The search conducted was for references to “Neill” that were close to “Rampley.” The results page highlighted the references to the names where two words appeared between them. There’s actually another reference where the names are separated by one word. The reason for the highlighting is buried in the search code used to locate items and pull up the references. The key in this case, as in all newspaper searches where computerized “reading” and “searching” is conducted, is to read the entire page for additional references that may have been overlooked. Figuring out precisely why the specific item was highlighted is left to those with knowledge of the algorithms used to return the search results. This serves as a reminder that things may (or may not) work exactly […]
This record of marriages from Bedford County, Virginia, is apparently a transcription to the actual records. That fact is suggested by the use of the phrase “General Index to Marriage…” at the top of the page. An even stronger bit of evidence indicating that this record was not created contemporary to the events that were taking place is the fact that marriages from the late 18th century are typed into the book. Just because this record is an extraction from the actual record does not mean that it is incorrect or wrong. However, there is always the potential that a name or date has been transcribed incorrectly. When citing this record, I need to indicate that it was not the original record. This record is not a transcription […]
I looked at a postcard that had a postmark from one of the small towns in the county where I grew up. The picture on the card was of a church with a red brick exterior. The seller of the item had assumed that the church was located in the town where the postcard was postmarked It wasn’t. That town had no churches on that street. The red brick exterior was one I thought I recognized as the church I attended as a child. Other features in the photograph were consistent with that identification as well. Don’t jump to immediate conclusions based upon one clue. Look at every clue in a record or document. Think about what those clues tell you and what they do not. The clue […]
Avoid jumping to conclusions based only on one document or record no matter how tempting. Ask yourself: What other “reality” could explain the information I have found in the record? What other records may help provide more information? Is there a simpler explanation? Is there someone else I could ask for their opinion of what I have found? Do I need an answer to the problem “right now” or can it wait? Have I transcribed the records, summarized the information they contained, and written out my conclusions? I used to tell my students “SPR” when they would shout out answers. It stood for “Stop. Pause. Reflect.” That’s good advice for genealogists as well.
Ebay can be a great place to make genealogy purchases or even just to find images of items and materials if the prices are beyond your budget or your genealogy space at home is already limited. I located a picture of an uncle, a fan from a funeral home owned by a cousin, and a postcard containing a picture of the church my 3rd great-grandmother attended in Warsaw, Illinois. It does take some trial and error to get your searches right and sufficiently narrowed. I have better luck searching for locations, last names, historical features, and similar items. Narrowing your searches may be necessary if the locations are heavily populated or the last names are common. Instead of searching for full names, try a last name and a […]
Genealogists rely on obituaries, but remember that they can be incomplete or unclear, especially when the deceased (or their parents or children) have been married more than once. We’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating as many of us utilize obituaries in an attempt to get the “tree” down to as recent a time as possible and to analyze our DNA matches. The obituary for a recently deceased relative indicated they had four siblings. They actually had ten. The only ones listed in the obituary were three full siblings of the deceased and a half-sibling from their mother’s second marriage. That distinction wasn’t made (as it is often not in obituaries). The deceased had six other half siblings through their father. When the obituary is for someone […]
Those large genealogy projects tend to never get done. Instead of thinking about all the family members you want to document or all the family items you have to preserve, start small. I’ve decided to work on documenting the descendants of one set of 4th great-grandparents through their great-grandchildren. It’s a small enough task that it will be easier to manage that tracing down all the descendants through the current time. And it is better than doing nothing. Instead of thinking about all those pictures and other items I have to digitize and organize, I am working on one box and will go from there. One is better than nothing. Getting something done can also be motivation to continue on with other projects. What large tasks on your […]
I’m looking for a man named Johann Michael Senf who was born in Wohlmuthausen, Germany in 1835. He probably immigrated to the United States as his mother and some of his siblings are known to have immigrated after his father’s death. His “call name” (the name he was known by) was likely Michael Senf based on the practice of others from the area where he was from. It is possible though that he used the first name Johann or John upon immigration to the United States. The last name of Senf occasionally gets spelled Zenf and gets read as Serf. I need to conduct searches so that I search for those variants (in addition to other ones): Michael Senf Michael Serf Michael Zenf Johann/John Senf Johann/John Serf Johann/John […]
Recent Comments