Are you really reading, thinking about, and interpreting the information you have found? Or are your eyes merely passing over the words, looking for that obvious clue? Sometimes the biggest clues are not “obvious.” Go back and re-read and think about what a document says. Are there clues you bypassed the first time you “sped read” that record? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When a child gives information on their parent, it comes from second hand knowledge. It also could be given decades after the event took place. This information can be incorrect, but keep in mind the child did not witness parental birth information first hand. Even erroneous places should not be ignored however as there may be a reason for the wrong place of birth. Children of one ancestor always said she was born in Illinois, which was correct. Except for one record which said she was born in Ohio. Years later, I learned the parents met in Ohio, married there and immediately moved. Ohio was wrong, but it was a clue. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When using a search option at an online database, do you know how that site implements wildcard searches, Soundex searches, and other search options? Getting creative with search terms is often necessary, but if you don’t know how they are really working, you are not being effective. Experiment and look at your results and see if you are getting what you think you should. A Soundex search for the last name Smut on a site with English language last names should result in a large number of hits. And if you don’t know why, then review what Soundex really is. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Are you spending too much time looking for a specific record that might not really even help your research all that much? There’s a couple for whom I cannot find their mid-1800 passenger list entry. After some thought, I’m not really certain I need it. I have a good idea of where the family is from in Europe as I know where the husband’s brother was born. I know what children the couple had and where they settled. The mid-1800 passenger list probably isn’t going to tell me where they were from. And after having spent several hours trying to find them, it may be best to work on locating other records. Sometimes it is necessary to realize that it may be time to work on other things. […]
It’s easy for most researchers to realize that vowels can easily get interchanged in a name resulting in variant spellings. Soundex searches ignore vowels in an attempt to get around this problem. Remember that consonants and vowels can get interchanged as well, particularly if the handwriting is not all that great. These variations can be particularly troublesome until the researcher realizes it. Trautvetter often gets transcribed as “Trantvetter” when the “u” is read as an “n.” Are vowel and consonant interchanges causing your problems when doing searches? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Is it possible that in the census or other record your relatives’ names have been abbreviated or that just initials have been used. One family is enumerated in the 1880 census with only their initials and another has their first names abbreviated on their 1853 passenger manifest. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When searching an online database, leave out the last name and enter in other search parameters. Is it possible that the last name was so difficult to read on the original record that it was simply omitted when the information was transcribed? If you enter a last name as a search term it will have to be in the database in order for the entry to be returned as a “hit.” Thanks to DH for this tip! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Cyber Monday discount on my weekly genealogy how-to newsletter Casefile Clues. Our website has more information. Just a little time left. More tips tomorrow! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Indexes have made the searching of many records easier. Search, find, click and there’s the image on our screen. It still though is wise to view all the names on the census page and a page or two before and after. There could be close relatives living nearby, hiding under a name that’s indexed incorrectly or mispelled. Read the whole page your ancestor’s census or other record entry appears on. Read a page or two before and after. You might be surprised at what you find. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I usually tell researchers if they spend more than 5 minutes searching for a person in an online database, it’s time to get off the computer and organize your search procedure. The first step is to determine if it would be more efficient to search the database manually, especially if certain details about the family are known that would make manual searching easier. If manual searching isn’t going to work, make a chart and organize your searches by how you will be entering the search terms. Think about: first name middle names last name spelling variants place of birth date of birth other search parameters Chart up how you will perform your searches and do them systematically. You might be surprised at the results. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s […]
Put every event in context. If your ancesor sells property, ask yourself: how old was he? was he getting ready to leave the area? was he having financial problems? was he selling to a child or other relative? did he buy other property about the same time? Don’t look at a record all by itself. Put it in the context of other things that were taking place in your ancestor’s life. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If onsite research at the local courthouse is not an option, consider contacting the local genealogical/historical society or the local library. They may be able to give you names of researchers, suggestions for doing research remotely, or may do some limited research for you via mail. Some courthouses will respond to mail inquiries and some will not. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
We’re not using other term for post-Thanksgiving discounts, partially because I think the Thanksgiving holiday has been playing second fiddle to the pre-Christmas craze for too long. In honor of Michael’s 7 newly discovered Mayflower ancestors, we’re offering Casefile Clues Thursday and Friday for $14 for a year of 52 issues. Here’s a little about Casefile Clues and here’s a little more. Want a sample? Send an email to samples@casefileclues.com to receive two sample copies. The Thanksgiving Discount is good through Friday. This post will be pulled after Friday! The discount rate will be called the “Thanksgiving” discount on both days. Choose the appropriate course of action: New subscriber to process payment securely ($14)–PayPal account not necessary Renewal to process payment securely ($14)–PayPal account not necessary Issues 1-12 from Year 2 ($5.50)–PayPal […]
Is your ancestor’s last name “St. Clair” or some other phrase starting with the word “Saint?” Is it possible that the “saint” was merged into the rest of the name resulting in Sinclair? Or is it possible your ancestor’s middle and last names “merged” into one? Sometimes when I tell people my name is “Michael Neill,” they think I am saying “Mike O’Neill.” Did something similar happen with your ancestor’s name? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I’m searching for a man named Harm Habbus for an upcoming issue of Casefile Clues. One suggestion in searching for him was to search for the last name of Abbus. An initial “H” is one of those letters that can get left off a name, depending upon how it is pronounced. Most sites that support Soundex searches do ignore the letter “h,” but usually only if it is NOT the first letter. Could your “H” people be hiding without their “H?” ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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