If you are having difficulty analyzing and interpreting a document or don’t feel you “got all the information” from it, make a chronology based on the document. Use every stated and implied date. You might be surprised at what you discover.
I discussed an 1876 naturalization in a post yesterday on Rootdig. A reader noticed that the date of the naturalization was the day before the presidential election. That’s a good point. The proximity of the date should be noted because it makes one wonder if the naturalization processed was hastened in any way. It doesn’t mean the immigrant wasn’t an immigrant or that his place of birth, etc. was incorrect. If anything it could mean that the naturalization process was sped up in order to allow him to vote. Or it could simply mean that he wanted to complete his paperwork before the election and there was nothing shady going on. And thanks to a Rootdig reader for pointing out the proximity of the date of naturalization to the date of […]
Yesterday’s tip was about determining what record may answer a specific problem. Remember that there may be more than one way to access the same item. County and state offices may have copies of the same record, copies may be on microfilm, digital images may be available, etc. For certain time period, certified copies of some records (marriages and deaths in particular) may be contained in military pension applications .
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Yesterday’s tip was about clearly stating your genealogical research problem. Today’s tip is that once you’ve stated that problem determine all the sources that might answer that question, either directly or indirectly. Brainstorm. At this stage don’t think about how the records would be accessed, which ones are more reliable, etc. That comes later. Just make a list of what records could answer your question–including ones you don’t normally use. Be creative with the types of materials that could help.
Can you state your genealogical problem in one sentence? “I need to find Grandma” does not count. Your “problem” generally should involve one or perhaps two people, an event or a relationship you are trying to uncover, and perhaps a location where that event took place. You may need more verbiage to explain your problem, but what you are trying to uncover should fit in one sentence. If nothing else, focusing your problem succinctly may give you some insight into solving it.
Don’t assume that the oldest male in a pre-1850 household is the person named as the head of household. In some cases the named head of household may be a younger male or in some cases the oldest female. Don’t assume.
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It can happen to any of us–forgetting the page number. When looking at the copy of a 1919 legal document, I realized that while I wrote down the book number, I neglected to make certain the page number copied as well. I got the entire document, but the page number is hidden in the shadow on the corner of the page.
Sometimes the only way to genealogical success is to get beyond your ancestor and to research her siblings. That may be enough to answer your question. Once in a while going further is necessary. I’ve been working on a family where the biggest leads to my ancestor were contained in the War of 1812 of his brother’s father-in-law. It’s not always necessary to completely research people that far afield.
Sometimes the only way to genealogical success is to get beyond your ancestor and to research her siblings. That may be enough to answer your question. Once in a while going further is necessary. I’ve been working on a family where the biggest leads to my ancestor were contained in the War of 1812 of his brother’s father-in-law. It’s not always necessary to completely research people that far afield.
We are offering the following genealogical webinars in July: Missing 1840 Census Enumeration Genealogical Terms and More Preserving Past You Charts, Charts, and More Charts More details are here.
If a cemetery’s transcriptions have been published more than once don’t ignore the older one. An earlier transcription may have been done when stones were more legible and by the time the later transcription was made some stones may have been totally faded.
The year of birth for a relative could not be read in her baptismal entry. The last digit could easily have been an 8 or a 9. In reviewing additional church records, there was an entry for her confirmation in her early teens and that entry also gave her date of birth which was much easier to read. Fortunately the day and the month were a match with the baptismal entry also.
Those potential ancestral associates that could hold the clue to your research include godparents’ of children born to your ancestral sibling. There is a chance that if the godmother of my aunt’s child was a relative of my aunt and her sister. It’s a name I never would have had to research if I had not located all the christening records of my aunt’s children.
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