Charles Brown “chose” his guardian in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in 1766. His choice still needed to be approved the court and, if necessary, post a bond in the amount determined by the court. Charles may or may not have been fourteen years of age on 30 September 1766 when David Jewell was approved by the court as his guardian. The document only says “upwards of 14 years.” Jewel’s connection to the family is not known, but he was not Charles’ step-father. It is possible he was willing to teach Charles a trade, but any apprentice relationship is not stated in the guardianship papers.
Reminder that our genealogy webinar closeout ends 10 Oct–don’t wait. We’ve decided to stop offering most of our older webinars to cut down on server space and so we can focus on other activities and presentations. We will offer support for download issues, but sales will stop at that point. Coupon code for a 40% discount is CLOSE2025. These presentations will no longer be sold after 10 October 2025: Additional content details and ordering information can be found on our website.
It is not always possible to get the precise date of an event. There are places and time periods where just determining the year of birth can be a challenge and researchers may only be able to get a range of years for a birth, marriage, or death. When researching people whose lives were spent in times and places with few records, having a year or a short range of when a vital event probably took place may be sufficient to help you research the person’s children, spouse, and parents. The key is to make certain that you have looked at all available records and that you have not inadvertently merged two distinct people into one individual. It’s also imperative to think about records that may imply an […]
We’ve decided to stop offering most of our older webinars to cut down on server space and so we can focus on other activities and presentations. We will offer support for download issues, but sales will stop at that point. Coupon code for a 40% discount is CLOSE2025. These presentations will no longer be sold after 10 October 2025: Additional content details and ordering information can be found on our website.
In some denominations, the minister would take the church records with him when he moved to another congregation. This is more likely to happen in frontier churches and in denominations that tended to keep less detailed records. Catholic priests tended to not do this, but there are exceptions. As a result, the records may be in the last church the minister ministered at, the hands of a descendant of the actual minister, a local historical society or library that happened to obtain the records, or somewhere else. Any of these places could be quite a distance from where the actual church was located.
We have set the dates for our 2026 trip to the Allen County Public Library’s genealogy collection. Details on our announcement page.
To transliterate something means to write it in the closest possible way using the letters of a different alphabet or script. Sometimes there simply is no way to transcribe every letter of a document as it was written using the keyboard or script of choice. Slight alterations or choices may have to be made. That’s what could done when transcribing this marriage record between a husband and wife with the same last name. Many descendants use the last name Huls, but if I’m trascribing this marriage the way it is written, then it needs to be “”Metha Hüls married Gerjet Meinert Hüls at the Immanuel Lutheran Church.” If I do not have the ability to use an ulmaut on my keyboard, then I could go with “Metha Huels […]
“I had a large client report.” The report, or more accurately the client report, was what was large–not the client themselves. In this case, it is probably pretty clear that the word “large” does not refer to the client themselves. But ask yourself when reading any statement: is there another way to read that? Is there a different interpretation that is reasonable? Don’t get stuck on your first interpretation of a word, phrase, or sentence. Some items genealogists use are poorly edited for clarity, particularly 19th century county histories, “mug books” of biographies submitted by family members, and more newspapers than one may care to admit. If that’s the case, references to certain items may be ambiguous. Always ask yourself: Is there another reasonable way to interpret this?
Charts, Organizational Approaches, and Color Need ideas on how to organize information you already have? We will see how to do that in this informative, engaging, and down-to-earth presentation. Order now and savd $5. Download immediate. Michael John Neill shows a variety of ways to organize information you already have. This presentation is not about organizing the paper and images you have, but the data contained on those pages. Presentation is copiously illustrated with a wide variety of examples. Handout included. Organizing information can be one of the most difficult parts of the genealogical research process. It is also one of the most important. This session is not about organizing the documents, files, and images you have. It is about organizing the pieces of information those materials contain. […]
There’s picture of my grandmother with one of her great-grandchildren on her lap taken at Thanksgiving. You can’t see either of their faces, but it’s clear that Grandma is feeding her something to eat. Sometimes the best pictures don’t always show the faces of the people in them. They tell a story without really letting us know what the individuals actually looked like. And sometimes the documents that provide the biggest piece of genealogical information don’t always make any blunt, in-your-face, direct statements. A man purchases property in his own name in 1821, suggesting he was born by at least 1800. A man sells property in Massachusetts in 1780 and buried in the metes and bounds legal description is a reference to his mother (without stating her relationship), […]
Genealogy methods and process got you confused? Wondering if you are going in circles when you don’t need to? We’ll be offering this new class on genealogy process starting in October. Details in our posting.
Sometimes a tombstone for a married couple will be erected after the first spouse dies. The surviving spouse’s information will be inscribed on the stone–except for the date of death. The surviving spouse may fully intend to be buried there when they eventually pass. But life happens in the interim. That surviving spouse may move, marry again, change their mind about where to be buried, or pass away with no one to care if the stone is completed. A failure to etch the date of death on the stone does not mean that the person is alive. If they are old enough to likely be deceased, it doesn’t mean they are buried there–just that the intent was there when the stone was originally set. Check our my DeedMapper […]
The notice regarding the returning home of the 78th Illinois indicated that they were leaving on the 10th “instant.” That means “this month” and is sometimes abbreviated “inst.” We are excited to offer these two genealogy classes starting in the next few days. Check out details about our offerings:
Witnesses and informants frequently can’t remember specific dates of events. It’s possible that they: It can be difficult sometimes to tell which and it’s best to avoid rushing to judgement. Use any dates in the document itself to establish some broad time frame for when the event could have taken place. Be certain to cite the source and include the name of the known or probable informant. The information can’t be analyzed if you don’t know who gave the information and the circumstances under which it was given. We are excited to offer these two genealogy classes starting in the next few days. Check out details about our offerings:
A first cousin of my great-grandmother disappeared in the 1920s and was last seen in California and Colorado by various members of his family. he was approximately fifty years old at the time of his disappearance. He was never found. The last record he was mentioned in was the estate settlement of his brother. That brother died in the 1940s and his only heirs were his siblings and their children–including the missing brother. The judge overseeing the settlement of the brother’s estate declared the missing man dead in order to complete the settlement of the estate and disburse the balance to his children. The estate settlement contained testimony from the missing man’s children regarding their father’s disappearance and what attempts were made to find him. The court record […]
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