When searching any database, ask yourself: Having answers to these questions will help you to use the database more efficiently.
For the first time ever, we’re offering “Where Did the Farm Go?” as a self-hosted webinar. This presentation discusses ways real estate may have left your ancestor’s possession and how to find those records. Learning how your ancestor’s property passed from their hands has the potential to provide significant genealogical information not always easily obtainable elsewhere. It’s not always as simple as searching for a deed of sale. Not every record can be located easily online and not every transaction was an actual deed signed by your ancestor. Our focus is on United States records from the 17th century through recent times. Detailed handout that parallels the presentation included. Join us live or pre-order: Michael has over thirty years of research experience with land, court, and probate records and […]
There can be much gnashing of teeth about what spelling is “correct.” It is important to remember that 20th and 21st century concerns over spellings and names matching exactly were not a concern in an earlier time. In some places they were not even a concern in the early 20th century. Documents should be transcribed as they are written, even if the name is not spelled “right.” If a census spells great-grandma’s name as “Fany,” that’s how I transcribe the document for my records. Because that is what it said. If my great-grandma’s birth certificate spells her name clearly as “Francis,” then that is what I transcribe the record as. I don’t change it. If great-grandma herself always signed it as Fannie and that’s what most of her […]
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