It is important to remember that some records we use in our genealogy research are not public records and may only be available to us through the courtesy of the record holder. Funeral homes, businesses, and churches do not really have to allow genealogists to use their records. Many do, but these groups are different from local or state governments who maintain records. Government records are open, subject to a variety of restrictions. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Some genealogists think if they post their question to enough message boards, websites, mailing lists, etc. someone will discover that magic missing piece. Remember that not every problem can be solved by getting help online. The answer to your problem might lie in a document or record in a courthouse that has never been digitized. Asking for online help is always a good idea, especially when you are unfamiliar with the time period, location, records, etc. But not every problem can be solved by posting online. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Sometimes we might have an idea of what great-grandma or great-grandpa did in response to a certain event in their lives. Be careful assuming that you know exactly what great-grandma or great-grandpa would have done. Sometimes you may very well be right. Other times you could be wrong and could be creating a brand new brick wall in the process. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Is your ancestor’s name David P. Able? Is it possible in a record somewhere that he is listed as David Pable? Depending upon the handwriting, the letters, other factors, a middle initial can sometimes be read as part of the last or even the first name. Just something to think about. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you are looking for information or ephemera related to your great-great-grandparents, ask yourself: “Am I their ONLY descendant?” Chances are you are not and any other descendant could have information or materials. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Sometimes one letter can make a big difference and move a location across the country. I was typing an address and I intended to type “CA” for California. Instead I typed “VA” and implied Virginia. I corrected the error, but in this case it would have been easy to create confusion. I could easily see what I meant. Are all “quick errors” this obvious, especially when the error was made 100 years ago? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you have urban ancestors (or even not so urban ones), consider using city directories to fill in those off-census years. Directories may list others in the household (particularly if they are old enough to be on their own, but still living at home) and can document moves in off census years. Directories can also help you to find people in the census when the indexes fail. Always copy the page with the abbreviations too. Otherwise they may really confuse you. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Are there two lines squeezed in the bottom of Grandma’s marriage record? Is there something written in the margin of the deed book? If the clerk or officer of the court took the time and effort to “squeeze it in,” then there’s probably a reason for it. It may be a “boring legal reason” or it may be a smoking gun. Even “boring legal reasons” may have significant genealogical consequences. Find out what it says and what it means. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
My brother lives in a rural area a mile or so from my parents on the same state highway. He lives on the east side of the road. They are on the west. The township line runs right on the road–consequently they live in different townships. Is it possible that your “near neighbor” ancestors live in different townships or counties, etc.? That would impact where certain records are kept and stored. Think about where the lines are located and where your family lived. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Just remember a secondary source isn’t necessarily wrong. In 1907 a widow testified as to who the siblings of her husband were. Did she know they were her husband’s siblings because she had first hand knowledge of their parentage? No. She had been told who her husband’s siblings were. Did she have reason to doubt it? Probably not. Was she wrong. In this case that’s not likely. She was suing her husband’s family over her inheritance and the chance that one of her husband’s siblings was left out is fairly slim. It’s not 100% proof she was right, but any source needs to be kept in context. She’s a secondary source of the relationship because she was not present at the births of her husband’s siblings. That doesn’t […]
Some families name children for ancestors. Some do not. In some ethnic groups, names of chidlren can give ideas as to what the names of grandparents MIGHT be. Naming tendencies are CLUES, NOT PROOF. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Have you taken a look for your ancestors in the miscellaneous record books at the County Recorder’s Office? Just about anything can be in these books. I’ve found divorce decrees from out of state divorces, copies of medical licenses, and a few other non-typical items in these books. Anyone can pay to have anything recorded–which just means that a “legal” copy has or was made. Soldiers might have recorded their discharge at the local recorder’s office as well. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Stuck? Put aside everything you have on an ancestor and “recollect” your information on him. Think carefully about every assumption you have made and every step in your logic and reasoning. Perhaps starting over is what you need to do to get over that brick wall. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
A relative whose maiden name was Mattie Huls married in the 1890s to a man named George Huls. Consequently her last name never changed. Mattie had no descendants and I nearly overlooked her marriage as her last name never changed. Sometimes it happens. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I had forgotten how current the Social Security Death Index is at GenealogyBank.com. My wife’s brother passed away on 10 Oct 2010 and his entry is already in the index. Others are not updated quite so quickly. So if there’s a death you know happened fairly recently, you might want to check Genealogybank’s version of the SSDI. Others are not updated quite as quickly. The Social Security Death Index can be searched for free at GenealogyBank.com. The reason the Index is updated so quickly is that banks and other institutions use it as a means to catch people using Social Security numbers of recently deceased people. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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