The essentially missing 1890 US census creates a significant record gap for researchers. One way to potentially bridge that gap is to take a deep dive into newspaper records during the 1880-1900 time period for the ancestor in question. While newspapers are not a true substitute for the census (both records have different goals), newspapers can shed light on some family mysteries during this time period. Newspapers can document moves, relationships, vital events and more in your ancestor’s life. They do not provide that one-moment-in-time snapshot of your ancestor’s life, but they can shed some light on your person. Newspapers also may not reference everyone who ever lived in an area–as the census is intended to do–but they do (particularly in rural areas) mention a high proportion of […]
The recorded copy of a document may have several different dates on it. Make certain you understand the purpose of each date and don’t draw incorrect conclusions. Dates may include: Not all documents will have all these dates. Deeds are one document that are often acknowledged in front of an official in addition to being signed by the person executing the deed. The dates may not be the same. Wills often have to be “proved” by witnesses.
For that missing (or not missing) ancestor, do you know where the nearest three of these buildings, geographic features, organizations, social groups, etc. were when your ancestor lived in the area. It could help you through those research road blocks. Things to think about include the nearest three: There are others besides these. In some cases. three may not be enough. In some cases it may be more than you need for effective research. Get your copy of Genealogy Tip of the Day–the book.
Not all homestead applications in the United States were successful. Part of the process of completing the homestead application was to post a public notice that the claim was nearing completion–and often that notice was published in the newspaper. Homestead claims that were completed generated a land patent which transferred title to the claimant. Those patents are indexed on the Bureau of Land Management website (https://glorecords.blm.gov/ ). Claims that were not completed did not generate a patent and consequently do not appear in that website. Incomplete claims are generally not indexed–however they are referenced in the Bureau of Land Management Tract books. The incomplete claim application files are at the National Archives and can contain significant information on your ancestor. One needs the location of where the property was […]
There is my Benjamin Butler and then there are the other ones. Mine was born about 1819 in New York State and is known to have lived in Michigan, Ontario, Iowa, and Missouri (and possibly a few other locations as well). There are other men of that same name who were of about the same age. I’m always encountering them when I’m looking through records on my Benjamin. So I made a list of these other Benjamin Butlers and what I have about them–focusing on those who lived reasonably close to my Benjamin and were of about the same age. I also made a note that there was a Benjamin Butler born in 1818 in New Hampshire who was eventually a governor of Massachusetts. His name comes up […]
Do you have family history items that a distant relative may want? Instead of trying to find someone to take your whole collection of materials, see if there area bits and pieces that a more distant relative may be interested in. I found a third cousin (our second great-grandfathers were siblings) who was interested in some family history pictures I have. Did she want my entire collection of materials? No. But she wanted some of them. And that’s a start.
Internet and digital newspaper searches for individuals with common names can be difficult. John Smiths and Mary Jones are everywhere. Searches for individuals whose last name has another meaning, such as Lake, King, Noble, etc. can be just as challenging–if not more. Elizabeth Lake, William King, and John Noble create their own search problems. For some searches, location keywords based on your ancestor’s life can facilitate finding the person of interest, such as: place of birth (town, county, etc.), place of death, other residences, etc. Names of states or territories may be too common and not effectively narrow your search. Or they might perfect–if just depends. For other individuals, searches that include a specific part of a residence (particularly a street name for urban relatives), an occupation, or […]
When one encounters the phrase “late of Tuckertown” in a legal document, it typically means that the person used to live in Tuckertown–not that the person referenced is dead. “Late of Tuckertown” usually means the same thing is true of “formerly of Tuckertown.” The phrase “late widow of John Jones” may be used to refer to a living woman. Usually in those cases it means that the female to whom it is referring has married again after the death of a previous husband John Jones. Deceased—that usually means dead.
When creating that ancestral chronology, don’t just look at the events in one person’s life. Also include key events in the lives of those close relatives of your ancestor. Births of children and grandchildren may have impacted your ancestor as well as deaths of parents, grandparents, and other close family members. The marriage (or divorce) of a child may have had an impact on your ancestor. Don’t add births and deaths of fifth cousins with whom your ancestor never interacted and think about the reasonableness of the event somehow making a difference in your ancestor’s life. Adding too many events, particularly ones that your ancestor may given only a pass thought to, may clutter up the chronology to the point of making it useless.
I reused a tea bag yesterday. As I started to drink the resulting cup of tea, I realized something. I had become my Grandma Neill. Well not literally and not even figuratively. But in one small aspect I was. And it got me thinking…what a great writing or memory prompt: “What’s one behavior, that if you do it, is quintessentially representative of a certain relative? Or what’s a behavior, that when you do it, reminders you of a specific family member?” For my Mom…it’s when I roll my eyes when someone says something I don’t really approve of, but it’s probably best to keep my mouth shut. I’ll have to think about the others. This may be a good situation where I need to have a notebook or […]
Do you create a genealogy research bibliography for areas where you research? Or are the sources of information for a certain area all in your head? I’m guilty of this as well. I’ve researched families since the early 1980s in the county where I grew up and where most of my family had lived since the 1840s/1850s. But I’ve never even created a crude bibliography of what’s available, where it is, and how to access it. It’s all in my head–where things are at (what things are technically in the wrong office at the courthouse because of space issues), the rough years of various local records, what churches in my people’s past have records (and where they are), what towns have newspapers, and the like. It might do […]
From a while back: I never really did much work on the siblings of great-great-grandma Nancy Jane (Newman) Rampley (1846-1923) and recently decided to focus on her sister, Sarah. Sarah was born in about 1851 in Rush County, Indiana. Obituaries for several of her siblings in the early 20th century indicated she lived in Macon County, Missouri, and was Sarah Graves. Online compilations contained little detail and, without any sources, was somewhat suspect. While it is suggested to research from the present to the past, I opted to research from the past to the present–starting with Sarah in the 1860 census with her parents and moving forward. The short version is that this approach was the successful one. Marriage and census records quickly painted a tentative picture of […]
Keep a document that has a listing of the various ways your various ancestral names can actually be pronounced. A list of spellings is not a bad idea either but knowing various ways a name could have been said can be helpful as well.
All dogs bark. Things that bark grow on trees. Therefore, dogs grow on trees. Always read over your logic and reasoning used to reach a conclusion. Also make certain you understand definitions of words and the context in which they are used. Genealogical records are full of legal and esoteric words more nuanced than “bark” and it can be easy to confuse them. Avoid barking up the wrong genealogical tree–check your reasoning and your definitions.
Are you aware of the local geography where your ancestor lived? Having access to maps is a great help, but having a certain amount of information “in your head” can save time. For your city ancestors do you know the “name of the neighborhood” (if there was one)? Do you know names of nearby neighborhoods and towns? How close did your family live to the line that divided one city from another? For rural ancestors the same thing applies? What were the names of adjacent townships? How close were they to the county line? Did they live in a part of the county that had a nickname (perhaps based upon where most residents were originally from)? Failing to know some local geography may cause you to look in […]
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