We’ve announced the details of my annual trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City–27 May through 3 June 2020. Details are on our announcement page.
The middle entry on this page of 1838 baptisms from Aurich, Germany contains the entry for my ancestor. The fourth column contains the names of the sponsors. When I was trying to analyze the entry for my relative I thought the symbol in the middle red circle on the image were a part of the entry. Then I looked at the other two entries on the image I made and realized that the items in the circle were partially used to number each entry and were not a part of the names of the sponsors. If I had only copied the entry for my ancestor and not other entries on the same page, I might have missed that. Don’t copy only the entry of interest on a page […]
Children were not always named immediately. While modern practice is to name children at birth (if not before), this was not always the case for one reason or another. It is not uncommon to see “unnamed” or “baby” as the first name on a birth certificate. A couple may have waited until they could arrange for a christening to name the baby, because they could not decide, or other reasons. This post on our sister site looks at possible unnamed children in the 1880 United States census.
Sometimes you simply won’t find the record you want. Clark Sargent died in the late 1840s, probably in Winnebago County, Illinois. A genealogy of his family written approximately fifty years later gives a year of death, but it is unsourced. I have no reason to doubt what that book says as it is consistent with county records, census records, etc. But just because it fits doesn’t necessarily mean it is correct either. It is too early for a death record in Illinois. There is no probate (I looked). He owned real estate, but there is no guardianship for his children (I looked). The land records for his real estate mention nothing of his death–but that’s typical. There is no apparent tombstone, but one could be buried somewhere. It […]
Congressional townships were used in Federal land states for surveying purposes. Civil townships are used for governmental purposes. In some places their borders will be the same. Congressional townships are numbered using base lines and meridians within each state that was a Federal land state. Civil townships have names depending on the whims of early settlers.
This session will provide an overview of the records to expect at the typical United States county courthouse–focusing on local vital, court, probate, and property records. It includes: a general overview of the general types of records to expect, use of indexes and finding aids; how to organize your searches and set a search strategy, preparing for an onsite visit. Geared towards advanced beginner and beginning intermediate researchers. Michael has been researching his own genealogy in American courthouses since the 1980s (since he was thirteen) and is an experienced courthouse researcher. The presentation and handout can be ordered for immediate download via the following link: order at the intro rate of $19.99 through 11:59 pm on 27 September
There is no date listed for the estate sale of Thomas J. Rampley in Coshocton County, Ohio. However, a review of other materials recorded with that estate sale suggested the date of the sale was August or September of 1823. The precise date was not crucial to my personal research, but if it had contained the last reference to Christianna Rampley, Thomas’ wife, then it would have been. Because I inferred the date of the sale from other records, I need to include that reasoning somewhere when I use it. That’s what was done on the image that is a part of this post. My citation is not perfect (it’s missing the date I downloaded the image), but other key elements are there even if the format and […]
The word “moiety” generally means half of something. The word is often used in real estate documents to indicate a half-interest in a piece of property.
Affidavits and other witness-type statements can indicate how long a witness has known the person they are vouching for. This can be a clue as to residences, moves, etc. Charles Hartsell in this 1907 statement suggests that he has lived in the following places: until 1875 in Mercer County, Illinois; from 1875-1901 in Union County, Iowa; 1901-1902 (approximately) in Stafford County, Kansas; 1902 (approximately)-1907 Pratt County, Kansas. Hartsell has known the Goin witness for 15 years and the McMillan witness for 3 years. Both indicate that in 1907 they were living in Stafford County, Kansas. Based on the time frame, McMillan became aquainted with Hartsell when they both lived in Stafford [corrected to Pratt] County. Goin apparently knew Hartsell when Hartsell lived in Union County, Iowa. In this […]
Property can escheat to the state when there are no qualified heirs to someone who has died and that person has left no will. State statute defines who qualified heirs are. A man died in Bedford County, Virginia, in the late 1700s with only natural children and no will that was admitted to probate. His two hundred acre farm was going to escheat to the state until the natural children petitioned the Virginia legislature to prevent it from happening. State statute did not allow natural children (those born outside of marriage) to automatically inherit from their father.
I’m transcribing a will from Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the mid-18th century. The handwriting is difficult to read. One way is to try and force yourself to figure out every word in order and struggle with them without reading the entire document. That’s a mistake–particularly when something is a challenge. Instead try and get as much of it as you can by doing a “relatively quick sweep.” Don’t read too quickly, but get the words you can and move on. Put brackets in those places you can’t immediately read and go forward. Sometimes reading more will help you read earlier parts of the document either because the handwriting is better or the same phrase is repeated to where it “clicks.” Then go back. Try reading it out loud. […]
A courtesy is, generally speaking, a showing of politeness from one person to another. Curtesy is different. Curtesy is the potential life interest or life estate that a husband may have in the real estate of his wife after her decease. If you see a husband on a deed relinquishing his right of curtesy, it suggests that the wife was the one in the marital couple who obtained the property. And determining how she did that (purchase, inheritance from family member, via a previous husband) could provide genealogically relevant information.
This session (attend live on 25 Sept at 8 pm central time or pre-order download) will provide an overview of the records to expect at the typical United States county courthouse–focusing on local vital, court, probate, and property records. It will include: a general overview of the general types of records to expect, use of indexes and finding aids; how to organize your searches and set a search strategy, preparing for an onsite visit. Geared towards advanced beginner and beginning intermediate researchers. Michael has been researching his own genealogy in American courthouses since the 1980s and is an experienced courthouse researcher. This session will be held on 25 September 2019 at 8:00 pm central daylight time. You can register for live attendance (handout included) or pre-order a download […]
Admittedly it can be difficult to find newspaper references to people when only their last name is mentioned. Chances are when that happens there are other identifying clues to help you find the person. Most commonly those are occupation or a geographic location. While the newspaper reference may appear vague, there were probably enough clues for contemporary readers to determine the identity of the individual. The problem is that one hundred and thirty years later those clues may not be known to the researcher.
I’ve stopped sending immediate requests for “tree access” from those whose trees are private. There are reasons a person might want to make their tree private. I’m not certain this approach will garner any more success than I have currently had, but it’s worth a shot. What ideas have you tried? Hello. You and I are a DNA match and Ancestry.com suggests that we are connected through James and Elizabeth (Chaney) Rampley who were married in Ohio in 1830 and came to Illinois where they died in the 1880s. My connection is through their son Riley who died in 1893 and served in the Civil War. I’m trying to sort out my matches and wondered if the connection was correct and which child of James and Elizabeth you […]
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