I was working in some 19th century death records. After some review of the entries from the death register, I was reminded of something that sometimes gets overlooked: What are we actually looking at? In this case, I knew that the entries in the death register were made from the actual death certificates. The certificate number was one pretty obvious clue to that import. Another clue was the consistent nature of the handwriting among several pages of entries. Even if they entries were not made on the same day, they were clearly written by the same person. It is always advised to know what record one is using and if that record fits into a larger record creation process. Knowing what you are using is key to analyzing […]
‘ There is a limit to how far back Autosomal DNA testing can be used to determine genealogical relationships simply because a person gets half their DNA from each parent and the further back you go the smaller the potential share you get from each ancestor. That’s why it’s advised that people have parents and grandparents or other relatives of that generation tested. But are there some cousins who are not quite as distant from your ancestors as you are? My great-grandmother Ufkes has several descendants. Two of them are in their late twenties. One of those twenty-somethings is also her great-granddaughter. The other twenty-something is her great-great-granddaughter. Which would be preferable for testing if you could only afford one test? The great-granddaughter would be preferred as she’s […]
Most deaths are recorded “reasonably close” to when the death took place. Laws regarding the recording of death certificates usually include a time frame in which the death must be reported. Because of this, genealogists usually look for deaths with a close time frame to when the death actually took place. This death from Illinois in 1889 is somewhat atypical. It was recorded over two years later. The August 1889 death was recorded in September of 1891. The date of death is correct as the deceased individual’s probate references the same date. The time lag, as of this writing, is a mystery but serves as a reminder to look beyond when we think an event took place to find its recording.
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