Several websites offer researcher “hints,” “leaves,” or suggestions based upon details in their database or search boxes. Sometimes these hints find the people of interest and sometimes they don’t. Determine what individual databases the site has and search those manually for the person you think “really has to be in there.” Sometimes the global hints work and sometimes they don’t.
Just because two individuals are born in the same place with the same unusual name combination, do not conclude that they are one and the same. There were at least two Andrew Trautvetters born in the early 19th century in Saxeweimar, Germany, who served in the United States military. Don’t assume based on name alone that two individuals are one and the same. Posts about Andrew (the younger) and Andrew (the older) are on my Rootdig blog.
My relative Enoch Tinsley was married to Nancy Dunaway–probably in or near Fleming County, Kentucky and before 1820 when the young couple is in the census. Nancy probably wasn’t in Fleming County by herself, before she got married. However I can’t assume that there will be Dunaways living near Enoch in the 1820 census. There are many reasons, including these: her parents lived in Fleming County between about 1811 and 1819–long enough for her to meet and marry Enoch, but not long enough live there when the census was taken. her father had died and her mother remarried and is living right next door with a last name that I’m totally unaware of. Nancy lived in Fleming County with either a married sister of her father or a […]
We are excited to bring our genealogy webinars back at the end of summer. New offerings include: Researching in the US before 1850 Charts, Charts, and More Charts Genealogy Terminology Preserving Past You More details are on our webinar page.
FamilySearch has a number of indexes to census, vital, and other records. These may come up when a search is performed. But…. There are records on FamilySearch that are not indexed. In some cases, FamilySearch has essentially “put rolls of microfilmed records” online. These records are often unindexed, although some may be alphabetical in nature, having indexes in each volume or an index created by the original record holder that was also microfilmed. But if you are only using on FamilySearch what you find by a name search, then you are missing out.
When manually searching newspapers, always make certain to search before the death as well as after. There may be a mention of a final illness with details not included in the obituary or death certificate.
Formatting transcriptions can be difficult when one wants to follow the original as closely as possible. That’s especially true with tombstones. One standard indication of the end of a line on a tombstone transcription is to use a slash ( / ). The stone in this post would be transcribed as: / T / John M. Trautvetter / June 22, 1839-Dec. 13, 1917/ [line] /Franciska His Wife / July 25, 1851-Jan. 15, 1888 / at rest / Of course additional information should include the location of the tombstone, nearby tombstones, relative position of the stone within the cemetery, etc.
When trying to learn a new script, practice writing it. Reading “easy” words and “perfect” script is a good way to improve your skills, but for some actually writing the script yourself is the best way to “get it in your head.”
When obtaining a vital record from a record agency, try and get a reproduction of the original record on file. A “certification” may not include all the details on the record and that partial transcription may be incorrect. A “certification” that a birth was recorded may only list the name of person born along with the date and the location. Genealogists want the entire record–preferably an image copy and not a transcription if possible.
We are still adding missing old tips that didn’t migrate correctly to our new site. Hopefully those will get completed over the next day or two. Thanks for your patience. Those who receive tips via email may see a bulk of tips continue to come through.
If your ancestor gives someone a “life estate” to property in his or her will, that means the recipient can use the real estate during his or her lifetime, but cannot sell, mortgage, or encumber the title. They can use the property for the duration of their life.
The provenance of an item can be thought of as its genealogy–how the item came to be, who created the item, and how it ended up in its current location.
Every week (usually on Sunday), I send a summary of my blog posts during the week to: Genealogy Tip of the Day Genealogy Search Tip Rootdig There are a few additional items in the update that are not posted to the blogs, including: citation of the week picture the week letter of the week This update is separate from the blogs and was created for those who didn’t want to get the blogs daily in their email. The email update is separate from the daily updates that go out. The most recent update can be seen here. There are no advertisements in the update. Subscription is nominal which covers our email service used to send the weekly blog update out.
If you are having difficulty locating “associates” of your ancestor, determine if his probate records include an inventory of any amounts owed to him or her at their demise. Those names were probably people with whom your ancestor associated. They may be relatives. Or maybe not–that would depend upon how much your deceased ancestor trusted his relatives to pay him back.
I am hesitant to abbreviate anything in my genealogical records. Just because I know what I mean by “Twp,” “Rev.” or “Sch.” doesn’t mean that everyone else does. And “Rev.” could always stand for reverend or revolution.
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