A release of a mortgage can seem like a mundane document. It essentially indicates that a mortgage has been paid off in full and that the holder of the note is releasing their interest in the property and that they no longer have a claim to the real estate that was used to secure the loan. Because of that, I almost didn’t obtain a copy of a release for a relative from 1948. All it would do is list the property description, the name of the borrower, and that the loan was paid. But there was a little clue. The release was structured as a quit claim deed–the holder of the note was relinquishing their claim to the property. Still pretty typical. But something had happened between the […]
Join Michael on one of these research trips in 2019: Salt Lake City’s Family History Library Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
Your Germanic ancestor’s “first name” may have technically been Johann, but he might have had a middle name that was actually his “call name,” or the name he was called. Johann George Trautvetter as given on church record in 1798 may have actually been called George Trautvetter–only using Johann George in church records. Keep in mind that different areas of Germany may have had different naming traditions and that what may be true in one area may not be true in another. Research and find out. Don’t assume that what “worked” in one place necessarily worked in another.
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