It can be tempting in cyberspace to fire off a message about that ancestor who frustrates us. Providing scant details about our problem ancestor also frustrates those who read our query and either makes them unlikely to help us or causes everyone to waste time in a cycle of probing questions to determine what the poster actually knows. There are some very helpful people on some message boards who simply won’t take the time to reply vague queries such as “I’m looking for an ancestor’s parents.” In that vein, consider including the following information in your query: what you know about the ancestor (approximate dates and places of birth, marriage, and death) where the ancestor lived–a summary of locations in chronological order if possible really unusual alternate spellings of […]
Do you have family photos that you have not digitized? Consider this a reminder from Mimke and Antje.
Some lines are arbitrary. Some lines are crossed intentionally and others are moved to where we passively cross them. As your research moves in time and place, ask yourself these questions? Have I crossed a political line? What was legal or acceptable practice on one side of the line may not be true on the other. Have I passed through a significant historical event? How did that impact my ancestral family? Have I changed religions? Record keeping practices may have changed. Church organizational structure may have changed. Am I at a new stage in a person’s life? Researching a child is different from researching a seventy-year old. Have I crossed an economic border? Researching a person who lives hand-to-mouth is different from researching someone for whom money really “isn’t […]
Indexes in some print publications do not include every name mentioned in the book. Some materials only index names of key individuals. I’ve been reading Fields, Fens and Felonies: Crime and Justice in Eighteenth-Century East Anglia which contains two references my relative’s 1764 conviction in County Suffolk. His name does not appear in the index.
The introductions to some books are full of acknowledgements and thanks to those played a key role in the books. Introductions to genealogical publications, particularly transcriptions of original documents, may mention how the records were accessed, the condition of those records, what records were missing, etc. Those are details someone using the book needs to know. When using any published transcriptions of original records, read the introduction, preface, etc. There may things in there a researcher needs to know to use the publication effectively. I’ve been reading Fields, Fens and Felonies: Crime and Justice in Eighteenth-Century East Anglia–the author discusses his process in the introduction. That was an education in itself.
This session focuses on starting your German research. The session will include an overview of German genealogical sources (both online and offline), naming patterns and concerns, maps and other geographic finding aids, basics of terminology and handwriting, and more. Intended for those who have not really started researching their German ancestors in Germany. Download is immediate. Presentation can be viewed more than once. Handout included. Order today–introductory price expires 18 July.
Genealogists can easily develop tunnel vision. Sometimes it serves a good purpose and at other times it can cause us to lose our perspective. For some reason I always imagine my ancestors as being older than me and if I’m not careful I tend to see them as having always lived their life as an older person. That’s a mistaken assumption and one that can at times cause me to make incorrect assumptions about behavior and motivations. A 25-year old is at a different stage in their life than a 75-year old. It seems obvious, but like many obvious things sometimes we need a reminder. I was reminded myself when looking at a deposition made by my great-grandfather, Charles Neill. I always mentally picture him as older with gray […]
We’ve released recordings and handouts for my two latest webinars. Details are on the announcement pages: Fold3.com webinar US Local Land Records webinar Downloads are immediate and handouts are included. Presentations can be viewed more than once.
There are several things to think of or do yourself before even seriously contemplating hiring a researcher to assist you with your research. organize what you already have–completely. A professional researcher will need to know what you have an organize if for you if you have not already done that–so they can see what you’ve already done and what you know. They will charge you for that time. You may even realize when organizing your information that you still have things you can do yourself. ask others for help. It may be that someone on a message board, Facebook group, etc. can give you the suggestions you need to jump start your work. Keep in mind that some problems require serious study, in depth work, or access to […]
The pastor of an immigrant church may have written most of the church records in English, but sometimes he would slip and write in the script of his native language. The pastor a rural Illinois church in the late 1800s wrote most of every entry in English script, but occasionally he would render something in a somewhat Germanic style. This made it difficult to transcribe some names and easy to interpret them incorrectly. Don’t always assume the entire entry is in the same script–especially if the church has many immigrants and the pastor is one of them.
In some United States jurisdictions in some time periods the estate of a person owning real estate may not have gone to probate. When Riley Rampley died in Illinois in 1893, he owned real property. Instead of probating his estate, his oldest son filed an affidavit (recorded with the deed records) swearing that there was no indebtedness on the property and that Rampley’s final bills had been paid. It would be fifteen years later before any action was taking involving title to the property. If the estate of your land-owning ancestor was not probated after his death, see if an affidavit or similar document was filed in with the land records.
We’ve just released the recording and handout for my recent “Pond Crossing” webinar. This presentation discusses way to determine the “across the pond” origins for 18th and 19th century immigrants to the United States. The focus of this presentation is on sources and methods and are not specific to any country of origin. The bulk of the presentation discusses situations where the place of birth is not as easy as simply locating the immigrant’s death record, obituary, etc. Our discussion concentrates on situations where multiple records need to be used and where the establishment of the extended kin network is necessary. Orders are processed immediately and presentation can be viewed as often as needed and is for personal use only. Order here for immediate download.
The best discoveries are sometimes made off the beaten path–without a map. That’s true with genealogical records as well. Indexes, inventories, and finding aids can be incomplete. This “family entry” from an Illinois Lutheran church was found by browsing images of the church’s records. The names were not index and the inventory did not indicate these items were included. Sometimes one simply has to browse things in order to make certain that everything was seen.
There is still time to join me in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, at the Allen County Public Library this August! Our group is informal, relaxed and focused on helping you when you need or want it. We don’t schedule other “non-genealogy” activities and other than our morning session and an “optional” evening meal, your time is your own to research, ask questions of me when you need to, etc. There are more details on our website.
If insects or weather could negatively effect your ancestor, it could have a financial impact. Did your ancestor only mortgage the farm once–right after a year of drought or an infestation of locusts? Did your ancestor move because there were several years of extremely uncooperative weather in a row? Newspapers and county histories may mention such events and they could be timed to documents that indicate your ancestor was under financial stress. In severe cases your ancestor may have moved, lost the farm, or both. Always keep an open mind for things outside your relative’s control that may have impacted his behavior. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Check our their July offer for “Tip of the Day” fans–offer ends 30 July.
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