Upon occasion, one hears fellow genealogists being slightly judgmental about a specific ancestor. Instead of getting bogged down in that line of thinking (which doesn’t help your research any), think “why?” Putting yourself in your ancestor’s shoes gives you a different perspective. If you were twenty-six years old, widowed, the mother of two small children, unable to speak English and living where you had no relatives, what might you do? You might marry the first German speaking single male around–one who would not have been your choice if you were twenty years old and still living at home with no children to support. If your great-grandfather “disappeared” consider where he might have gone and what he might have done in an attempt to find him. Was there a […]
Photos are not the only thing you should identify for those who may come after you. Personal effects that you have collected or have inherited also need identification. Sometimes it’s possible to put labels on these items and sometimes it is not. Consider making an electronic picture book of your items, artifacts, etc. with a description of what you know about the item, where you got it, its original purpose, etc. The illustration is a “rooster cookie jar,” but jewelry, furniture, and other items can be included in such a compilation. The “picture book” could be a great place to include longer stories than one can put on a notecard, the back of an item, etc. Electronic copies of the book can be shared with those who may […]
Custom create your own maps to help you visualize how close (or not) your ancestral villages are. This one was helpful for me in analyzing my DNA results. Each name is an ancestor with ancestry from the village listed before their name. Having all the places on the same map made visualization easier. Genealogy Tip of the Day book is here. Learn more about it. If you’d like to get our genealogy tip daily in your email for free, add your address here.
There are several sites where complete digital copies of out-of-copyright books can be downloaded. Some of the main sites are: Archive.org Google Books Hathitrust FamilySearch There are others–feel free to put your favorite in the comments. Not all sites have the same books and some sites have better scans than others.
Always think about the family that was left behind when someone died? Were there small children who would have needed looked after? Was there a spouse who would have needed some assistance? Was there an adult child who would have been unable to look after themselves? Who would have been nearby to help these individuals? Were there court records, guardianships, or other records resulting from issues when the person died?
It can be easy to get one perspective or viewpoint in our head. It can sometimes be difficult to get away from that viewpoint or even to realize that our perspective is somewhat skewed or even causing our research problem. I knew my grandparents had two stillborn children and that it impacted them significantly. I learned early on in my family history research that I was not to ask my grandparents about “the babies.” It wasn’t until decades later, after my children were grown that I realized something that should have been obvious: those babies impacted my Mom as well. My brother and I are two years apart in age. I don’t remember Mom being pregnant with him. He’s my only sibling, so I have no memory of […]
Locating living family members can be crucial to getting copies of pictures, finding other family papers, getting pieces of verbal information, etc. There’s one first cousin left for all my grandparents (born between 1903 and 1924). Both of my parents have first cousins living Interestingly these first cousins range in age from 93 to 40. Older ones don’t necessarily remember more or know more than younger ones. Older ones don’t necessarily have more family “artifacts” than younger ones do. It often boils down to those who got told the stories and those who helped cleaned out the house when the surviving parent died. But don’t neglect the cousins. Even ones younger than you may know or have more than you do.
After farming with his father in Illinois did not work out in the 1920s, an uncle moved to a nearby town in Iowa to work a factory job. That was the town where he and his wife lived for the rest of their life. At least that was the story I was told. The reality was not that straightforward. The two children of the uncle and his wife were born in that factory town in the 1920s and federal and state census records suggest that they lived there between at least 1920 and 1925. But, they returned to their home county in Illinois to rent a farm–apparently in two separate locations based on the 1930 and 1940 census enumerations. By World War II, the family had returned to […]
Every database, index, record, or compilation has limitations. Do you know at least one limitation for each finding aid or actual record you use? Transcriptions may include errors. Search engines may not work the way you think they do–or the way another site does. Informants on death certificates don’t have to prove every statement they make. Census takers may guess at information or ask uninformed neighbors. Probate records generally will not list relatives who died without descendants. Land records do not include those who rent their land. Indexes are not always full-name indexes. Affidavits in pension claims can contain lies or exaggerations. And so it goes. For every source you use, every database you query, every book you read–ask yourself what limitations there may be. Knowing the limitations doesn’t mean […]
Some locations have precise geographic borders. Those borders may change over time, but often are reasonably well-established. Some places, particularly those whose names are informal and known to locals, may have more fluid boundaries or just be a general area. Ethnic regions of some urban areas can change over time and have boundaries that are in a constant state of flux or have no precise definition. In some rural areas, certain areas may have a name that known to locals but does not appear on any map, post office list, or other geographic finding aid. Frequently these items are mentioned in newspapers, family letters and correspondence, and other unofficial records. Some thoughts on locating such places can be found in our recent post on Prairie Precinct in Winnebago County, […]
The note I made for a DNA match said only “likely Trautvetter.” There was no reason given for my conclusion. All I wrote were those two words: “likely Trautvetter.” It’s even possible that I got mixed up and meant to type another name besides “Trautvetter.” Without any commentary or record of what was running through my head, there’s no way I can evaluate the “likely Trautvetter” statement without trying to reproduce the work that got me there. That’s time wasted. The evaluation is not time wasted. It is always beneficial to review one’s work after it has had time to cool. Reproducing that work from scratch? That’s time wasted. My statement could have been as simple as “Reviewing the shared DNA matches I had with this unknown match […]
A reunion may be titled “the John and Susan Smith reunion,” but it may included a broader set of relatives and family friends. The Dirks family of northeastern Adams County had a reunion for several years in the 1930s. I thought, based on the name of reunion that it was for the descendants of Bernard and Heipke (Mueller) Dirks of Coatsburg, Illinois, who were married in 1856. In looking through the names, I realized attendees were not just Bernard and Heipke’s descendants–there were a number of attendees who were children and grandchildren of Anke (Mueller) Adams, sister of Heipke. So it might have more accurately been termed the Mueller reunion. That turned out to be more true than I realized. In trying to figure out who everyone was […]
Do not limit yourself to one way to locate information and records. Doing so can guarantee that your “brick wall” stands strong and proud for even longer. For information about records and accessing those records: The “big genealogy fee-based” genealogy sites–Ancestry, Findmypast, Newspapers.com, Genealogybank, etc. The “big free” genealogy sites–FamilySearch, FindAGrave, etc. State archives websites–not all info is online State record agencies websites–not all info is online Regional and university library websites–not all info is online Local library websites–not all info is online Local record holder websites–not all info is online Local genealogy/historical societies websites–not all information is online There are probably a few other ways as well to locate records and information about those records. But looking in these places will get the researcher on their way […]
A few reminders: tips are short–and not meant to be extensive, academic discussions of a topic tips are reminders–all of us forget things from time to time tips may send you looking–for more details on that topic tips may not apply in all areas and time periods–check and see if that concept applies to your research situation tips are sometimes basic–we’ve got people at a variety of levels who participate and we were all beginners at one point in time And thanks to all who participate in Genealogy Tip of the Day! It is appreciated. Check out Ancestry’s current offers!
Sometimes the connection the adminstrator of an estate has to the deceased is obvious or easy to determine. Sometimes it’s not. It’s always worth finding out if there is a connection. For years, I assumed incorrectly that the administrator of the estate of Michael Trautvetter who died in Hancock County, Illinois, was a neighbor, friend, or interested creditor. I knew little about Trautvetter’s family and, after a while, gave up on determining what the relationship was. Years later, after learning more about the family it was discovered that the administrator of the estate was the husband of a daughter of Trautvetter’s sister. The sister had a marriage in Germany I was unaware of and that was the maiden name of the administrator’s wife–which meant nothing to me at the time. Always […]
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