Don’t neglect to tell your own story in addition to those you discover on your ancestors. After all, most of us would love to have something our long-deceased relative had written about themselves. Be certain to include what you remember about relatives you knew growing up as well. And who knows, when writing your own stories down, you may get some insight into that ancestor who has you stuck
Are you looking at the “paper neighbors” of your relatives? The first declaration of intention shown here is for the person of interest. The one immediately after his was done on the very same day by another person with allegiance to the same country. There were no other declarations made on that day. Odd that the two men coincidentally arrived on the same day. Turns out they were both connected to another family of Irish immigrants to the same area–and that was discovered by researching both men. There may be clues in those “paper neighbors.”
If you have urban ancestors in the mid-19th century or later, have you located your ancestor’s home on fire insurance maps? The Sanborn Company published these maps for thousands of United States cities, towns, and villages. Details include number of stories for the building, relative size compared to neighboring homes, names of some nearby businesses and churches, and more.
Some documents have several dates on them. Vital records will contain the date of the event, Deeds will contain the date the deed was executed. Wills include the date the will was signed. Some documents contain the date the document was recorded. Wills should contain the date the will was admitted to probate. Deeds may include the date the deed was acknowledged. Each of these dates are a clue in the chronology of the document. Always determine the reason for any date listed on a document–all of them.
In the 19th century, some of the United States census enumeration included more than population schedules. There were also agricultural, industrial and other schedules. Have you looked at these non-population schedules for information about your ancestor?
If your Civil War veteran applied for a homestead under the United States Homestead Act, he would have to have proved his service. A copy of his discharge would in with the homestead application. If you’re having trouble locating his military or pension records, see what is in his homestead application first.
If there is not a “regular” civil record of your ancestor’s birth, determine if the office has a record of “delayed” births. These records were those created years after the actual event when it was realized the person had no birth record made at the time of their birth and they needed a copy of their birth record. Delayed birth records were usually made based upon the testimony of those alive at the time of the birth or documentation submitted from other records (ie. church records, government census records, etc.)
Applications for US military pensions often mention the act under which the veteran (or his widow) applied. The details of that act may explain why the veteran waited until then–and that reason could be a clue. Men or women who applied for federal property usually did so under a certain act. If you have records of your ancestor having “applied” for anything, look to see if the act under which the application was made is referenced. Learning about that act may tell you something about your ancestor that is not stated in the application.
If your ancestor naturalized, see what other people naturalized on the same day. If you found your ancestor’s declaration of intent, see who else made out declarations on that day. Look at the names of other people who got married on the same day as your ancestor. Are there clues in the other people who did certain things on the same day as your ancestor?
Plenty of original records are in bound volumes without page numbers. Frustrating as it is, researchers whose work extends before 1900 will encounter volumes with pages that have no numbering to them at all. The citation to this record needs to include enough detail so that you or someone else can easily find the record again. Don’t just make a copy without thinking about how you located the record. How did you find the record in the first place–were you in the births for 1850, the deaths from 1823, etc.? Were the entries within a specific year numbered? Your citation does not have to be in “perfect” form, but include enough detail so the record can be found again.
When you’ve reached a stumbling block in the research of your long-dead ancestors, consider writing some of your own story–childhood experiences, school experiences, etc. Record that information that rarely gets recorded and that we all wish our long-dead ancestors had left behind for us.
When you’ve reached a stumbling block in the research of your long-dead ancestors, consider writing some of your own story–childhood experiences, school experiences, etc. Record that information that rarely gets recorded and that we all wish our long-dead ancestors had left behind for us.
My German born ancestor was George Trautvetter–born in the 1790s. He had brothers Adam, Michael. and Henry. I was years into researching the family before I learned that at least two of them really had the first name of John or Johann–using that first name combined with the middle name made finding them easier. They dropped the “first name” after a while in the United States, but used it on passenger lists and records early in their settlement. Is your ancestor hiding under an “unknown” first name?
If you are fortunate enough to obtain a copy of your ancestor’s will, it may be that parts of it are difficult to read. Was there a contemporary transcription of the will made by the court that approved the probate of the will? Often the will was ordered to be “filed” for record and that transcription may be easier to read than the original. There’s always the chance that the record copy contains an error and it won’t contain the actual copy of your ancestor’s signature, but it may be easier to read than the original.
If any sibling or sibling-in-law of your ancestor received a military pension, especially a widow’s pension, consider obtaining the records. Widows needed to prove their marriage to the serviceman in addition to his service and need. Family members were frequently the ones who provided testimony, particularly to the marriage.
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