If your ancestor signs a deed, find out how old he had to be to execute that document. If an ancestor is on a tax list, does it mean he owned real property, was above a certain age, perhaps even under a certain age. Some records seem to tell very little. If that appears to be the case, find out as much as you can about why the document was created, who was “eligible” to be on the document, if the order of the names has any significance, etc. There may be clues you are not seeing! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Some records we use were not filled out by our ancestors–someone else, perhaps with less knowledge answered the questions. My big break on my wife’s grandmother came not from her death certificate, which was filled out by her children, but instead her SS-5 form. The grandmother filled out that form herself in the 1960s and gave a different name for her father than what her children had put on her death certificate thirty years later. If possible, find something the person actually provided information on. It may be different! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you get stuck on an ancestor, read a county or local history of the area. It probably won’t mention your ancestor, but reading and learning something about the history of the place your ancestor lived in will at least make you more knowledgeable about the location. And it just may spark a research idea. And if you’ve read the county history–read a local newspaper for a week if it’s a daily and a for a month if it’s a weekly. Reading the newspaper will provide a background the county history probably won’t. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
The word “coparcener” generally speaking, means joint heirs. Siblings, whose father dies without a will, may be referred to as “coparceners” of his real estate, meaning that they own it jointly. They each have a share, just not a specific part of the real estate. To have their part clearly marked typically requires court action, or at least complete agreement among the heirs. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Always look in the margins of courthouse record books. You may find comments written there, or in the case of mortgages, you may find an acknowledgement that the mortgage was released-signed by the holder of the note. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
The widow dies and three daughters inherit 12 acres in the 1850s. One daughter apparently pre-deceased her mother. The two surviving daughters sign deeds over to their brother at about the same time-probably shortly after the mother’s death. The deceased daughter’s heirs wait a few years to sign their deed. Why? I’m not certain, but my guess is that they waited for all the deceased daughter’s children to come of age so that they could legally sign the deed. Minors can’t execute deeds. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
In most areas of the United States, a section is 640 acres, a quartersection is 160 acres, and a Congressional Township is 6 miles on a side. There are exceptions–especially in Ohio. If you are doing research in a state that uses sections and townships and your ancestors were property owners you should either know or find out. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember that just because your ancestor signs their “mark” on a document it doesn’t mean they were illiterate. In some cases, a person might have been told to “make their mark” which was unique to them, and as long as it was witnessed, legally binding. Remember also that if your ancestor was ill and on their death bed when they signed their will, making their mark might have been all they could do. I have several ancestors who signed numerous documents, but made their “mark” on their will, generally because they were advanced in years. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
As a short reminder, I’m leading a group research trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake this May. Going with a group can be a great way to have your first (or second) library research experience. There’s more details on our trip on my website at: http://rootdig.blogspot.com/2010/06/reserve-spot-in-my-2011-family-history.html Michael ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
For those times when locating information seems easy, stop and take time to analyze what you have already located. This is particularly good advice if you’re searching on a collateral family in hopes of learning more about the direct line. Get off the websites, get off the internet, email, stop gathering more information, etc. and look at what you have. Sketch out relationships, make chronologies, make timelines, etc. You may see errors you didn’t see before or opportunities you have overlooked. Either way, you’re better off! Sometimes it pays to stop collecting for a while and do some analyzing. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Here the clue is pretty obvious. The first household has a father-in-law named Henry J. Fecht and the adjacent house has someone with the exact name aged 18.Seems highly coincidental. Look at the first names of members of adjacent households, not just the last names. Are there clues in those names? In this case, it turns out the older Henry J. Fecht is the grandfather of the younger one. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Do you have all place names spelled correctly in your genealogical database? I’m not talking about the German village that you can barely read on great-grandma’s death certificate. I’m talking about places you know where they are and can easily verify the spelling. It never hurts to check and you may find that you have overlooked some records in the process. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember that in many cases, the indexer indexing the record you are using was not familiar with the names in the area where the records were created. In most cases, they are reading the names “cold.” Keep that in mind when formulating searches and contemplating alternate spellings. You may know what it says. Someone else may not. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Are there occupational clues hidden in the inventory of your ancestor’s estate? Sometimes it can be difficult determining what your pre-1850 ancestor’s occupation was. The inventory of the personal items in his estate may hold a clue. Be careful about drawing conclusions though and compare to other inventories to see what makes your ancestor’s different–every one had kitchen utensils and a chamberpot. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
The vast majority of records genealogists use were not created for genealogists. Probate records were created to settle estates, land records were used to document land transfers, census record were used to collect statistical information about citizens (and in the US to apprortion representatives), church records were kept to document that certain sacraments had been performed, etc. If you don’t know why a record was created–find out. Learning why may help you understand and interpret the item you have found. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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