The 1956 newspaper reference indicated that the Cecil Neill family of Topeka, Kansas, visited his mother in West Point, Illinois. The only problem was that it was not Cecil Neill. It was Herschel. Cecil Neill never left Hancock County, Illinois, and did not have children named Carol and Charles. Come to think of it, Herschel’s son was actually named Robert Charles and this is the only reference I can remember seeing where he was not called Robert or Rob. It is easy to see how names can be confused. The writer of the West Point gossip was from West Point and would have been familiar with all of Fannie Neill’s children and could have easily have gotten them mixed up. Charles was also the first name of Fannie […]
Some database search interfaces will return results for Bill, Will, Billy, and William when “William” is the actual search term–as long as the user indicates they do not want an “exact” search. In a similar fashion, Maggie and Margaret will be returned when “Margaret” is entered, a search for Elizabeth will bring up the variants on that name, and so on. Some sites preform searches in this manner by default and if the user wants to only find William–then the website needs to be told to perform an exact search only. Some sites do not offer this flexibility at all. One of my favorite newspaper sites does not automatically find Sam when Samuel is entered as the search term and there’s no magic “inexact” button to hit to […]
Family reunion announcements can provide more than lists of names and can help track family members who may not be mentioned in other records. Names may be grouped by family unit or by town where relatives are living. City of residence (if given) can be helpful in tracing individuals who moved frequently. “Non-relatives” may be friends or significant others of family members. A reunion notice may be one place to get a potential clue as to a husband or wife’s name. Relationships are not usually stated and attendees may be related by biology, marriage, or close friendship. Sometimes it is interesting to notice who never attends as well.
This now obsolete “residency status” was used in England, Ireland, Great Britain, United Kingdom, etc. until 1914 when legislation making naturalization easier caused it to fall from use. By default, it was also used in the American Colonies until the American Revolution. Being granted the rights of a denizen allowed an immigrant to have certain limited rights of citizenship without giving that immigrant full citizenship rights. For those in the Americas the right that mattered most was the ability to own land and vote. Denizens could not inherit land or hold political office. Becoming a denizen was easier than becoming a naturalized citizen. Get Genealogy Tip of the Day–the book–today!
Information from those “county mug books” published in the United States in the late 19th century typically came from the biographee or their family. Sources were not checked and information was not validated. This does not mean that it is incorrect, but it does mean that the researcher should try and validate the information with other sources. The biography is a derivative source for the information it contains because it is a compilation from a variety of sources–most likely the family Bible, other records the family may have had in their possession, and memories. Where the family got the information cannot be determined from the biography itself. The best way to use the biography is as a springboard to additional research. One approach is to create a chronology […]
We’ve released the recorded version of our 2020 “Genealogy Brick Walls from A to Z” webinar. There’s more information on ordering on our announcement page. Individuals who did not receive pre-ordered recordings should contact me at the email address given in their receipt.
Through the late twentieth century, and even afterwards in certain circles, newspapers often mention women without stating their given name. Mrs. Thomas Smith may be the only way your great-grandmother is referenced in social columns of her local newspaper. Sometimes the use of the husband’s name changed if the husband died or the couple divorced, but not always. It’s not just women who may be mentioned in a newspaper account without their name being given. My grandfather is mentioned in a 1950 era newspaper account of a family trip as the “brother-in-law without his first name being mentioned. Fortunately other family members are mentioned in the write-up. All of which reminds us from a research standpoint of the importance of searching digital images of newspaper for the names […]
…then give a reason. I just read an article in a genealogical periodical where many of the individuals listed were had a year of birth as “born say’ and then the year. Some individuals had a place of birth that was “probably born in” and then a location. There may be a valid reason for the year of birth that was estimated. There may have been a valid reason to believe the individual was born in a certain location. But those reasons should be provided. “Thomas Smith was born in say 1800 based upon his being married in 1825.” “Susan Anderson was probably born in Jackson Township, Coshocton County, Ohio, based upon her her father owning a forty acre farm there at the time of her birth.” Someone […]
This 1951 writeup is a great one to remind of two important things when making any transcription. Transcribe as written and do not add details to the transcription itself. The last sentence contains a major genealogical error. “Sisters” should be replaced with “daughters.” My transcription should indicate “sisters [sic],” indicating the error was in the item originally. The second reminder is that any clarification attempts should be made outside the transcription of the document. In this case the actual names of the women mentioned might be helpful. My transcriptions usually begin with <begin transcription> and end with <end transcription>. What is between those items is the transcription only, anything after the transcription was not a part of the document–my notes, clarifying details, analysis, etc. There are other notations […]
Get ready for research in 2021 with our “Brick Walls from A to Z” webinar on 15 December at 1:00 pm central time. More details are on our announcement page.
A person of interest was found in an 1850 census enumeration. The difficulty is that the enumeration for the county contains no geographic subdivisions other than county. To somewhat narrow down the part of the county in which the person of interest lived, I’ve chosen a few heads of household on the same (and previous and subsequent pages) who have real property values listed in an attempt to find what part of the county they lived in. If they’re in the same portion of the county, then that’s probably where the person of interest lived at the time of the enumeration since the census taker likely listed the names in the order in which they were actually visited. My analysis of why I think he lived where he […]
Our ancestors are no better than us. Have you ever given incorrect information on a record or document–either intentionally or unintentionally? Did great-grandma treat that application for a Social Security number in 1940 the same way you treated that first job application you filled out? We don’t always get things right. We make mistakes. We provide details that are not correct. It shouldn’t be a big leap to see that our ancestors might have done the same thing. Get Genealogy Tip of the Day–the book today!
If a legal document for a married woman refers to property as her “separate property,” it could have been property she had before the marriage or something she obtained during the marriage. Often this separate property was obtained from an inheritance, but not always. When seeing this reference, determine how the property was obtained–starting with land and estate/probate records. Indicating that a property was a married woman’s separate property was usually done to prevent the property from being sold to pay the husband’s debts or otherwise being “wasted” by him. It’s possible that a married couple may set aside property as separate property for the wife during their marriage in order to try and prevent it from being used to pay for the husband’s debts or in a […]
Is it possible that your relative appears in a city directory for a town in which he does not live? The 1950s era city directory for Rock Island, Illinois, includes a number of references for individuals who worked in the city but did not live there. Not all directories include references such as these, but don’t assume your relative would not be listed in a directory for a town where she never lived.
Many of our forebears had a side hustle in addition to their main job or occupation. Sometimes it can be difficult to document these activities. Two generations of my Ufkes ancestors sold Pioneer seed corn to supplement their farm income. My knowledge of my grandfather’s having done it was simple: I was aware of it. There were also pictures of seed plots and other visual evidence documenting the connection–including a few pencils with their names on it that were used for advertising. They also occasionally advertised in the local newspaper. My grandmother Neill, who sold “farm-fresh” eggs for years, occasionally advertised her chickens in the classified ads section of the local weekly newspaper. Newspapers are a great way to document some of these activities–particularly sections devoted to advertising. […]
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