Join us for the following events this April/May (registration is limited): US land records class–discussion starts 1 May US probate records class-discussion starts 8 May Organizing Genealogical Information– discussion starts 9 May
If your ancestor was a landowning farmer and migrated from Point A to Point B, see from whom he purchased that first piece of property when he arrived in Point B. It might have been a relative or former associate, neighbor, etc. The owner of that property in Point B might have been looking to sell it and heard that his relative or former neighbor was thinking of moving. Or the seller could have been totally unrelated. But you won’t know until you look. ——————— Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank—search for your ancestors in their newspaper collection.
The man’s name was Mel Verslius. His World War 2 draft card accidentally listed him as Melver Sluis before they made the correction. Any chance your ancestor’s name “got split” in the wrong place? ——————— Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank—search for your ancestors in their newspaper collection.
Just because your ancestor uses the phrase “my now wife” in his will, it does not mean he had to have been married twice. A man might use the phrase to make it clear to whom a bequest was being made. If his will said “to my now wife I leave my farm for her life and at her demise it to go to my children” that meant his wife at the time he wrote his will. He might have been concerned that if he remarried and his “then wife” married again that his real property might fall out of his family’s hands. ——————— Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank—search for your ancestors in their newspaper collection.
Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. They are currently offering a special for Tip of the Day fans, followers, etc. GenealogyBank‘s collection focuses on newspapers, but there are additional materials in their collection as well. Their April offer equates to an annual rate of $4.67 a month–and a free “Getting Started” guide. We appreciate the support of GenealogyBank.
If you are using information that you transcribed or manually copied, always double check it for accuracy before completing your analysis or constructing online searches. It can be very easy to transcribe something incorrectly or transpose digits in an age or year of birth. Doublechecking may save you time and frustration. ——————— Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank—search for your ancestors in their newspaper collection.
We have one more presentation coming up this month and have released recorded copies of our other new presentations. Join us for our last session in April or order one of our newpresentations. Topics are: Female Ancestors 25 Brick Wall Strategies More From Ancestry.com Creating Those Color Charts and Citing Images Creating Families from Pre-1850 Census Records Bureau of Land Management Tract Books and Patents Details are here.
Don’t neglect digitizing the reverse side of your photographs. Some will have identifying information on the reverse and it’s good to preserve not just the identifying information, but also the handwriting in which it was written. ——————— Our Genealogy Tip of the Day book is available by mail-in order, credit card payment from me, or through Amazon.com.
When you have finished analyzing the materials in a court case file, make note of the dates of any court action. Then search local newspapers for possible mention of the case. The court record may only give part of the story. What is in the newspaper may be unsubstantiated, but it may give you a different perspective than what was in the court record. The 1892 illustration is from a lengthy newspaper account of a estate squabble from Adams County, Illinois. The newspaper’s rendition provided significant background that is not mentioned in the court records. ———————
Without other information, do not immediately conclude that the person referenced as a “junior” is necessarily the son of the “senior.” The references could indicate the two men are father and son, but they could be uncle and nephew as well. It is also possible that the relationship is more distant (or nonexistent) and that the use of junior/senior is simply to indicate which man is which–by using their age.
Local court cases usually only index the name of one defendant and one plaintiff, regardless of how many people are involved in the case as defendants and plaintiffs. Witnesses and others who may be mentioned in testimony and other court cases will not appear in indexes either. For this reason it is important to search for names of relatives of your direct line ancestor in defendants’ and plaintiffs’ index to court cases. Otherwise you may easily overlook something involving your ancestor, especially if he and his siblings were sued and the name of his sibling is the one under which the case is indexed.
We received good feedback from this latest installment in my “Brick Wall” series–25 Brick Wall Busters. If you’ve enjoyed our “Brick Wall” series, this one will revisit some of our more popular approaches along with new examples and a few new tricks thrown in the mix. Sometimes it never hurts to hear something again, if only for the reminder. This presentation will include a handout with the concepts discussed and brief examples demonstrating the approach. This presentation is geared towards the advanced beginner/intermediate level researcher. Order the recorded copy of the presentation for immediate download.
Your newfound cousin hosts his own genealogy information on his own domain name. What happens to that domain name and information when he dies, stops paying the bill, or is unable to maintain the site? Don’t assume what’s put online has been preserved. And don’t assume that because you see it online today that it will be available in that same format on that same site in five years. ——————— Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank—search for your ancestors.
It’s always advised to include identifying information on any digital image of a photograph. While such information can be included in metadata, the fact remains that images posted online get copied and pasted with no attention paid to metadata. It is also possible that some digital imaging programs strip metadata altogether. It’s easy to add free-form commentary to any digital image of a photograph. Be certain to include: Names of individual Location Date Provenance who has picture (you don’t have to list their address) who made image and date (at least year) how identification was made ——————————- If you don’t know how to add these images to your own digital images, it’s one of the two topics discussed in my recent webinar on “Citing Digital Images and Creating […]
Fractions are a genealogist’s friend because they are often clues to an inheritance. The children of Paul Freund in Davenport, Iowa, owned two-thirds of his farm, his cows, his wagon, and his calves upon his death. That’s the items listed in the inventory that is a part of their guardianship. Paul died with no will (intestate) and state law dictated that the widow received a third of the property with the rest going to his children. That’s how they ended up with a two-thirds interest. The probate documents don’t explain how they got the two-thirds interest as court records in this time period don’t often explain things that stem from state statute or common law. That’s why a general understanding of probate procedures is helpful. And why fractions […]
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