My latest webinar on using ThruLines at AncestryDNA has been released and is available for ordering and download. It includes: understanding where the information in the tree comes from–what’s yours and what’s someone else’s; basics of evaluating the information in the tree; responsibly using ThruLines(TM) information; limitations of ThruLines(TM) basics of how much DNA you typically share with certain cousins and relationship prediction; do you really have the right genealogical connection with that DNA match; using ThruLines(TM) to sort your matches with linked trees; problem-solving and trouble shooting with ThruLines(TM). Orders can be processed here–handout and actual media of lecture included.
The amount of DNA you have is not infinite. You cannot share significant genealogical amounts of DNA with every far-flung distant cousin you have. Humans have a lot of DNA, but the amount stays the same with every generation. You don’t get every “drop of DNA” every one of your ancestors had. There is a 69.8% chance that you and a 5th cousin have no detectable DNA relationship. That does not mean you and that 5th cousin do not have the same ancestor. You just don’t have a big enough DNA chunk to prove it.
Sometimes the settlement of an estate can drag on for years. And sometimes researchers assume the amount of time it takes to settle the estate is because the estate is a vast one that heirs spend decades fighting over in court. Not always. Smaller estates, perhaps even a farm that was just big enough to support a family, may have stayed in probate for an extended time for another reason: waiting for all the heirs to become of age. If that estate takes fifteen years to “settle up,” look closely at all the heirs. There may have been one who reached the age of majority around the time the estate was closed out.
Sometimes it is faster to manually search a record set than it is to think of every possible way to query the database in order to search an index. It’s especially true when the name is spelled woefully incorrectly and written in a script that resembles scribbling more than it does writing. If the records being searched are a census record, do you have any idea where the person would be enumerated? Is that region or district fairly small? If so, manually searching may not take that long. Other records may be organized in such a way that a manual search is possible–just not as fast as “typing the name in.” Manual searches may take longer but sometimes are necessary. They can sometimes result in locating additional individuals […]
Records, what they contain and how they are created and recorded can change over time. Their organizational structure can change as well. Learn what is different about the records. In one time period there may simply be one ledger or record book for the probate records. At other times there may be a separate set of records for probates and for guardianships and those records may consist of separate ledgers and original packets of records. It could be that later the probates and guardianships are kept in the same set of materials. Things change.
My great-aunt Ruth remembered a cute story that took place in my Mother’s grandparents home when my Mother was a small child. It involved Mom walking around the house and mentioned the northeast bedroom. The northeast bedroom? As I read it, I scrunched my nose and made that face when I am certain that something is wrong. My own grandparents had lived in the same home for thirty years. I had been in it often. There was no northeast bedroom. The entire north side of the house was the living room. Then I remembered. My Grandparents, not needing two downstairs bedrooms and two upstairs bedrooms, had taken down a wall and enlarged the living room. The seeming error in my great-aunt’s story was not an error at all. […]
When deciding which relatives to interview and ask questions of, get outside your “line of descent” and your “immediate family.” Others may have a different perspective, know different details, or not be “afraid” to reveal tidbits that others are hesitant to. Family history remembered and written by nieces and nephews of Nancy Jane (Newman) Rampley indicated that when they’d go to visit her in the home she lived in West Point, Hancock County, Illinois’ after she’d moved “to town,” she’d let them play dress up with clothes in the attic and they generally always had a fun time playing at Aunt Nancy’s. And while I know that all pictures of the era look stern, that’s a really nice contrast to her picture–or maybe not. She could be thinking […]
When you find someone in the census, do you look at the nativity of others on the same or adjacent census pages? How common or unusual was your relative’s place of birth compared to their neighbors? Were they living in a neighborhood where they were in the majority or the minority in terms of place of birth? Was there even a majority in terms of place of birth? If the census asked the question, were most people homeowners or renters? How does your relative’s occupation compare to that of his neighbors? Sometimes the biggest clues about a relative in his census enumeration aren’t on the line that contains his name.
Due to my catching some “bug,” we’ve moved the ThruLines webinar to 17 March at 8 PM central. This delays the release of the recording until the 18th as well. Those who ordered should have received a notice (check your spam folder if you didn’t get it). You can still register for live attendance or pre-order a recording. I’m trying to respond to emails within twenty-four hours.
If your relative was a landowner and you cannot find a deed of acquisition for the property he owned, it is possible that: he inherited the land and there was no actual “deed;” the deed of acquisition was not recorded (possible, but not likely); the property was acquired through a grant that was not recorded with the local land records. Acquisitions through inheritance may be documented in the local will or estate records. Deeds that were unrecorded are often impossible to locate, but consider looking at local real property tax records to determine when the ancestor started paying taxes on the property. Grants may have been colonial, state, or federal records–determine where these records are kept for the location and time period in question. Always ask researchers familiar […]
Many DNA matches took their test because they received it as a gift or had a passing interest in their ethnicity. If you are lucky their tree has at least a few names in it. Remember that what’s in many of those short trees are based upon what the person knew from personal memory or perhaps what close relatives told them. As a result, maiden names may not be correct and may be last names of step-fathers or previous husbands. First names may be incorrect as well. If you are lucky these testers communicate with you and some information can be corrected and the known lineage extended. If they don’t, you are left with what’s in their tree. Be flexible in using the information they have in their […]
Depending upon the time period and the location, it can be difficult to know for certain all the children or siblings of an ancestor. In places where there was no civil or ecclesiastical recording of birth records, knowing “for certain” you’ve got all the siblings can be a challenge. Probate records often don’t mention pre-deceased children if they left no descendants of their own. Some children may have life spans that don’t include a census year. Some families may not mention children who died young–not because of shame, but because of emotional upset. Always look at birth dates of children and see if there’s a gap–there might have been children that simply migrated away and are accounted for, some might have died young, there might have been miscarriages, […]
Sometimes it is faster to take notes on paper with pencil. Using a map as a backdrop for your notes can be helpful when people move all over or live in more than one place. But preserve those notes. File them digitally with images of other records Your notes can be just as valuable as the records you have located–particularly if your analysis, interpretations, and ideas for further research are included on those notes
It’s best to be subtle when contacting DNA matches that are the result of an unexpected parentage. Lying is never advised, but it’s good to remember that the person you are contacting may have a different reaction than you to finding out that a near relative had a child that no one knew about. Even if you think you know the probable connection, it might be best to initially indicate that you are trying to determine the relationship more precisely than the results page indicates. And there is still no guarantee that you will ever get a response. If the individual’s tree is public, you might even want to take screen shots or save their information just in case they decide to make the tree private or take […]
There are numerous online “trees” that indicate my great-grandmother’s middle name was Ioan. It was not. It was Iona. Most of the trees list it as Ioan–one typographical error was multiplied over and over. One compiler apparently decided Ioan was a typographical error–only to “correct” it to Joan. Just because most trees have a “fact” does not mean that fact is right. See where they got it if possible. And if you differ with them…just make certain that you have records that are consistent with what you are stating to be true.
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