If you are stuck on a record, learn something about every person named on it, particularly those who you do not think are related. Witnesses and other people mentioned in the document may provide clues to your ancestor and his life. It is not always necessary to learn complete life histories about everyone name on a document, but some research on others named cannot hurt. If your ancestor signed a deed, who were the witnesses, who was the notary or Justice of the Peace in front of whom your ancestor acknowledged the record? Finding out a little about the others named in the record may help you learn more about the record and your ancestor. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Many local records are unindexed. Often these materials are organized chronologically, by the date of the event. There may be indexes, but they may cover a small time frame, perhaps one index per year or an index for every ten years. In these cases, it will be necessary to estimate the date of the event–birth, marriage, death, etc. Before searching these records, use other materials to estimate the date of the event. It may be possible to narrow down the range of years before a manual search is conducted. And remember, that not every set of records has an index…and even though new indexes are being created to some records, it may not be for the ones you need. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the […]
Happy New Year to Genealogy Tip of the Day fans and followers. I don’t really make New Year’s resolutions–but this might be a good general suggestion: For any brick wall ancestor, problem family or research challenge, make a list of your assumptions about the ancestor, their family, their lifestyle, etc. Writing down all your assumptions may be just the trick to get around your problem. And it’s an easy resolution to keep! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
January 1 was not always the start of the new year. If you are unfamiliar with Old Style and New Style dates and the calendar change of 1752, take a visit here http://www.cree.name/genuki/dates.htm. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Do not forget that your ancestor might have had military service outside the major conflicts. He could have easily been a volunteer soldier before the Civil War, after the War of 1812, etc. Don’t assume that military records only revolve around the major conflicts. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you ask another genealogist for their advice, remember that they are one person and they can make a mistake. However, if four independent experienced researchers tell you the same thing about a record or a source, it might be time to admit they are correct–even if they disagree with you. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
You can get two free samples of my genealogy subscription newsletter Casefile Clues, by “ordering” them here. Click “checkout.” You will NOT be asked for anything other than your email for the download link. The two copies are free. You can put your real name or call yourself Bugs Bunny if you’re more comfortable with that. The download is free, does not require a PayPal account, or a credit card. There is more about Casefile Clues at http://www.casefileclues.com ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I first worked on my children’s Belgian ancestors years ago. When using the vital records from the 19th century, I used them the way I had other European records from the same time span. I looked in the “book” for and read through the entries for the years I thought included the person’s birth date. Then, if I had the correct person and had the names of the parents, I scanned the years before and after the birth to locate siblings. Imagine my surprise when I found indexes interspersed in the records. I had never encountered those before. While indexes are not perfect, they would have saved me a great deal of time. Moral-the first time you use any “new” record, familiarize yourself with the whole thing first, […]
We have released details of our August 2012 group research trip to the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, 1-5 August. Join us! Details are here http://www.casefileclues.com/acpl2012.htm ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Records related to an ancestor’s involvement in the military may take the form of service records or benefit records. Service records were those records created during the person’s actual service and relate to their service, when they were mustered in, their physical description, when they were mustered out, where they were assigned, and other information from records created during their service. Benefit records are records typically created after service related to benefits that were given to or were dur to the serviceperson as the result of their service. Those records, in the United States at least, are typically pension records and sometimes records of bounty lands that were awarded to the serviceman. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
This is just a test tip to see if things are fixed after Facebook messed up on me yesterday–there’s not really a tip here. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Don’t take “the courthouse burned” to mean that every record before that point in time was destroyed. It might be that in reality, records from some offices survived, some offices’ records were not completely destroyed, etc. In some cases, records might have been “re-recorded” after the fire. There may also be state or federal records that provide similar information. Ask around. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
For the next few days, I have been banned from posting to Facebook. I tried to enter in the “security capture” code and it kept telling me I was wrong. I guess I messed it up too many times–even though those things are occasionally impossible to read. Feel free to complain to Facebook about the Security Capture code. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Every census has an official census “date.” This is the date, as of which, all questions are to be answered. The problem is that sometimes the census is not taken on that date and people confuse the “real” date with the “census” date. And some genealogists forget that the date the census information was gathered, which is sometimes listed on the page, is not necessarily the census date. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Do you know how to make your genealogical software give you a list or report of all people in your database born in a certain location in a certain time period? If you have not learned how to “mine” your own database, find out. Lists of this type can be helpful when searching for additional information. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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