From a while back… We’ve made a list of some assumptions that genealogists make. Here are a few. We will add your suggestions to a longer list which we’ll post later. The county history was right. That my grandparents actually got married. That my grandma was my grandpa’s first wife. That my relative was an immigrant. That my relative was born in the United States. That the entire death certificate was right. That grandma had a tombstone. That my grandparents were buried next to each other. That no one in my family got divorced. That the old genealogy was right–I just haven’t found the proof yet. That my family was never in court. That my family never appeared in the newspaper. Add your own thoughts in the comments. […]
Some relatives are reluctant to talk to the family genealogist for fear that every detail of a family skeleton or scandal will be broadcast for the world to hear. Ask yourself if you really need to know every detail of every family squabble. It may be sufficient to know that two uncles fought over money when their father died and never spoke again. It may be sufficient to know that a mother and daughter didn’t speak for the last twenty years of the mother’s life without going into excruciating detail of exactly what precipitated the falling out. Sometimes, if the person to whom you are talking actually “lived through the family drama,” it may be difficult to get answers to questions because the entire situation is painful. Tread lightly. “Drama” […]
Searching female ancestors in many countries is complicated by the female adopting the last name of her husband at her marriage. Think about those things that do not change when trying to search for that female relative after her marriage: her first and, if she has one, middle names her date and place of birth her parents–she may have lived near them after her marriage. They may have lived with her in their old age. the names of her brothers–she may have lived near them after her marriage the names of her unmarried sisters–they may have lived with her at some point in their lives. All of these can be ways to search finding aids to some records in your attempts to find the missing married female ancestor.
I still have room in both of my group research trips this summer. Our trip does not include a bunch of non-genealogy activities and our registration fees are low. Time away devoted just to research can be a great way to get your genealogy research started. Additional details are on our announcement pages: Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana Family History Library in Salt Lake City
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