It can be tempting to skip around when searching city directories. Don’t. Look for your people in directories for every year. People get left out sometimes. People move. Some directory years may give information not listed in others. While the residential information may be repetitive from year to year, check every one. The year you skip could contain the biggest clue of all.
Immigrants to an area may not appear in the directory immediately after their arrival. Particularly in urban areas, the living arrangements of immigrants may be more tenuous, recent immigrants may be overlooked by the individual collecting information, or the immigrant may not see any reason to be listed in the directory. Don’t assume your ancestor is not somewhere simply because he is not in the directory.
Our goals at Genealogy Tip of the Day are relatively simple. We want you to: think about the genealogical information you obtain–broadly put, “how accurate is it?” think about “how” you research–am I interacting with information or reacting to it? be aware of “overlooked” sources–am I always using the same sources for every problem? be reminded of things that you may have forgotten–we all forget! remember that no one knows everything stay excited about your research–your ancestors’ story needs to be uncovered We do have to sell things to keep the doors open–but all are welcome to hang around and participate whether they make a purchase or not. And…we don’t mention or link to anything that we have not actually purchased ourselves. And…as some of you know, there’s no […]
Make certain you note the publisher of each city directory you use, not just the year. In some time periods in some cities, multiple directories were published in one year by different publishers. And different directories may provide slightly different information.
In pre-1850 US census records (1840 and before), the oldest individual in the household may not be the person named as the head of household. The oldest person may be an aging parent or older relative and not the individual who is named as the family’s head. If a person “ages thirty years” between the 1830 and 1840 census, it’s very possible that the “older person” in 1840 is a parent or older relative who has moved in. Never assume the head of household has to be the oldest person in the home.
Do you have photographs from the early days of color photography? Have you scanned them and preserved them? The colors do fade–so don’t wait if there are images you have not made from these photographs. Digitize them (scan or take pictures) even if you do not know who is in the picture. These items deteriorate relatively quickly and your copy may be the only one. I hesitate to call this an “old” picture simply because I am in it <grin>.
The grantor‘s index to local land records usually only contains the name of the first grantor on a deed–not matter how many names are listed as grantors (sellers). These indexes were created by the records office as the deeds were recorded and items were not necessarily recorded in the order in which they were executed. Indexes are not always exactly alphabetical either. They usually group grantors by the first letter of their last name. The first name may or may not be indexed. Always look the index over before using it and concluding that you have “search the whole thing.” Different counties may keep their indexes in slightly different ways.
If you are fortunate enough for a DNA match to have a family tree associated with it, there are several reasons why there are no name “matches” between your trees, including the following: one of you does not have the tree back far enough to see the match one (or both of you) has a mistake in your tree that is only compounded as the lineage is extended there was an adoption in your lineage that no one told anyone about the stated father of a child was not the biological father Sifting through these possibilities takes time and may require more extensive research.
The variant spellings for your ancestral surnames should not only be in your head. Keeping track of them is a must. That way when searching databases and indexes all spellings can be searched. It is easy to overlook a variant if the only way you keep track is in your head.
Researchers in need of former street names in the United States may wish to look at fire insurance maps. This 1893 map of the courthouse square in Carthage, Illinois, indicated that all four streets surrounding the courthouse were named “Main Street” (with a direction as a part of the name). Today the former “North Main Street” is Main Street. The others have been renamed. More information on the maps: Library of Congress Sanborn Maps for Pennsylvania search Google for “sanborn fire insurance maps” yourstate to find others.
Only a very small fragment of the 1890 US census is available. The vast majority of the schedules were burned and destroyed. 6,160 names remain. They were microfilmed and can be searched at FamilySearch. More information on the 1890 census can be found in Spring 1996 issue of Prologue. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank.
It is possible that the place you can’t find is no longer known by that name? Sometimes the names of places are changed–for a variety of reasons. And it’s possible that the “place name” you were given is a nickname of sorts that was only used by a few locals. I know where the Habben corner is in Hancock County, Illinois, but hardly anyone refers to it by that name today. It’s not on any maps, but may be mentioned in an old newspaper or other published account. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank.
Don’t take “the courthouse burned” to mean that every record before that point in time was destroyed. It might be that in reality, records from some offices survived, some offices’ records were not completely destroyed, etc. In some cases, records might have been “re-recorded” after the fire. There may also be state or federal records that provide similar information. Ask around. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank.
If all records indicate the wife of your ancestor is “Mary,” keep yourself open to the possibility that the ancestor could have been married twice to women with the same first name. If other details about the Marys are very inconsistent, it could be that there were two Marys instead of one. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank.
Put all your ancestor’s residences on the same map. Compare it to your chronology. Is there a chance they might have stopped somewhere “in between” two places and left records of some type? If the locations are urban with street addresses, make certain you have maps that are contemporary to your problem. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank.
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