Just like any online record, online obituaries on funeral home websites can disappear. Funeral homes go out of business, merge with other facilities, change their entire website design, etc. Any of these situations can cause obituaries that were once online to go away forever. Newspaper obituaries may hang around for a longer amount of time, but they may be shorter than the notice published on the funeral home’s website. My mother’s obituary on the funeral home website contains the names of some survivors and pre-deceased family members that we felt were important to include, but were “too distant” to meet the newspaper’s publication standards. That’s another reason to get as many obituary copies as you can. But those funeral home website obituaries–save them when you see them. Tomorrow […]
No one website will have digital images of every newspaper you need and whether a specific site is helpful depends upon your personal research interests. Our suggestions here are meant to get you started. I’m not intending to provide a comprehensive list, but the sites listed, along with the suggestions, will get you on your way to locating digital images of newspapers you need–if they are online. Some websites with links to specific newspapers: Wikipedia list of online newspaper archives Newspaper links from the Ancestor Hunt Library of Congress’ Chronicling America newspaper images Old Fulton New York Postcards To see what might have been published try: Library of Congress’ Newspaper Directory searching the card catalog at WorldCat–use city/town as part of your search term Reach out to locals. […]
When you find someone in the census, do you look at the nativity of others on the same or adjacent census pages? How common or unusual was your relative’s place of birth compared to their neighbors? Were they living in a neighborhood where they were in the majority or the minority in terms of place of birth? Was there even a majority in terms of place of birth? If the census asked the question, were most people homeowners or renters? How does your relative’s occupation compare to that of his neighbors? Sometimes the biggest clues about a relative in his census enumeration aren’t on the line that contains his name. This tip originally ran in March 2019.
The blog of the National Archivist of the United States contained a post about the 1 April 2022 release of the 1950 United States population census schedules. Their post talked about their preparation for the release of the digital images. Questions about the rollout should be directed to the National Archives, not to me. For the genealogist wanting to prepare for the release, think about which of your relatives would be alive in 1950. Think about where they would be living in 1950. For individuals living in rural areas of the United States, the township, election district, town, or village name may be sufficient–depending upon how populated those areas are. In many rural areas of the United States, specific street addresses may be difficult if not impossible to […]
A female relative seems to just appear in an Indiana county in the early 1830s in time to marry her husband. There are apparently no records in the county of any of her other family members. There are many possibilities, but some of the more plausible ones are: Her family only lived in the area for a short time–just long enough for her to meet her husband and marry. She stayed the rest of them moved one and she was the only one to marry while the family lived in the area. She had no other full siblings, her father had died young, and her mother is “hiding” under her second husband’s name which is where all the relative’s half-siblings are showing up as well. Her family was […]
Our “Naturalization: An Un-Natural Process” webinar was released and is available for order and immediate download. The presentation focuses on American records. More information can be found on our website.
Not every immigrant naturalized. Many did, particularly if they wanted to vote. But before the early part of the 20th century a significant portion of immigrants to the United States did not bother with becoming citizens. Your ancestor may have been one of them. Just remember though that just because you cannot find a naturalization record for your ancestor, it does not mean he did not naturalize. You just may not be able to find it.
17th and 18th century documents are full of dating that may appear to be “off.” This document was dated Stow, Mass., 23 January 1746: 7. It’s 1747 in our modern style where the “new year” started on January 1. It’s 1746 in the old style where the new year started in in March. It’s not some other parenthetical notation, an abbreviation, or a stray mark or error.
Your relative died in 1850, but records indicate that his estate was not settled up and the farm sold or transferred to someone else until 1869. Don’t conclude that there had to be “drama” or some court action that you cannot find. It could be as simple as the family waiting until the widow had died or the youngest child reached the age of majority. Mother may have put her foot down and issued an edict that she was living on the farm until she died. The children could have decided to let mother have control and the money from the farm until she died. The heirs could have decided it was easier (and cheaper) to wait to “settle up” until all the heirs were of age and […]
We’ve said it before, but there are websites other than Ancestry.com and not every record is online. Doesn’t matter how easy the ads imply that research is or how complete they say their databases are. Don’t limit yourself to just Ancestry.com (or any other site–free or not). No one has everything. Get more tips in Genealogy Tip of the Day, the book.
Don’t forget to save those old envelopes. Sometimes the addresses can be just as helpful as anything else. This is especially true if the letter does not contain any addresses or does not include complete names. There may also be notes or other relevant information written by the recipient on the envelope itself. Remember that any piece of paper may contain a clue–and keep the envelope and the letter that was inside it together if at all possible.
Genealogy “brick walls” come in a variety of styles. Some result from inadequate research. Some result from records that are unavailable, unindexed, or difficult search. Some result from records that were never kept. Some result from incorrect stories family members told us–either orally or in information they left in official records. And some brick walls stem from our own misconceptions or lack of understanding. Sometimes it’s a word or legal document that we do not understand. Sometimes it is a church record or process that is unfamiliar to us. And other times it’s because we assume that our ancestors were “just like us.” In some ways they are. But in other ways they are not. Your ancestor’s life was different in ways beyond how they got their food, […]
The Bureau of Land Management website (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov) allows users to search patent database of individuals who obtained federal land. The database contains an image of the actual patent and should describe the federal act under which the individual obtained the land. The BLM site does not contain any of supporting documentation used to obtain that land. Those files are in the National Archives in Washington, DC. Generally speaking federal land could be obtained via: cash purchase; military warrant (issued based upon military service in specific wars); homestead; pre-emption and various other claims. The amount of paperwork in the application file varies dependent upon the type of acquisition process. this tip originally ran in 2018
Understanding the record creation process can help us to understand how mistakes and errors creep into records. That entry for mother’s maiden name that we are viewing in the birth register. It could have been transcribed by the records clerk from the actual birth certificate filled out by the doctor whose handwriting was not the best. The doctor asked the baby’s mother what her maiden name was and really could not understand what was said. There are several steps from your ancestor’s mouth to your eyeball: ancestor’s mouth doctor’s ear doctor’s brain doctor wrote it down clerk read it clerk’s brain clerk wrote it down record was microfilmed record was digitized record got to you Not every record has all these steps–some have fewer and occasionally there are […]
Naturalization: An Un-natural Process This presentation will focus on US records of naturalization. There will be discussion of Colonial era naturalizations as well as those into the 20th century. Emphasis will be on records that were created, how those records fit into the larger naturalization process, and how to access and interpret those records. A variety of records and research situations will be used to illustrate key principles and concepts. Handout included. Session will be held live at 2:30 pm on 2 April 2021–recordings can be ordered for those who cannot attend live. Live attendance registration 2 April 2021 at 2:30 pm central —$14.00 (limited seating) Pre-order recording–$12.49 (recording available and sent on 3 April)
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