I first read and transcribed the 1812 will of James Rampley in Harford County, Maryland, when I was sixteen years old. I don’t think I have looked at the entire will in over twenty-five years. Today I read the entire document.

And there were at least five good clues that I missed in that early reading of the document because there were many things I didn’t know about research, the law, inheritance, and the family at that point in time.

Do you have something that you’ve not read in ages?

Could there be unused clues in that document?

The 1812 will of James Rampley in Harford County, Maryland, gives real estate to “surviving children of my daughter, Nancy Beaty.” A superficial read of the will may lead one to conclude that Nancy is dead. She’s not. Her husband is not dead either. There’s a little more to it than that.

James Rampley also indicated in his will that his son James Rampley was to have the use and occupation of the said land during the natural life of Nancy Beaty for her maintenance and that of her children. “My son in law John Beaty to have no claim right or title to the said land or the profits thereof.”

After her death, title was to be passed to her children.

Never jump to conclusions and always read the entire document.

There’s probably something going on there not mentioned in the will.

Always make certain you look at the entire marriage record. Sometimes a couple does not go through with the marriage–as this 1901 example from Oklahoma shows.

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If a marriage record indicates that your relatives were married by a minister, it means they were married by that minister. They may or may not have been married in the church. While it may seem like a minor detail, unless the marriage record specifically states the location, the researcher can be certain of the precise place where the marriage took place. The license or record may only explicitly state the county or town. Don’t assume more than it says.

And that is true for any record.

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The date that a couple obtained a marriage license is not necessarily the date of the marriage. Getting a license does not mean the couple was actually married. Things can happen after the license and before the ceremony. If the license was returned with the name of officiant and date of the ceremony, then the couple got married.

If you only have the marriage license date, record it as the marriage license date.

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The name of the officiant at your ancestor’s wedding could be a clue to further records. The minister on this 1882 marriage from Ft. Madison, Iowa, should be researched so that the congregational records from his church can be locate for potential information. Googling him would be a good start.

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It never hurts to look at every official copy of a record. This doesn’t mean every photocopy or digital image ever made of the document.  One should look at official copies that may have been made of the record for other levels of government–particularly if the copy you’ve located is incomplete. The state copy of a marriage record from 1882 in Iowa provided the name of the father of this bride when, at the age of 47, she married for the third time. It’s the only record for her in the United States that gives her parents’ names. There’s a discussion of the discovery on my Rootdig.com blog.

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Genealogy Tip of the Day is  proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. In February, they are offering an annual subscription for a monthly rate equivalent to less than $5 a month!

Before I put an estimated date in my genealogical database, I ask myself:

how sure am I of this estimate?

Am I using the birth of the first child to estimate the year of birth of the parents? If so, then:

• How do I know which child was their first child
• Did they have children with other people before this relationship?
• Is is possible that there is a significant difference in the age of father and mother?

I always ask myself a second time:

how sure am I of this approximate date?

Estimating dates should be done with care and with a solid reason (it “feels” right applies to clothes, not to genealogical conclusions). That reason should be in your notes for the event, clearly stated along with your source.

Estimate with care because sometimes what began as an estimate crosses into the land of Almighty Fact.

And sometimes when an estimate or assumption crosses into the land of Almighty Fact, there is no going back.