Copy the covering for any packet of loose papers from which you make copies. Citation will be much easier if you do and there may be clues on the cover you need later. The time to make the image/picture is when you have it.
If you subscribed to Casefile Clues after our recent offer, you should have received your back issues and a confirmation email. If you did not, please email me at the email address in your receipt (mjnrootdig@gmail.com). The offer is still good today for those who might have missed it (12 free issues). Casefile Clues strives to be readable, clearly written, practical, and down-to-earth. Find out more on our website.
We need to make assumptions in our genealogy research. Many times assumptions are necessary in order to get our work off the ground. But after a point, it may be that the assumption is hindering our work or that we have forgotten that an assumption was made. If you are guessing that the parents were married near where the first child was born, that is a good start. But somewhere in your notes, indicate why you believe where they were married and that you have no proof. If research does not validate your assumption, it may be that your assumption was incorrect. And if you enter your assumption in your genealogical database as fact, it can be very difficult for that information to go back to being an […]
A bondsman on an executor’s or administrator’s bond is guaranteeing that if the executor or administrator of the estate runs off with the estate’s property without paying the bills of the estate that the court can come after the individuals who signed the executor’s or administrator’s bond. Generally speaking, if someone signed the bond your ancestor posted as an estate administrator, that bondsman trusted your ancestor enough to know that he wouldn’t run off leaving unpaid bills of the estate. And the judge knew that the bondsmen were “worth enough” to cover the value of the estate if the administrator defrauded the estate. The value of the bond represented what the bondsmen “were worth” to cover the estate–usually a multiple of the value of the estate. It was […]
Some records, particularly United States census records in the earlier part of the 18th century, have more than one set of page numbers. When creating citations, clearly indicate which set of page numbers you are using, for example: stamped page number upper right printed page number lower left Because the page numbers can confuse some researchers, it is always advised to include additional citation information to assist in locating the record. For US census records, this would be the geographic information (state, county, township/village/enumeration district, etc.) and the household/dwelling number. The geographic information is necessary information anyway (since it tells you where the person was living), but it could also help someone else to locate the record again if the page number is “off” or confusing. Some church […]
We’re excited that Casefile Clues is back up and running. Writing is a great way to improve your research (speaking just for me) and reading about records, analysis, interpretation, and methodology is great for readers. Subscribe by 30 July and we’ll send free 11 issues. Subscriptions normally start with the next issue, but we’ll send the first 12 issues of volume 4 with our compliments for subscriptions that are ordered by 30 July. Casefile Clues strives to be readable, clearly written, practical, and down-to-earth. Find out more on our website.
Offer for “Tip of the Day” fans-download this presentations free. For those who don’t know how to annotate their digital images. Irfanview is of the most popular image viewing and manipulation programs around that has the best price–free! This presentation focuses on basic skills that are useful for the genealogist, including cropping, adding citations, adding text, adding metadata, batch renaming, and more. Geared towards those who don’t have much familiarity with the software. Today (29 July only) download the presentation for free–handout included. You will have to “order” and “checkout” but the price will be 0 and no credit prompt will be given.
It can be a pain and it can take time. But it can result in great discoveries–manually searching records. Indexes and finding aids fail. They are not perfect. Sometimes a person needs to go page by page in order to make certain that the record they want really is not there. Before you search page by page, there are some things to consider to increase the chance you actually find that person, you should determine: how the records were originally organized how the records are organized in the format you are using them (probably the same as when they were created, but it may be different) where your person should be in the records–probable residence for materials organized geographically, date of event for items organized chronologically) how complete […]
This is your periodic reminder to digitize and identify photos. Be as precise as you can, but don’t “fuss” over every minute detail–include as much as you know and move on. This 1950-era photo was take in Chicago, Illinois, at a wedding. If I ever get time, I can go back and include the exact place (which I don’t know) and the date–which I have. But sometimes it’s better to get down what you know for certain and move on to identify as many as you can. This amount of detail is certainly better than the alternative.
We’re excited that Casefile Clues is back up and running. Writing is a great way to improve your research (speaking just for me) and reading about records, analysis, interpretation, and methodology is great for readers. Subscribe by 30 July and we’ll send free 11 issues. Subscriptions normally start with the next issue, but we’ll send the first 12 issues of volume 4 with our compliments for subscriptions that are ordered by 30 July. Casefile Clues strives to be readable, clearly written, practical, and down-to-earth. Find out more on our website.
An 1881 affidavit in a War of 1812 pension case mentioned three children of the veteran and his wife. The youngest of those three was the one making out the affidavit and she referenced the dates of birth for her two older siblings. That was necessary to backtrack into a time frame for her parents’ marriage. Information on the younger children was not necessary to establish that marriage date–so they aren’t mentioned. The genealogist needs those names. The pension official did not. Always keep in mind the original purpose of any document and analyze it in that context. Not your own. The document may have been complete and accurate given the situation in which it was created. A lot of us don’t do more work than we need […]
To receive a US War of 1812 pension, the veteran (or his qualifying widow) had to live until they became eligible for a pension. Not all soldiers lived that long. Legislation regarding US War of 1812 pensions was not really passed until the 1870s. An act in 1871 indicated that soldiers had to serve sixty days and widows had to have married the soldier before 17 February 1815. The 1878 act cut the service time down to fourteen days and eliminated the marriage requirement for widows. It’s important to remember that these acts were enacted nearly six decades after the war ended. That meant a lot of soldiers and their widows were dead by the time the pension legislation was enacted. It’s still beneficial to search for pensions of […]
The name of the deputy clerk was not crucial to my research, but a quick search of the 1880 census gave me his likely name–just using Wood* as a search term on the first name. J. Woods Champion was a clerk living in Rice County, Minnesota, in 1880 and is likely the man who signed this document. The name of the clerk was not crucial to my research, but a five second search located his probable name. Don’t spend forever on searches like these, but sometimes a quick search in other online records can turn a “can’t read” into a “can figure it out.” Just make certain that the person you think it is is a logical fit.
If your ancestor is referred to as being “superannated,” it does not mean that they are Superman or Supergirl in training. It usually means to be retired with a pension. There may or may not be employment records related to their employment The word’s not often used today, but one can easily find it in newspapers. I found over 60,000 references to the word GenealogyBank. I only found 893 references to my mother’s maiden name of Ufkes. As a reminder, you can search for keywords on by GenealogyBank by only typing that word in the last name box. Thanks to LSP of our “Genealogy Tip of the Day” group on Facebook for this reminder.
Do you include some of your analysis as a part of the digital image you make from pictures? We’ve mentioned provenance before, but sometimes other clues may be used to date or identify the picture. While these things can be put in the “metadata” in some graphics programs, the reality is that some people don’t save the file and the metadata, they just “screenshot” the image as it appears online. One can’t stop people from only using the image and not your analysis, but it makes it easier for those inclined to use it to use it.
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