Posts in May 22, 2023

Local courthouse records often contain references to an individual acknowledging a document, witnessing a document, being a bondsman, and the like. Keep in mind that these references indicate the person was alive on the date they knowledge a document, witnessed a document, were a bondsman, etc. Of course one needs to make certain there were not two contemporary people with the same name living in the same location, but sometimes these innocuous references can help extend a lifespan. Maybe “extend a lifetime” should be replaced with getting a better estimate of their lifespan. At any rate, documents that suggest life may be crucial to your research depending upon what else was going on in the person’s lifetime.