Years ago, early in my research, I located an early 20th century entry for relative in the seller’s index to local land records. It was in a part of the county where he “shouldn’t have owned property.” It turned out the deed was one where he was selling his small interest in a small piece of property that his grandmother had owned at her death. And the deed referenced that her former husband had purchased the property in the 1850s. All from a deed that I didn’t even think was relevant. —————— Our sponsor, GenealogyBank, is offering an annual subscription for a monthly rate equivalent to less than $5 a month.
My goals here at Genealogy Tip of the Day are pretty simple. Iwant to make people aware research pitfalls, research procedures, sources, and terminology. And I try and do this in short tips. That means that many tips are not complete, lengthy discussions of a topic. There may be exceptions that would take too long to discuss fully. Generally those tips are at most four sentences long. I try and keep each tip to the point, with the thought that: some people just need a reminder others will see something new and decide they need to learn more about it Suggestions for additional tips are always welcome. Genealogy Tip of the Day (and our sister sites Rootdig, Daily Genealogy Transcriber, and Search Tip of the Day) are all written by Michael John Neill
The 1889 will of a relative gave his two sons all his real estate without indicating which son was to get which portion. Land records or court records may answer that question and uncover even more information.
Sometimes it takes a while for things to dawn on us. I had this photograph for years before I realized that the “Mary and I and our old home church” was written by my great-grandmother. After all she and Mary are in the picture so “I” must be her. This was one time when I was glad that “I” was used on the back of a picture instead of the name. Fortunately someone was able to identify the people in the picture for me.
Legal records that state the ages of children may indicate their age as of a certain date or state what the child’s age will be on their next birthday. Read the document carefully to make certain you interpret the age and when it was effective correctly. Otherwise you may inadvertently create a year discrepancy where none actually existed.
An earlier tip referenced women lying about their marital status in census records. Men also gave incorrect marital status accounts to avoid mentioning their divorce. In 1900, Conrad Haase in Hancock County, Illinois’ Appanoose Township, indicated he was widowed. He wasn’t. He was divorced. Always take those marital status entries with a grain of salt.
Before heading to a cemetery to take pictures, there are several things to keep in mind, including: having the permission of the landowner, if appropriate knowing how to get to the cemetery having adequate materials to clean the stone without harming it having some way to take notes to augment your photographs knowing how to use your digital camera or phone dressing appropriately–old clothes are best being prepared to take pictures in the shadows arriving while there is still plenty of light having a cemetery travel buddy may be a good idea as well This list is not comprehensive, but is suggestive.
Many divorced women in the 19th and early 20th century found it easier to say they were widowed instead of saying they were divorced. This individual’s 1900 census enumeration indicated she was a widow when in fact she was divorced and her ex-husband was very much alive. Sometimes divorcees would refer to themselves as “grass widows,” but that term was not approved by the census department.
If your ancestor was a local businessman, an advertisement in a newspaper or other publication can confirm where the business was located, dates on which the business was operated, business partners, etc. Advertisements may even include biographical information on the business owners (check out the comments on this Rootdig post to see a reference to an advertisement in Kansas that generated quite a bit of information).
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There are a variety of ways one can interest “non-genealogists” in family history. I recently posted this image from an 1889 estate settlement that mentions cash received from the return of a “beer box.” I shared it with a few of my second cousins on Facebook who got a kick out of it. We even had a brief discussion about the purchase/storage of beer in the late 19th century. Sometimes sharing something “non-genealogical” can help to either generate interest in the past or spur a discussion of it. Is there something outside of the births, marriages, deaths, and “begats” that you could share?
After something of a hiatus, my how-to newsletter, Casefile Clues, is back. I’ve moved the blog to a new domain (our old site is having server issues). There’s not much there yet, but there are details about the newsletter, how to get free sample issues, a list of past issues, our philosophy and more. Check it out.
Whenever I locate a record, I look at adjacent records to see if there are other records that may be on the same family or may mention ancestral associates. It’s not just one type of record where this may help as: families may record several deeds at the courthouse on the same day causing the records to appear page after page; the census may include other relatives on the same pages or on pages in close proximity to the desired entry; tax records may include other family members living nearby on an adjacent page; siblings may marry on the same day and appear consecutively in the marriage records; family members may die a few days apart (either due to illness or a mother and child who do not […]
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If a man dies leaving behind a wife and children, don’t assume that there won’t be a guardianship because one parent is still living. While a mother typically has physical custody of the children if the father dies, for much of US history someone would have been appointed guardian to oversee their interest in their father’s estate. That guardian may not have been the mother. This “financial” guardian would not typically have gotten custody of the child–that would remain with the mother. These guardianship records can provide more details about the father and the children, depending upon the time period. In the United States guardianship records are typically local court records.
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