Take care when creating citations for church records. In some times and places, one physical volume of church records may be broken into separate sections for various types of pastoral acts or other church records. Each section may have page numbers that start over instead of the whole physical book having one set of page numbers. Scan the entire volume to get a feel for how the material is organized before crafting a citation for a specific entry. The 4th edition of Evidence Explained, section 8.15 contains more detail on books divided into sections that we can discuss in a short tip. Even if you don’t use Evidence Explained, please scan the entire book in which the record was obtained in order to understand it better and create a […]
If you have a hunch of when an event in your ancestor’s life took place–say a year of birth or death–provide a reason for hunch when making a statement about it. Don’t just say “Hinrich Fecht was probably born in 1812.” Say “Based on his age in the 1850 census, Hinrich Fecht was probably born in 1812.” Uncertain statements can be turned into facts by other researchers. There’s no way to stop that. But including your reason for an imprecise statement reminds you of why you made it and tells others how you reached that conclusion as well. And if you have no reason for your “probably” statement about an ancestor…should you really be making it?
In reviewing a twentieth-century family I have not worked on in some time, an obituary had me completely confused. The names of the children were consistent with other records, but the grandchildren and great-grandchildren made no sense to me–at least not using the information I had already located. I put the obituary aside and looked at other records–including earlier obituaries of the family and what vital records could be found online. Going back to the obituary with more details allowed me to develop a hypothesis. It appeared that the obituary writer or editor referred to grandchildren as grandchildren and to step-grandchildren as great-grandchildren. It’s an easy mistake to make, particularly when the person reviewing the information is not personally familiar with the family. The obituary actually referred to […]
DNA tests for genealogical research have been heavily marketed. There are times when they will solve problems–or at least help to solve a problem. But DNA needs to be used in concert with other forms of documentation that researchers have been using for years. And DNA will not necessarily make your genealogical research easy. It will give you one more tool in your research toolbox. DNA will help establish biological connections, but there are a variety of other questions to answer about any individual ancestor. But it is not the only tool.
Today deeds are recorded fairly soon after their execution. That was not the case in the 19th century and before. It was not uncommon for deeds to be recorded several months or longer after they were signed. The risk a person took is in losing the deed before it was recorded as the recorded copy serves as the legal equivalent of the original if it is lost. Deeds that are recorded decades after the fact were frequently recorded then because the purchaser wanted to sell the property or had died and the heirs realized the deed had never been recorded. And remember that deeds are recorded in the order in which they are brought to the records office, not the order in which they were executed.
The bulk of pre-20th century local land records in the United States consist of handwritten transcriptions of original deeds. These deeds occasionally contained errors that were noticed by the clerk making the record copy. The clerk’s job was to transcribe the document exactly as it was written. One way to indicate an obvious error was to underline the apparent incorrect text. In the illustration, a husband and wife are selling property and both sign the deed. But the writer of the deed has written that “he signed” instead of “they signed.” The clerk, noticing the error, still wrote the word “he” because that’s what the deed said. But the word “he” was underlined to indicate that the error was not that of the clerk, but of someone else. […]
I knew my aunt had at least three children in the 1840s in Germany with a man that I assumed was her husband. Turned out he was the father of her children, but that they were not married when some of the older children were born. Because of their parents’ marital status, some of the children used her maiden name as their last name, some used his last name as their last name, and some went back and forth between their parents’ last names. It took me forever to locate one of the daughter’s marriage record as she married under her mother’s maiden name and not the last name of her father.
One reason to track all of a relative’s land transactions is that they can sometimes provide migratory clues. Deeds typically list the residence of the grantor (seller) at the time the deed is signed. For those who may have moved before selling their home or other property, the deed may be one place to get this new residence. It can also help to tie two people of the same name as having lived in different locations. If the text of the deed itself does not indicate where the grantor lived, there still could be a clue. Deeds usually have to be acknowledged in front of an official–typically a notary or a justice of the peace–who usually indicated the county in which they could perform their duties. That would […]
Due to the passage of time, some original records are difficult to read. Writing fades, pages get torn, mice chew on paper, etc. There may have been entries that the indexer or transcriber could only partially read. How are those entries put in the database? Where are they put in a published book? You need to know–because there’s always a chance that partial entry is for your person.
The ideal time to write up your genealogical conclusions, enter your information into your database, or write up and transcribe documents is as you locate them. Or reasonably close after. The information is fresh in your mind and fewer details are apt to be forgotten. While it may be fun to keep gathering, you probably will notice more about what you’ve just found if you record and analyze it relatively close to when you located it. Check out the new Genealogy Tip of the Day book or the return of Casefile Clues.
Even if you think divorce “never happened in ‘our’ family,” check for one anyway. It’s possible the couple divorced and no one in the family mentioned it. It is possible a divorce case was initiated and not completed. It’s possible that there was a court case for “separate maintenance” (where there’s no “divorce,” but the couple lives apart). In all three cases, the testimony and details in the court packets may be similar (particularly in terms of possibly providing a date and place of marriage). Children may or not be mentioned in these cases, particularly if they are of legal age. And it’s possible that there was no court action of any type, but the couple maintained separate households. My great aunt and uncle did that until their […]
Whenever there is an index that I am uncertain how to use, I perform a backwards search. I manually search the records and pick a couple of records or items at random. I note where they are in the records, who they mention, etc. Then I go back to the index and see if I can find the index entry for that record. If I can, then I’m likely using the index correctly and I understand how it works. If I cannot, then there is something I need to figure out before I use the index further. Check out the new Genealogy Tip of the Day book or the return of Casefile Clues.
Military pensions can be a great source of information. Sometimes the clues are blunt and obvious. Sometimes they are a little more subtle. One set of clues that can be helpful is how long witnesses have known the person they are providing information on. In a high proportion of pension applications, the witnesses indicate how long they have known the veteran or the widow. Assuming that information is correct, it can be used to help track the veteran’s or widow’s movements. The start of the association could be because either the witness or the person they are talking about moved in proximity to the other one. Look at the time frame of the association and see if it precedes before the veteran was known to be in the […]
Some handwritten documents are clearly written by different individuals. This 1880-era affidavit in a Civil War pension file made out by John Gililand of Astoria, Illinois, appears to have been written by more than one person–especially when one compares the handwriting above the crossed out portion with the handwriting below it. If transcribing a document, do you indicate if it appears to have been written on by more than one person? Do you indicate when the handwriting appears to change in your transcription? This is one reason why digital images are helpful as they preserve the actual handwriting. Transcriptions are helpful for many reasons, but still having the “real deal” in terms of the handwriting can help with some types of analysis.
When reaching out to a new genealogy correspondent whose depth of interest in family history is unknown, go slow. The temptation can be to overwhelm a new genealogist with details, details, and more details. It takes time to develop an obsession with family history. Share snippets of what you know and be willing to answer questions–and ask if they have questions. It’s great to find a new genealogist, particularly if they are related on a family where few others are interested in your background. Let their interest develop slowly and realize that they may not be at a time in their lives where they can devote as much time to family history research as you can. Nurture them and their interest. There’s time to share your obsession with […]
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