Registration for my trip to the Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, Missouri, ends on 9 September. We are looking forward to this trip and would love to have you join us.
From a while back… Years ago after a presentation, a gentleman came up and told me that I should not suggest people rely on census records or other “secondary records” for information. While census records can be incorrect and information that’s secondary can be suspect, sometimes it is all that we have. My ancestor, Ellen Butler was born in Missouri in the 1850s. Her family moved frequently, did not attend any church that kept records, there is no family bible that I can find, and she died before there was vital registration of deaths as well. While I keep looking for a “better source” of information, there’s probably never going to be anything other than a few of census enumerations to estimate her year of birth. Of course […]
Overwhelmed by common names like Smith or Jones in your family tree? This presentation offers advanced strategies and techniques to help you effectively use FamilySearch’s full-text search and find those elusive ancestors. Full-Texting the Smiths and Jones: Strategies for Common Names Using FamilySearch’s Full-Text search is easier when the name is relatively uncommon. It’s more of a challenge when the last name is Smith, Jones, Brown, or something similarly common. In this presentation, we will look at approaches to maximize the chance you find that common-named person. No approach is full-proof and we will not be so brazen to guarantee success. No genealogist should ever do that. What we will do is help give you some ideas and techniques to give you a better shot at finding your […]
That one record you’ve found, a deed, a death certificate, a will, an estate settlement, probably was created because something else happened. For some documents it may be obvious what caused the document to have been created. But a deed? Why was the property being sold? Was the couple planning to move? Had they fallen on hard times? If a guardianship was filed and the parents were still alive, what was the reason? Was there an inheritance that someone didn’t want a parent frittering away? Always ask if what you are seeing or have located is just the shadow of a larger event. Records weren’t created in isolation. And even if you know what caused a document to have been created ask yourself what other documents might also […]
If you have researched your genealogy for some time, how has your research approach changed? Are you more concerned with citation (you should be—within reason)? Are you more concerned with researching people as completely as you can instead of obtaining as many ancestors and relatives as possible? Are you more concerned about accuracy in your compilied information? Are you more concerned with recording unwritten stories before they are lost? Are you more concerned about perserving information and items past your own wordly existence? And if your research process has changed over time, have you gone back and looked at work you did early in your research to re-evaluate it?
When analyzing a genealogical record, determining if the item being viewed is an original or derivative source is one key component of that analysis. Sources are generally considered “original” if they are in their first form (or an accurate digital reproduction thereof). Derivative sources are ones that are transcriptions of other sources (derivative or not) or are a compilation of information from a variety of sources. Original sources can be wrong or right. The same goes for derivative sources. I once read “typed sources are derivative.” That’s not necessarily true. Marriage records from the late 1700s that are typed are an obvious transcription. A will from 1930 that is typed could very well be the original. The same of a birth certificate from 1930. Handwritten records can be […]
Save 30% on Cyber Monday use code cyber2025. Check out our separate common name search webinar. We’re excited to offer this completely new presentation on the full-text searching at FamilySearch. We’ve redesigned our presentation as this functionality continues to change. And…we’re adding an extensive handout complete with forms to help you find more people. Fully Utilizing Full-Text Search: A New Approach Your purchase includes: We’ll be including and discussing: Determining what is in Full-Text Search—what you can access at home and what you will have to be in a FamilySearch facility or affiliate to access. Seeing How AI Transcriptions are different—they aren’t like the transcriptions made by humans. That can change your approach. Remembering that Full-Text means every word—approaches need to differ as we aren’t looking up a […]
I occasionally use Ancestry’s ThruLines to get a quick suggestion about a DNA match. I always thought that what was in the white boxes of the display of a ThruLines relationship and any relationship connections between boxes all came from me tree. Apparently not. The white boxes in this illustration are all for people who are in the tree tied to my DNA results at AncestryDNA. But I do not show Trientje U. Behrens and Trientje H. Behrens as half-sisters in my tree. Trientje H. is a double first cousin of Trientje U. Behrens in my tree because that’s the relationship between those two individuals. I’ve always confirmed from other sources what was in the gray boxes of a ThruLines match. Now it appears that I’ll now have […]
Different areas can easily have different sources, especially if the “new area” is in a different state, an area with a different population density, an area with a different ethnic background. Never assume what’s available in one area will be available in another. Thinking you know is different from actually knowing. Our revised and expanded full-text searching at FamilySearch webinar has been released and if you pre-ordered, you should have it in your email box. Order today (3 September). It’s the last day to save $10. Details on our site.
If your genealogy “problem” is during a period when railroads were in operation, do you know where the nearest train station was for your ancestor? Do you know nearby stops along the way? People could hop a train to elope, look for work, or simply leave home and never come back.
This presentation has been released and if you pre-ordered, you should have it in your email box. Order today (2 September) and save $10. Details on our site.
Do you know how your favorite genealogy database search site handles names “van,” “de,” “o,” “mc,” and “mac” when they appear as part of a name? Do you get different results when you search for DeMoss versus De Moss? Do you get different results when you search for O’Neill versus ONeill? And what about Van De Walle versus Vandewalle? Might be worth finding out.
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