Always read those “aside” comments that occasionally get made in records. Clerks and records officials don’t add them because they are bored. There is usually a reason and working to determine that reason could lead to additional discoveries. The example in the illustration indicated that the administrator of an estate in Illinois in 1903 wasn’t certain what type of title the deceased held in a certain piece of property, but that he believed it to be a fee-simple title. That uncertainty suggests I look into that piece of real estate and how the deceased came to acquire it. There could be a story there. And if I don’t know what a fee-simple title is I need to look up that detail as well.
The obituary for a relative did not leave out any of her children. It did leave out the first husband from whom she was divorced. It left out the second husband who died a few years into their marriage. It did mention her final husband (who was her third). Sometimes obituaries leave out more than they include. The obituary did include the last names for her children, which (based on the last name of one son) suggested there was at least one relationship other than the third husband. Always transcribe obituaries as written and include them in your records as written. Use them in your research as clues. Do not assume all given facts are accurate and do not assume they are complete. No matter what you call […]
For years, I had difficulties finding the sister of one of my great-great-grandmothers. This sister was born in Indiana in the 1840s. She was living in Missouri in the early 20th century when she was mentioned with her married name in several obituaries of siblings and newspaper references to family visits. One reason I had difficulty locating her was because she had two short-term marriages in the 1865-1880 era. Whether these husbands died young or whether there was a divorce is not yet known, but for some reason these two husbands were not mentioned in family history records. It did not help my research that newspaper references to this relative were only from about 1895 and after–a time frame outside her first two marriages.
A court case I located from Virginia in the 1820s contained numerous depositions and statements made by witnesses. This was common in some cases since it did not require witnesses to attend court on those few times a year when court was in session. The statements were taken at various locations–which was always stated in the initial portion of the document. Those locations are clues and are helpful clues in a time period and place where one does not always know where within a county an individual lived. Individuals who made out statements at the same time in the same place were probably relatively close neighbors to each other. Probably. One should always keep the likely method of transportation in mind as well. Check out our Genealogy Tip of […]
There are other things one can do as well, including learning about the time period and location of the “lost person,” their religious affiliation, occupation, educational level, etc. Genealogy Tip of the Day book is here. Learn more about it and get your own copy.
I’ve had Gmail since 2004. Recently while searching it for some correspondence from a few months ago, I also discovered correspondence with a relative regarding our common ancestors from 2017. There was nothing new in that correspondence that had been neglected, but I did realize that I had lost touch with the relative. Seeing their message reminded me that I had never asked him if our common ancestors had a family Bible of which he was aware. He wasn’t. But I realized that I had written about the sibling of our common ancestor for a recent issue of Casefile Clues and that I should send him that issue along with what I had discovered. I also realized that it might be time to keep a spreadsheet of my […]
In 1762 in Baltimore County, Maryland, the debts of an estate were divided into two categories, sperate and desperate. I was aware of what desperate debts were–unlikely to be paid–and a little bit of critical thinking led me to conclude that sperate debts were the opposite of ones that were desperate. A look at Merriam-Webster confirmed my hypothesis as it referred to sperate as an adjective meaning “giving some hope of being paid.” There were several pages of debts listed due the estate. Fortunately my forebear John DeMoss was in the sperate category. Comments: it’s perfectly fine to not realize you remember what a word means. It’s not perfectly fine to fail to look it up. Google does not like archaic words that differ from a modern word […]
Thanks to everyone who took advantage of our 50% off sale on webinars. We’ve extended the sale for one day–through 11:00 pm central on 24 November. Details are on our announcement page. Thanks!
I’m not exactly certain what happened to this photograph, but it’s now stored in a better place. My digital image of this really does help to preserve the image as the damage only continue to get worse over time and hasten the aging process. The nice thing about making digital images is that they can get an image of a picture that can be frozen in time. My grandmother wrote on the back of this photograph and her “1957 50 yr” makes me think this was taken for their 50th wedding anniversary. Never neglect a clue and never neglect to make digital images of pictures, especially ones that are in danger deteriorating.
Never change the order of any names in a document. Children could (but not necessarily) be listed in order of age in a will. If an older child is listed last in a census enumeration it may mean that they weren’t really living there or had moved back home (or it could just be an “error” on the part of the census taker). Heirs may be listed in order of age on a quit claim deed (or they may not). The order may be a clue, but try and use other documentation to back up any conclusions you make about the order. And remember that order, sometimes like life, may be completely random and meaningless.
Now through 11:00 pm central time on 23 November, we’re offering 50% off any webinar order. Details are on our announcement page. You can also view our list of webinars https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/recent-webinars/ and https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/webinars2021/. Coupon code is Nov2024 or NOV20024.
If you are fortunate enough to have an identified photo, avoid being content with that. Include any additional information you have about the identification with the photograph. That’s what’s has been done with this 1930 picture of the Alfred Rampley family of Alabama. The handwriting is mine, but I had no idea who these people were. My grandmother told me when we went through some of her photographs in the 1980s. Grandma might not even have known the names of all the people in the photograph, just who they were as a group. Alfred Rampley was Grandpa’s first cousin and I doubt if Grandma ever met them. It’s also possible she surmised who they were when we saw the studio’s stamp on the back that indicated where the […]
We’ve released the recording and handout for this presentation. Additional details are on our announcement page. Those who have ordered their copy of “Where Did the Farm Go?” should have received their copy of this presentation. If you did and have not, please email me so I can take care of it.
Guardianship papers can be an excellent place to potentially get the age of a child on a specific date. They can especially helpful in those times and places when birth records are not available. Most guardianship statements of age are not as detailed as the one in the illustration which appears to give the date the child turned a specific age. Earlier records are not as detailed but they can help the researcher to narrow down a range of years of birth for the child. The example is from a guardianship in Adams County, Illinois, in the 1880s. Guardianship records are typically local court records in the United States. They may be kept in a separate series of records or may be recorded with the probate records.
James Shores had to sue the heirs of the estate he was administrator for in Coshocton County, Ohio, in the 1820s. There’s a few lessons we can take from this image of the record copy of his petition to the local court of common pleas. One is that any record can contain an error. There was no son Jeremiah, but there was a daughter Jemimah. Since Jemima was was an heir of the estate and known to have lived long past the time of this court action, it seems reasonable that this reference to Jeremiah is incorrect (it’s also the only record mentioning Jeremiah and leaving Jemimah out). James Shores is actually suing his wife. But he’s not suing her in his own right. He’s suing her in […]
Recent Comments