Those of us looking for rural ancestors sometimes ignore the census information regarding addresses that’s contained in the far left hand side of more recent census records (1930 and 1940 for example). That would be a mistake. I located an uncle in the 1940 census for Lima Township in Adams County, Illinois. The “address” indicates he was living on the Adams-Hancock County line road. That was a good clue which told me that he lived along the extreme northern edge of Lima Township.
Effective interpretation and analysis of records requires the genealogist to know the limitations of the record being used. These limitations generally concentrate on who does not get listed in the record, how the information is given for inclusion in the records, how the records are organized (which impacts how they are searched), etc. For land records some limitations would be that only land owners are mentioned, some deeds were not recorded promptly, some land ownership happened without a deed being drawn up (eg. inheritance), etc. For obituaries some limitations would be cost of publishing in newspaper (if applicable as not all newspaper required payment), desire of family for others to know, ethnic and social class of deceased, need to search manually if papers are not digitally available, etc. […]
Keep in mind that some documents may have several dates, each of which serve a separate purpose. A land record may have a date of execution, when it was signed; a date of acknowledgement, where it was “acknowledged in front of an official;” and a date of recording, when it was filed for record. Those dates may all be the same–or they may be stretched out over several years. It just depends. But there is a difference between the dates.
An 1819 document used the abbreviation “M.T.” as part of the location in a document. It took me a moment to realize that the reference was to “Missouri Territory.” In 1850, such an abbreviation would not be used Abbreviations were always used in the context of the time and place. Keep this in mind when interpreting them. And remember that using abbreviations in your own work should be avoided precisely to avoid confusion
Remember that your ancestor might have been known by several different first names. This can be especially confusing when a researcher is “fixed” on one name. My great-grandfather was actually Frederick, but sometimes he was Fred and sometimes he was Fritz (the latter more in his younger years). Another ancestor was John Michael Trautvetter. He went by one of several different names: John Michael Mike Jahn (a German version of his first name) J. M. Some nicknames are not quite as obvious. Sally was a common nickname for Sarah. If you can’t find your ancestor, learn nicknames that were derived from the original name. The ancestor might simply be hiding under a nickname.
A remainderman usually is someone whose title to property does not become realized until the termination of the ownership of that property by a former owner. Usually this former owner has a life estate in the property and usually has been given that life estate by someone else. Mimke wills his wife Antje a life estate in his real property and then at her demise title is to pass to his children Johann, Jann, and Metha. Johann, Jann, and Metha are the remaindermen. Mimke’s will may not use the word “remaindermen,” but it’s possible they are referred to by that term in other legal documents. There are a variety of reasons why someone may bequeath a life estate in their property to someone, but generally it revolves around […]
If that digital image of a newspaper or record is difficult to read, how possible is it that another image exists somewhere else? That image may be better than the one you first locate. There are several reasons for varying image quality, but it depends on how the digital image was made in the first place. Let’s say in the 1940s, newspaper A is microfilmed. The original copy of newspaper A either deteriorates or is intentionally destroyed. There are several rolls of microfilm made. We will focus on copy 1 and copy 2. Copy 1 of that roll of microfilm gets fairly heavy use and there’s some wear on it. Constantly rolling it through the machine does that. In the early 2010s, copy 1 is digitized in order […]
When using any genealogical database or information management software, make certain that any relationships you think you have entered correctly are actually displaying correctly. Also if you do not know what something does, leave it at the original setting until you find out what it does and whether you need to change it or not. That prevents problems as well.
One of the reasons newspapers are valuable resources for genealogists is because they are hard to “close” once they have been published. Court cases may be sealed, but a newspaper reference to that court case is “out” forever. A birth certificate may be sealed if there is an adoption, but if the baby’s birth was in the local newspaper–it is still there. If there’s a record you cannot access, ask yourself what you are trying to find out or discover and are there other records that may provide that same information?
A search for a relative on a “big” genealogy website may search records from a wide variety of sources and instantly pull up an image with the name of interest. Before you assume you’ve hit the genealogy jackpot there are some warnings: The image may not refer to your relative. The image may come up because the name is “close,” the location is “close,” or someone else thought the record was about your ancestor. The name may not really be the same, the location may be too far off, or that other person may be incorrect. If the search parameters were set too loosely, the “match” may make absolutely no sense. Search results are not divinely inspired. The transcription may not be correct. The original may be difficult […]
The reality is that there is no trick or instant solution to genealogical research problems. However, generally speaking the following approaches are helpful: citing your sources; learning as much as you can about all the records in the area; learning the history of the area; having contemporary maps; obtaining as many records as possible; using compiled sources (published genealogy books, online trees, etc. ) as stepping stones to original records; realizing assumptions may not be true; continuing to learn about genealogical research in general; proofing and double checking your work. Not one trick and not a guarantee, but these general suggestions will go a long way.
At Genealogy Tip of the Day we want you to think about your research: how you decide what material to research, how you find material, how you analyze material. We want you to think about what sources you may not have looked at, what assumptions about your ancestor may not be true, and what conclusions regarding your ancestor may need to be re-evaluated. Think, engage, and interact with what you find–don’t just react. This tip was originally published in February of 2017 but is just as true today.
When the census taker came asking questions, they didn’t require the respondent to “prove” the answers they gave. They took them at their word. If your relative gave clearly incorrect information, the census taker may have asked someone for clarification. But for the most part, what your relative said was what got written down. They didn’t ask them to validate those property values in the 1850 or 1860 census. They didn’t ask to verify ages or places of birth. Answers regarding citizenship status and eligibility to vote were taken at face value (for those enumerations that required those details). Your relative providing information may have guessed where their mother was born on their 1880 census enumeration. They may have guessed about the place of birth for their mother–in-law […]
A notice to appear in a court case can provide a clues as to the residence of the individual being required to appear. The summons will generally be issued to the sheriff of the county in which the person resides. The difficulty is that one has to determine in which court cases a person may be summoned. That requires looking in indexes to court records for ancestral siblings, friends, and associates.
A review of our stats from several years ago indicated that in 2017-2018 we had several tips that were significantly more popular than others. Here’s the list: Five Year Gap Many Conclusions are Temporary Every Step in that Provenance Mapping it out in Pencil Would a Chart Help? What Is a Maiden Name? No Kids, Never Had Siblings, and Died With Some Cash How Easy Was It For Your Ancestor to Move? Is Your DAR Patriot Still a DAR Patriot? The Paper Genealogy Tree Versus the Genetic Family Tree What’s your favorite tip?
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