As I looked through the list of graduates from the 1926 class of Loraine (Illinois) High School, I noticed one thing immediately: five of them apparently preferred their middle name over their first name. It was interesting that the middle initial was even used and not omitted entirely but perhaps someone felt that at least some homage needed to be paid to their entire name. Is that name you have for an ancestor actually a middle name? Are they occasionally lurking in other records under their first name? Sometimes we are fortunate enough to know a person’s actual first name. Other times we are not.
If accessing a court case is a part of your genealogical research, make certain you have accessed any records of summons or “appearance in court” requests that were issued. These items, typically addressed to a local sheriff, may help indicate when and where someone was living in a specific location. In the case of the illustration, the summons indicated that several of the defendants were not living in the state of Virginia in early 1830 when the summons was issued.
Join me live or get the recording for “More AI for Genealogy” on 17 November! Details on our announcement page.
Some census takers were plain lazy, some couldn’t spell, and some didn’t care. After you have exhausted all the variations on your ancestor’s first and middle names, consider that they might have been enumerated with just their initials. Or perhaps their first initial and their middle name spelled out. I have seen entire townships where no one apparently had a first name and everyone was named with their initials. I have seen locations where census takers used initials for non-English names instead of trying to spell them correctly. Maybe your ancestor was enumerated as J. Smith in the 1860 census. Now there’s a real problem.
Join me for one of these research trips in 2025: Library of Virginia FamilySearch Library Allen County Public Library
From a while back… In some cases the latest transcription of something might not be the best. If you’ve seen a published book of tombstone inscriptions from the 1990s, you still might want to look at that book of transcriptions done in the 1940s. Stones might have been more legible in 1940, some might not have been readable at all in 1990. That book of transcribed marriage records in the 1930s might contain handwriting interpretations with different renderings of certain words. The ink might not have been as faded in 1930 as it was when a later transcription was done. And the transcriptionist from 1930 might have been more familiar with local names than was the 1980 era transcriptionist. Do not always assume the latest publication is the […]
This was one of the most enjoyable presentations I have given in thirty yearsWe had a great live session for what’s one turned out to be one of our most popular presentations!We focus on making AI your virtual research assistant and getting away from the AI hypeGet in on the funClear explanationsIntroductory price of $18 (download immediate) Regular price will be $25.Focus is on research, not on cuteness or creating clearly fake images We will focus on responsibly and creatively using ChatGPT for genealogy with a focus on sound genealogy methodology. Our presentation will be practical, down-to-earth, and usable. There’s more to using AI than simply having it generate a family history. That’s not what will we do in this presentation. We will look at a variety of ways to […]
You make a discovery. A relative sends you a cache of record copies. You finally get a copy of that elusive relative’s pension file. And then it happens: life. When you return to your genealogy research, do you go back to those things you were working on when life interrupted? Or do you start on new projects? What un-utilized discoveries are sitting in your files? I received copies of the entire military pension file for an uncle who served in the Civil War from Missouri. It contained several good nuggets of information that I started to organize. Then life happened several times and apparently when I returned to my research, I had forgotten all about the pension file. I picked up my research with another family and only […]
Your relative, when providing you with oral family history information, may easily get events in the wrong order. The details they remember, with the exception of the order in which they happened, may be perfectly correct. The order in which things happened usually does matter, but it can be easily for someone to confuse the order of events. If two events are completely unrelated to each other, it can be even easier to confuse the order in which they happened. When talking to a relative, focus on what they can remember. If the order in which things happens seems a little wonky, concentrate on getting as much information as you can from the person and recording their rendition as accurately as you can. Places, names, and relationships are […]
If a document refers to your ancestor as the lessor on lease–he owns the property that is the subject of the lease. If your ancestor is referred to as the lessee, she is the person being given temporary use of the property. The lessor owns it, the lessee borrows it–generally speaking.
I had more fun with this presentation than I have had with one in a long time. There are many ways that AI (Chatbots and the like) can be used for genealogy research. Instead of generating unrealistic historical images or creating made up historical narratives, I chose to use it as an actual research assistant by having it do mundane tasks that are tedious and time consuming. AI generated content still needs to be critiqued, analyzed, and not taken as genealogical gospel. But as someone whose researched for thirtysome years, the things it can do are exciting. We’ll show several examples, provide ideas for how to effectively utilize AI, and thoughts on what else can be done. You’ll be busy after the presentation working on your own ideas. […]
For your brick wall ancestor, can you name at least five people who are in his group of associates, neighbors, and friends who are not related by blood or marriage to your ancestor? Might be a good exercise. You don’t have to name them here.
I’ll be giving an all-day seminar on 16 November 2024 (via Zoom) for the Kenton County Public Library in Covington, Kentucky. Attendance can be remotely via Zoom–at no charge. This workshop will feature 4 sessions on a variety of topics. See the Preliminary Schedule below 9:45 Zoom Opens 10a Meeting announcement and introductions 10:15a- 11:15a Session 1: Documentation Roadblocks on the Information Superhighway 11:15a-11:25a break 11:25a-12:25a Session 2: Where Did the Farm Go? 12:25a-1:15p Lunch Break 1:15p-2:15p Session 3: Finding Barbara’s Beaus and Gesche’s Girls 2:15p-2:25p break 2:25p-3:25p Session 4: Is Your Process the Problem?
Try and determine where your relatives got the names for their children. Sometimes this can be difficult to determine (or even guess at) and there is no way to know for certain. However, looking for repeated names or using children’s names as clues may possibly jump start your research. Names are hints as to relationships. Usually they are not evidence. In this family names that cannot be assigned to the mother’s family or politicians may have something to do with the father’s family. Maybe.
Two excellent ways to strengthen your research is to write it up and to cite what you write. It is especially true on a person or family that is giving you difficulties. Write for an imaginary reader that does not know anything about the family. Explain what you know, how you know it, and where you got it. Give reasons for your conclusions. Have a source or reference for every statement of fact that you make. Re-evaluate those statements you can’t document. Writing for someone else to read and understand often helps us to get at errors or omissions in our research. Citing our sources frequently does the same thing. You don’t have to be as dogged as Riley in citing your sources, but some attention to them […]
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