Sometimes you simply won’t find the record you want. Clark Sargent died in the late 1840s, probably in Winnebago County, Illinois. A genealogy of his family written approximately fifty years later gives a year of death, but it is unsourced. I have no reason to doubt what that book says as the date is consistent with Clark’s disappearance from county records, census records, etc. It’s also consistent with when his wife married again. But just because it fits doesn’t necessarily mean it is correct either. It is too early for a death record in Illinois. There is no probate (I looked). He owned real estate, but there is no guardianship for his children (I looked). The land records for his real estate mention nothing of his death–but that’s […]
I’m “stuck” on my Thomas Chaney who died in 1856 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. In reviewing my material on him, I realized that I have several of his children who I have not tracked down. Of his nearly ten children who grew to adulthood, I have significant information on the descendants of one and a scattering of information on descendants of one other. Maybe it’s time to research his children more fully than I have in hopes of locating more on him.
Have you talked to every possible relative who may have information or know something about your family history? If you think you are the last person in your family, are you really the last one? You may be…but it’s possible you are not as well. The list of people of whom you can ask questions starts with parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. If they are not alive, do they have any siblings (full, half, or step)? If there are no siblings, do they have any first or even second cousins to whom you can reach out? Any of these individuals may know something of your family history, have access to pictures or family history ephemera, or remember information about your closer family members. This also applies to a lesser […]
Reviewing the whole census page is not just about locating other people with the same last name who were neighbors. Looking at the whole page gives you an overview: –occupations in the location –family structures in the location–many had extended family or boarders –migration patterns into the region –home ownership (if the census year is right) –other demographic details We don’t look at everyone else on the census page just to find other relatives. We can also get a view of the area as well.
Generally speaking and making some broad assumptions, information on a death certificate does not just come from the “informant.” More than one person provided the information–either directly or indirectly. There is the person who provides the “biographical” information–typically the informant. There is the person who provides the medical information–cause of death, underlying causes (if stated), length of illness (if stated), date of death, perhaps even date and place of death. There is the person who provides the burial, or disposition of remains information. In some places and time periods one person provides all three functions. Even if one person provides all the information, they potentially obtained some information from someone else. The takeaway here is to know how the information got into the record you are using–that helps […]
If an ancestor marries on 1 December 1901 and it is indicated that he was “of legal age,” on that date, then (if 21 is the legal age to marry) he was alive by 1 December 1880. Marrying, buying property, naturalizing, and other “legal acts” require a person to be of age even if their age is not stated in the document. Of course people will lie about their age, but that’s a separate tip.
Do you use your “real” name? Or do you use a diminutive based upon your first or middle name? Do you use a nickname? In the notes section of your genealogy software indicate why you used the name you did. Future genealogists and relatives might like to know why you used it. I have always used Michael, never “Mike.” This is largely because my family always called me Michael and mother always said “if I had wanted him called ‘Mike’ I would have named him ‘Mike.’”. And I always thought Mike Neill sounded too short to be an actual name–at least to my ears–probably the result of being half German where every name needs to be somewhat long and have a lot of consonant sounds. I started using […]
Children were not always named immediately. While modern practice is to name children at birth (if not before), this was not always the case for one reason or another. It is not uncommon to see “unnamed” or “baby” as the first name on a birth certificate. A couple may have waited until they could arrange for a christening to name the baby, because they could not decide, or other reasons. This post on our sister site looks at possible unnamed children in the 1880 United States census.
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