Citing sources frustrates some researchers. They worry about format, style, and the appropriate placement of punctuation. Don’t fret over such things. As we will see your concern should be over your cousin in Santa Fe. If you put a date of an event in your genealogical database, include the reason. It could be death certificate for John Q. Rampley in the Carthage, Hancock County, Illinois, courthouse birth certificate for Susanna Rucker in the Orange County, Virginia, courthouse family bible in possession of my aunt, Mrs. Donna Askme Questions personal memory–he died after I graduated high school personal memory–they married before we moved to Idaho Purists will frown at these citations. Let the the frown lines be their own reward. Are there a few minor details missing? Yes. Is […]
Do you devote some of your “genealogy time” to learning while you are not actively researching? While we all learn as we research it is understandably easy to let the research distract us. Are you devoting some of your research time to: learning about “new to you” sources learning about “new to you” methods learning about “new to you” technologies learning about the history, culture, and geography of where your ancestor lived Regularly learning something new generally will help your research.
The names of some locations may be informal and only exist in the minds of local residents. Official location names may be used in legal and other documents, but newspapers (particularly “gossip columns”), family letters and less formal materials may refer to places by names used by the locals. I know where the Habben Corner was and where the Meadow Slough south of Carthage, Illinois, approximately is, but these location names won’t appear in any gazetteer or geographic directory. Local libraries, historical/genealogical societies, or “old timers” may know the places to which these unofficial names refer.
Where do the “hint leaves” on your Ancestry.com tree come from? Generally speaking, most leaves result from: links other people have made in their own trees. That is, you link an 1880 census for Hinrich ReallylongnameIcannotspell. Another person who has linked that 1880 census entry to their tree’s entry for their Hinrich links that Hinrich to an 1870 census record for Hinrich ReallylongnameIcanspell. You may get a “hint leaf” suggesting the 1870 census record for Hinrich ReallylongnameIcanspell when you find the 1880 census record for Hinrich ReallylongnameIcannotspell. search results based upon broad searches for information in your database. larger databases. “Hint leaves” do not include every database on Ancestry.com My “practice” online tree is online at Ancestry.com.
I’m not exactly certain what brought Andrew Trask to St. Louis in the 1840s, but shortly after his arrival he married Ellen Weld. She died shortly after the marriage and he married again and had all his children with his second wife. Research has focused on the second wife, because that’s the one with whom he had children. Clues as to Andrew’s origins could like in learning more about his first wife and his first marriage, particularly as it took place shortly after he arrived in St. Louis. Don’t ignore ancestral spouses that left no children behind.
I tried a research methodology on one of my Irish immigrant ancestors. That research was interesting, but did not help me answer my question. The problem is that I’m still going down that rabbit hole and learning things. Those things are interesting, but are not answering my question. How willing are your to admit that a new approach is needed?
We’ve released digital copies of these three new or revised webinars: Using Unindexed Records at FamilySearch Creating Effective Online Search Strategies Setting Research Goals and Organizing Your Research Process Download is immediate. Presentations can be viewed as often as needed. More details are available on our announcement page.
While there are no guarantees, there are some things a researcher can do when at the courthouse or records office to maximize the chance you are successful locating the desired records: be polite know the hours of operation know what records they have (or at least a general idea) have your information organized and handy so you aren’t rummaging through papers or your phone to gets dates, names, and places) find out their cell phone use policy look relatively professional (flip flops, belly shirts, and the like should be avoided) thank them for their help–even if you think they weren’t that helpful
When you are stuck, sometimes it can be helpful to get off the internet, think about what you are wanting to know and what sources could provide that information. One approach is to brainstorm, making a list of what could help, who to search for, why to search, and how to get it. When brainstorming, don’t search the internet and don’t worry about how to access the records. That can come later. Brainstorming should be just about making as long of a list as possible. This chart is a part of my “Creating Effective Research Plans” webinar.
This 1915 document gives the mailing addresses of heirs in a probate case without stating any relationships to the deceased. That is intentional. The purpose of this document was to verify that heirs had been mailed a notice regarding the estate. Other documents explained the relationships. Every document in a court record has a specific purpose and it is probably not to leave behind information for genealogists. Make certain to look at every record in a file. Papers that “look boring” may contain the most information.
“Near” relatives. That could be near in the geographic sense or near in the biological sense. Boston, Mass. and West Point, Illinois, are not geographically close. The obituary meant the sisters in Boston and the local niece were the only biologically close relatives the deceased had–not that they were the ones who lived nearby. Some words can have more than one meaning. Sometimes that is easy to forget.
We often use obituaries and biographies to create rough chronologies of our ancestors lives. This can help us search records. Keep in mind that obituaries and biographies may get details slightly out of order–enough to create confusion in the chronology. The father in a family may have died young before they moved out of state instead of after. The mother may have been the parent that died first instead of the father and the surviving spouse may have actually been the children’s step-mother instead of their mother. Keep yourself open to the possibility that there may be just one or two key statements in a biography or obituary that are slightly off. That can be all it takes to create a really different story from what actually took […]
I searched over and over for an Agnes Harper in various records. I could not find her in any United States record before 1900. I tried numerous reasonable spelling variations on the first and last name. Then I located Agnes’ stone on FindAGrave. The stone listed her name as Nancy Agnes Harper–not just Agnes. That was why I could not find her. Always consider the possibility that you have all the names a person used. That could be why you cannot find them.
Look through the list of bills paid out by your relative’s estate. Is there one for a funeral sermon? The name of the minister could be a clue as to what church they attended? Or it could have been the first minister they contacted who agreed to give the sermon.
Due to requests from some readers, we’ve put webinars on these topics on our January calendar. Join us! Due to other work commitments, we will not be offering as many webinars in 2017 as we have in the past. Following topics: Using Unindexed Records at FamilySearch Creating Effective Online Search Strategies Setting Research Goals and Organizing Your Research Process More details are available on our announcement page.
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