The US 1870 federal census asks for months of birth and marriages for those events that took place within the census year.
In some areas, during some time periods, families we “re-use” names of children who had died as infants or small children. Don’t assume something is wrong if your ancestor has a child Geske born in 1754 and another one in 1756. It’s probable the first one died.
When saving digital images of records, do not neglect taking a picture of any notes you make and include it with your digital images of actual records. While working with some Indiana deeds, I made notes while using the index. I made a few notes on those notes as I was locating the records. Sometimes the notes are more extensive than these, but my images and notes need to be in the same place–not some on my computer and others on pieces of paper that can get lost.
Sometimes abbreviations are obvious. Sometimes they are not. When making digit images of pages from a book, always look for a list of abbreviations. Copy that page. And don’t forget the title page as well.
Remember that the children may not know their mother’s maiden name and what they do know is not first-hand information. They may think their mother’s step-father was her actual father. They may never have met her father and may have a totally “mixed” up version of the name in their head as a result. Or they may be entirely correct about their mother’s maiden name. It depends upon a lot of factors, but keep in mind that information children provide about their mother’s maiden name is not first hand information.
A name change after a marriage may be why a female relative goes “missing.” Your widowed or divorced relative may have had a subsequent marriage of which you are unaware. That could be why they can’t be located. Make certain to check for marriage records after the person becomes widowed or divorced.
There are times when it is necessary to search censuses or other records manually. Consider keeping a research log that uses a map to show where you have searched instead of a table or grid. Mark off the areas you search. The map also helps you to search those areas that are closest to the ones you have already searched. This is particularly helpful if the area you are searching in is not one with which you are familiar.
I was using “unindexed” tax records from Virginia in the 1790 era. They appeared to be in rough alphabetical order by first letter of the last name. Except they weren’t. Several pages would be alphabetical. Then several pages would be unordered. Then several pages would be alphabetical. It seemed as if there were several assessors or collectors for the county and that some sorted their parts of the list and others did not. Had I stopped when my people were not in the first list, I would have missed them. If a handwritten list appears to be alphabetical, make certain the entire thing is.
Quickly review your digital pictures of records before you leave the facility. While it can be tempting to make as many copies as you can, the key to solving your problem will be on that page that was blurry. And you’ll never know because you can’t read it.
Recent Comments