For your brick wall ancestor, can you name at least five people who are in his group of associates, neighbors, and friends who are not related by blood or marriage to your ancestor? Might be a good exercise. You don’t have to name them here.
I’ll be giving an all-day seminar on 16 November 2024 (via Zoom) for the Kenton County Public Library in Covington, Kentucky. Attendance can be remotely via Zoom–at no charge. This workshop will feature 4 sessions on a variety of topics. See the Preliminary Schedule below 9:45 Zoom Opens 10a Meeting announcement and introductions 10:15a- 11:15a Session 1: Documentation Roadblocks on the Information Superhighway 11:15a-11:25a break 11:25a-12:25a Session 2: Where Did the Farm Go? 12:25a-1:15p Lunch Break 1:15p-2:15p Session 3: Finding Barbara’s Beaus and Gesche’s Girls 2:15p-2:25p break 2:25p-3:25p Session 4: Is Your Process the Problem?
Try and determine where your relatives got the names for their children. Sometimes this can be difficult to determine (or even guess at) and there is no way to know for certain. However, looking for repeated names or using children’s names as clues may possibly jump start your research. Names are hints as to relationships. Usually they are not evidence. In this family names that cannot be assigned to the mother’s family or politicians may have something to do with the father’s family. Maybe.
Two excellent ways to strengthen your research is to write it up and to cite what you write. It is especially true on a person or family that is giving you difficulties. Write for an imaginary reader that does not know anything about the family. Explain what you know, how you know it, and where you got it. Give reasons for your conclusions. Have a source or reference for every statement of fact that you make. Re-evaluate those statements you can’t document. Writing for someone else to read and understand often helps us to get at errors or omissions in our research. Citing our sources frequently does the same thing. You don’t have to be as dogged as Riley in citing your sources, but some attention to them […]
In our attempts to locate living relatives, we sometimes ignore those ancestral siblings and cousins who left no children of their own. After all they have no descendants with whom we can make contact. That is true, but records on the childless relative may provide more details on earlier family members and how the estate of the childless relative was disbursed may mention previously unknown relatives. And completely researching the relative without children is always advised in order to obtain a complete picture of the family.
No one cares as much about your research as you. No one will look as diligently for a piece of information or a record as you will. Someone you ask for help will only spend so much time on your problem. Someone you hire will not be able to research indefinitely to find that missing piece of the puzzle (unless your budget is unlimited). And if you want your genealogy to have a chance of surviving past you, it’s up to you. It won’t happen by magic. That’s why it’s up to you to record the stories you find, preserve the artifacts and ephemera you acquire, and try and nurture an interest in genealogy with the younger generation. Some don’t care what happens to their research after they […]
From a while back… The modern use of GPS sometimes makes researchers think that every location can or should be known with exact precision. That’s not always possible nor is it always necessary. Only include in your database locations as precise as the actual record indicates. Don’t assume any more precision than the record provides. A marriage record for an ancestral couple indicated they married in Coshocton County, Ohio, in 1830. Based upon other records for their families it’s probable that the couple married in or near Jackson Township. But the marriage record does not state that–either directly or indirectly. My suspicion regarding the location could be put in my notes for that couple along with the evidence that supports that conclusion. Sometimes our knowledge of the location will […]
Mom didn’t tell me too many actual “family history” stories, but there were a few stories that I heard numerous times that were important to me in other ways. High school was not always a fun time for me and there were two stories Mom told of her own experiences that were meant to inspire, motivate, and make me aware that there’s a lot of life after high school and the things that seem to be important in high school aren’t always important afterwards. The specific stories don’t really matter and I’m not posting them here as they were somewhat personal to my Mother and out of respect for her I’m not repeating them. But here’s the thing: they are stories I should write down and record. They […]
Issue 5-8 of Casefile Clues has gone out to subscribers. In this issue we analyze an 1867 marriage record. Subscribers should email me if they did not receive their issue. You can add yourself to our subscription list or find out more about the newsletter on our website.
If you are having difficult thinking spelling variants for your last name, remove vowels or change each vowel with another one. Vowels are the letters most likely to be the cause of spelling variants. Neil easily gets spelled as Neal, Hull as Hall, Harley as Hurly, Beller as Bullar, etc. There’s other letters that can be a problem (“w” and “h” come to mind), but vowels are a good place to start.
When collecting family stories, try and get memories from as many family members as possible, not just one. Different family members may remember different details or different stories. And even when they do remember the same event, their perspectives on that event may differ. One is never enough if you can get more.
One never knows when life will change in an instant. Have you preserved or shared pictures and images of items you have that cannot be replaced? Don’t wait. A sudden illness, natural disaster, or other event can alter your plans for “doing it later.” Make certain others have digital copies of items you have. Initially focus on those items that are unique–letters, pictures, etc. You can wait to make copies of census records and other items that are probably elsewhere. But that wedding book that has signatures of relatives? That scrapbook that has one-of-a-kind pictures? Those are the things you need to focus on initially. Life has a way of happening and those left behind may not have the interest in the things that you do.
We’re really excited about this presentation! Join me on 4 November (or order the recording)–details on our announcement page.
The leaf seemed to be defying gravity. It was simply hanging in the air. Of course the leaf was not defying gravity. It had been caught in the fine, and difficult to see, strand of spider’s web. It was supported and it did have a connection to something else. Those unseen connections are often what we try and find in our genealogical research. Some of the connections leave records where the connection is stated explicitly (birth and marriage being the most common). Some connections are mentioned in other records (death records, probate records, wills, obituaries, etc.). Some connections are strongly hinted at in other records (probates that do not mention how heirs are related, quit claim deeds where numerous grantors are listed without stated relationships, and the like). […]
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