When was the last time you visited the state or provincial archives website for the locations where your ancestor lived? There could easily be new material there since your last visit or merely something you notice now that you did not see the last time. Made some interesting discoveries myself on the Alberta Provincial Archives website which prompted this post. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Don’t assume your ancestor didn’t get a “federal stimulus.” Is it possible he (or his widow) got bounty land for military service or a widow’s pension? As time went on and there were fewer veterans or individuals who could qualify, the rules for eligibility were relaxed. And stories of war service are not always passed down from one generation to another. One War of 1812 widow in my family had a wonderful bounty land application documenting her marriage and her deceased husband’s military career. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Can’t find anything on an occupation? Consider typing it into Google Books-http://books.google.com. You may discover more than you realized. Also consider typing it into Google Images http://images.google.com ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Don’t forget that business records (funeral homes come to mind) are private records. They don’t have to show you what they happen to have kept from the 1930s or before–or any time for that matter. Private business records are just that. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Starting in June, we’ll be offering a twice monthly version of Casefile Clues for beginners. Check it out. We are offering trial subscriptions and more details on the site below. http://blog.casefileclues.com/2011/05/casefile-clues-for-beginners.html Visit the Casefile Clues blog for further updates. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When was the last time you reviewed a conclusion you reached a year ago? Two years ago? Is it possible you made a mistake? Were you using limited references? Is it possible that new records or indexes have come online that might give you more information and cause you to re-evaluate your conclusions from years ago? A correspondent a few months ago asked me about a person I had researched five years ago. She questioned the person I thought was the father of the common ancestor. In looking over her research, I ended up agreeing with her conclusion, but for different reasons than she gave. Review what you’ve done before–the perspective of time may give you cause to change your conclusions. Or not. But it never hurts. ———————————— […]
Remember that witnesses to a will usually cannot benefit from the will or from the estate. The same is true of appraisers. A brother usually could witness a will–if the testator had a wife and children, the brother wouldn’t have an interest in the estate. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember that transcribers of records are supposed to copy a record or a source the way it is written–not what the record “should” say. If grandma’s name is Susannah and her marriage record lists her as “Susan,” transcribe it as “Susan.” If grandma gave the wrong place of birth on her marriage record don’t “fix it” when you make the transcription, copy it as it is on the record. You can (and should) make a notation somewhere that the information is incorrect, and state how you know it is wrong. But don’t edit and correct what was on an original record. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
It may be difficult, but remember when reading or analyzing any document that unless it was created during your lifetime, there might be some cultural, historical, economic, or legal events impacting that document or causing it to be created. Don’t interpret a 19th century document with a 21st century mind. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember that everyone was a beginning genealogist at one point or another. You may have to be patient with someone who is just learning. An extra dose of patience may be necessary if you are both researching a family where people married more than once, had spouses with similar names, etc. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
A land warrant usually means that someone is entitled to a certain acreage of property, without giving any real specifics about where that property is. Warrants are issued for several reasons, with the most common reason being a reward for previous military service. A land patent transfers title to a specific piece of property to an individual. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
10 is the lucky number. The first ten responders to this offer can get a year of Casefile Clues for $12. After 10 have been sold, we’ll stop taking orders. Follow this link to process your order and see if there is still time.There is more information on my weekly newsletter at http://www.casefileclues.com.Good Luck! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Sometimes it can be difficult to get the wrong name out of your head–especially when you have only one spelling or rendering of the name to go on. I was stuck on Emma Olenbaugh. She was only found in one census record. Turns out Olenbaugh was not her last name–Osenbaugh was. Could a change in one letter make all the difference? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I’m not talking about a chisel. Think about how great-grandpa’s information got on his tombstone. Someone thought they knew when he was born and so they told the guy who made the stone. Probably that same person provided the death information. If the stone was put up years after great-grandpa died, it is possible the stone has the wrong date of death. And the date of birth could be wrong as well. Tombstones are usually primary sources for the date of death, unless you can clearly tell it was erected years after the person died. The main thing is to transcribe it exactly as it is written. Your discussion of why you think it is wrong, right, etc. should be done in your notes. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s […]
Ancestry.com, WorldConnect, FamilySearch, and a variety of other sites have submitted family trees. Virtually all of them contain errors. Some of them contain many errors. But don’t ignore them completely. Sometimes even a very careless researcher stumbles upon something that we have overlooked. Don’t take anything in the online trees without documenting it elsewhere, but consider the fact that one of them may have the clue that you need. And some of them may raise your blood pressure when you see the errors. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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