My great-aunt is buried in Idaho. She has two tombstones–one a military one and other a joint stone with her husband. The dates of birth and death are the same–born in 1910 and died in 1990. One has her name as Anna M. Hutchison and the other has her name as Margaret M. Hutchison. Never hurts to change those first and middle names around when performing searches. And the stones should be transcribed they way they are inscribed. Commentary about what is “correct” can be made elsewhere. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
[I’m posting this notice on all my blogs–please forgive the cross posting as I rarely duplicate in this fashion.] All the content on this blog has been created by me. Errors, typos, and all. I don’t copy other people’s content–it’s illegal, it’s immoral, and it’s against the law. Copying content from others devalues their work and limits the ability of the creator of a work to earn what they can from that work. Typically those who blatantly violate the copyright of others are simply too lazy or too incompetent to create their own work. Of course people of that ilk usually don’t care about the person from whom they are copying. Using the material of others as your own is not flattery-it’s theft. If you want to flatter […]
Constructing Database Searches: A Short Course This three-session course will meet on three Saturdays in December of 2012. For more details visit our announcement page. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
A burial location is a burial location, not a death location. In most cases, people do die near to where they are buried, but not always. The more recent the death, the easier it could have been to transport the body. In 1850 most people were buried near to where they died. In 2012, they could easily have not been. Don’t assume a person died in the state in which they are buried. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
You may think divine providence caused you to obtain that picture of great-grandma or that family bible, but provenance is what we usually call the “chain of ownership” for a family relic or document. The provenance of a family heirloom shows how it came to us. It’s important to track as much of the provenance of an item as we can in order to know what we have is really what we think it is. The provenance for item indicates we know who the previous owners were and how we came to acquire the item ourselves. After all, is that great-grandpa’s hayhook, or did you just pick it up a farm sale? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When searching for those elusive ancestors in databases, indexes, and other finding aids, remember that the person may be only listed with their initials. If the initials are difficult to read, the letters in the index may not even be “close” to the correct ones. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Our 60% genealogy webinar sale is back on–save 60% off on our already low-price of $8.50 per presentation. Our topics include: Sections, Townships, Base Lines, and More–Legal Property Descriptions Charts, Charts, and More Charts Creating Research Plans Female Ancestors Probate Process Did Your Ancestor Get A Civil War Pension? What Is Not Written Crossing The Pond Preparing for Mother’s Death The Genealogical Proof Standard and much, much more. This 60% discount makes our presentations the most affordable in the industry. Our presentations are informal, down-to-earth, and practical. The only agenda we have is helping you with your research. Coupon code “sixty” at check out will reduce your order by 60%. Downloads are immediate. Sale ends at 11:59 PM (Central time) 24 October 2012. Don’t wait–your ancestors are not getting any younger. Orders […]
A witness to a document typically is only indicating that they know who signed the document in question. A witness has to be of legal age and sound mind, but does not have to have any relationship to the person actually making out the document. Don’t draw too many conclusions about a person who only witnesses one of your ancestor’s documents. The witness just might have been another warm body in the office the same time as your ancestor. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Is there a region (county, state, etc.) where you are researching and you don’t have any contemporary map of the area? Even a modern map is better than nothing. Researching in an area without understanding the geography is asking to be confused. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Most immigrants to the United States did naturalize after they had been in the United States for some time. Some never naturalized, which would explain the lack of a naturalization record. Some naturalized before 1906 when any court of record could naturalize and if you don’t know where your ancestor resided for every moment of his life, you might not locate the record. And others may have thought they were naturalized by their father’s naturalization and that they did not need to naturalize themselves. Keep in mind that especially before the 1920s, naturalization laws were confusing to many. One of those confused might have been your ancestor. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
It may take years for the estate of your ancestor to have been completely settled. As a result, the probate file for your ancestor who died in 1840 may be filed with those cases settled in the 1860s. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Do you plan your research and decide what to do and how to do it before you it? Or do you just start typing things in search boxes and hoping? Do you randomly look for families in various records, hoping something comes up as the result? While there is nothing wrong with hope, a little organization of your search can save you from frustration later and allow you to better trouble-shoot unsuccessful searches. And do you have any research goals? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
We’ve just released the media file for my latest webinar which focuses on knowing what you are searching on FamilySearch. If you are confused by states that have multiple indexes to the “same” set of vital records, why a marriage entry appears multiple times in an index, or how to see what was used to create the index, then this webinar is for you. We focus on American sources, but the methods will apply to other locations as well. This presentation is not for complete beginners–some research experience is necessary. You can download the media for only $4 during our introductory price offer. A PayPal account is not necessary, you can “click through” and when time for payment comes, click as a “guest” and use your non-PayPal credit […]
When trying to obtain a copy of a vital record, begin searching at the local level first (town, county, etc.), then try the state records office. Avoiding search firms that advertise for “immediate” delivery will be easier on your pocketbook. Determine if any records are available online or on microfilm via FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org). Chances are you do not need the death certificate tomorrow, via overnight mail. Don’t pay for services you do not need. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When was the last time you visited the FamilySearch site to see if there were scanned images of local records in areas where you have family? Even if you ignore the “compiled trees,” (which isn’t a bad idea), there are still many, many actual images of records on the site–all free. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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