uncover, and perhaps a location where that event took place. You may need more verbiage to explain your problem, but what you are trying to uncover should fit in one sentence. If nothing else, focusing your problem succinctly may give you some insight into solving it.
Don’t assume that the oldest male in a pre-1850 household is the person named as the head of household. In some cases the named head of household may be a younger male or in some cases the oldest female. Don’t assume.
We’re happy to provide Genealogical Tip of the Day at no charge. However–we do have to pay the bills and we like to keep the blog free of banner ads, Google ads, and the usual ads for genealogy sites that one sees on virtually every genealogy blog/site. If you’d like to help Genealogy Tip of the Day out, here are some options: Make an Amazon.com purchase through this link. Subscribe to GenealogyBank.com (our sponsor) through this link. Get my weekly blog update–with some newsletter only content--see a sample here. Let others know about Genealogy Tip of the Day. Send them to http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com. Join us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/genealogytip And…thanks for your support! It is greatly appreciated.
It can happen to any of us–forgetting the page number. When looking at the copy of a 1919 legal document, I realized that while I wrote down the book number, I neglected to make certain the page number copied as well. I got the entire document, but the page number is hidden in the shadow on the corner of the page.
Sometimes the only way to genealogical success is to get beyond your ancestor and to research her siblings. That may be enough to answer your question. Once in a while going further is necessary. I’ve been working on a family where the biggest leads to my ancestor were contained in the War of 1812 of his brother’s father-in-law. It’s not always necessary to completely research people that far afield.
Recent Comments