One is sometimes tempted to think that the latest version of anything is the best and the one that should be used as a reference. That’s not always the case. A transcription of the stones in a cemetery may have been done sixty years ago when they were more legible than they are today and when more stones were viewable. The formatting of the earlier edition might not be quite as “slick” as one done more recently–but more information could be there. Transcriptions of actual records done 100 years ago may have been done before the writing faded or when more records were extant. There’s always the possibility that the earlier transcription was not done with as much care as one more recently compiled or that the formatting […]
Never look at a tombstone in isolation. Make a note who is buried in close proximity to your ancestor–it could be someone with a connection. A different last name on a nearby stone could be a married sister, a mother buried under a different husband’s last name, an aunt or uncle, other relative or close friend. It is also possible that someone purchased eight spots in a plot of graves and, after years of not using the “last spot,” let someone totally unrelated have it or later sold it. The cemetery may (or may not) have those records.
If you’ve found your relative’s name on a petition, remember that petitions were not all signed on one day. Like modern petitions they were circulated and signatures were not all collected in one afternoon, one day, or even within one week (usually). Petitions may have been taken around the neighborhood (village, town, township, county, etc.) and signed over time. The petition may have been kept at the local tavern or other common gathering place where signatures were obtained. Signatures that “look a lot alike” may have been all made by one person for themselves and others who agreed the petition at the same time, but could not sign themselves.
I’m reading an academic work on slaveholders and it mentions the phrase “life estate” and indicated that someone who was given a life estate in something could hold it during their lifetime and it would go to their children afterwards. If an individual has a life estate in something they can use it during their life time but they cannot transfer it to someone else, encumber the title, “waste” it, etc. They have it for the duration of their life. But after their death it may or may not go to their children. If A gives B a life estate in property, A can indicate what happens to that property after B dies. A can indicate it goes to B’s children or that it goes to someone else. […]
Irish research isn’t easy, but knowing what is available and having a plan can help. That’s what is discussed in my “Beginning Irish Research” webinar. It’s an hour of actual content–no babble and we don’t spend time trying to sell you other products. More information (including a discount coupon good through 8 November) can be found on our announcement page.
Did your 19th century immigrant ancestor have an international layover when they left the old country? Some Irish went to England or Canada before arriving in the United States. Some Germans may have had a brief stop at a port in England as well before heading to the United States. If the layover was short they probably didn’t leave any records in the land of their layover. A longer stay may have resulted in the family leaving records in layoverland. No matter how long the stay, their “origin” on a passenger manifest may have been the place they arrived from (their layover area) instead of their home country. And if your immigrant arrived in Canada before heading to the US, there probably is no record of the arrival […]
That person your relative referred to as Grandma when you were discussing past family members might not have been Grandma in the biological sense. “Grandma” could have been grandfather’s second wife, the mother of someone’s step-mother, an aunt who raised one of the person’s parents, a neighbor who everyone was very fond of, an older cousin who moved into the house for one reason or another, etc. She may have been a very dear, loved and respected family member–who just didn’t share the biological connection in the way that Grandmas often do. It does not make her any less important in your relative’s life. What it can do is create some confusion when you go to analyzing DNA matches and trying to ascertain the connections she had to […]
She may be Grandma, but if I’m writing about her or identifying her on a picture, I need to be more specific. Referring to her as “Grandma” tells me who she is, but not someone who may encounter the reference after I’m no longer around. She should be referenced as Ida (Trautvetter) Neill or Dorothy (Habben) Ufkes, depending upon which of my grandmothers she is. Grandma Neill or Grandma Ufkes is not much better than Grandma. Both of those titles are fluid in my family. In my lifetime, Grandma Neill started out as my father’s mother and then became my own mother. Grandma Ufkes was the same way–it was either my Granddad Ufkes’ mother or my Granddad Ufkes’ wife. Names make it more clear. Also when writing, avoid […]
Stopping because you have located one record is never a good idea. By continuing to search through records, I discovered an ancestor was divorced from the same man not once, but twice. By keeping on going, I also discovered that another relative’s first marriage “didn’t happen” when I thought and they were actually married two years later. Combine these unusual circumstances with the occasional record that gets entered or indexed late and you have even more reason to look for entries or documents “after you think you should.”
Keyword searches of digital images of newspapers are a great way for the genealogist to discover things that before would have been virtually impossible to find. Proximity searches (when allowed) for other specific words close to the actual word of interest can be a great way to narrow search results. But it’s always best when the human reads the material for themselves and determines what is said. Don’t just take the automatically created entry items from the newspaper reference. Read them for yourself. Otherwise you get Ugustus T. Haase born in Hanover, Qt-many in 1835 and dying in Dakota County, 62 years. Automated created “family entries” can help the researcher make discoveries. Just make certain to look at the discovery for yourself to discover what it actually says. […]
Deaths and births (civil records of those events) have to be recorded where the event took place. Land records have to be recorded in the jurisdiction where the real property is located. Marriages do not have to take place where the couple is living at the time but there may be some sort of waiting period before the marriage can take place. Draft registrations are usually done where the person is living at the time, but enlistments can be in a variety of places. Voting needs to take place where the person is living. Estate settlements are usually conducted in the jurisdiction that includes the bulk of the real property or the residence of the deceased. Divorces usually take place in the county where the party bringing the […]
Do you know the names of the locations that surround your ancestral residence? It’s not necessary for you to be able to draw a regional map from memory, but a working knowledge of the nearby place names will come in handy when locating, using, and interpreting records. Do you know what towns, townships, counties, etc. border your ancestral residence on the north, south, west, and east? If you do not, it would really be a good idea to find that map. Even if you think you know the geography, a second look might not hurt.
Genealogists with ancestors who immigrated from certain parts of Europe are used to dealing with boundaries that were somewhat fluid. It is important to remember that changing boundaries after your ancestor left a region can result in varying places of births given in later records. The place of birth for my ancestor Anke Hinrichs Fecht was either Hanover, Prussia, or Germany-depending upon when she was asked. She was not the only person whose “country” of origin changed during her lifetime. Even an ancestor who indicated in 1860 that they were born in Virginia might have actually been born in what is now West Virginia. Check out Genealogy Tip of the Day book version for other tips and questions you should ask yourself about your research.
If you have the one of the few paper copies of a family item–funeral folders, mass cards, wedding announcements, photographs, etc., have you digitized it? That way the paper copy you have is not the only copy of it in existence. Be certain to share the copies with others who are interested in the family. Copies can be more easily shared than originals. Always consider using a camera instead of a scanner on fragile items. Check out Genealogy Tip of the Day book version for other tips and questions you should ask yourself about your research.
Whenever you think an age in a record is wrong as yourself who might have provided that age? Was it really the person whose age is being given? Did the clerk just guess? Did their spouse just guess? Did a child provide the age? Were they told to guess? Did they think being accurate really mattered? Did being accurate really matter? Did they give a quick answer just to get the person asking the question “out of their face?” Did they know that in 150 years someone would be analyzing that age to death? Check out Genealogy Tip of the Day book version for other tips and questions you should ask yourself about your research.
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