If an inventory of an estate lists appraised values of items, be careful in comparing them to prices today. Values are not easy to “translate” over several hundred years. Try and compare the value of the item in question to other items in the same inventory or to other inventories from the same time period. An 1865 estate inventory indicated the deceased had $200 in a “stock of groceries.” That seemed like quite a bit. In fact that same amount was the listed value for a frame building he owned. This made it seem like the “stock of groceries” was more than what a family would have on hand for their own consumption. It turns out he was a saloonkeeper and the stock might have been used in […]
Do not assume that every immigrant naturalized in his new country. If an immigrant was not interested in voting or running for political office, becoming a citizen might not have been high on his priority list before the early 20th century. Immigrants could often own land and sell and bequeath it without being a citizen–although those rights were governed by state statute. So if you can’t find any proof that your 1860 immigrant naturalized, consider the possibility that he never naturalized. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Today I presented “Proving Benjamin” discussing how 1850, 1870, and 1880 enumerations for a man in three different states were shown to be the same man. This New York native was born around 1820 in New York State and lived in Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, and possibly other states as well as Canada. Dealing with individuals with similar names, people who move all over, and conflicting information are discussed. Compounding the issue is that Benjamin is enumerated with a different name in 1880. This webinar (and handout) can be ordered for $8.00 for immediate download. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If there’s a website that has information you need, save the page to your hard drive or print it out for your own personal use again later. You never know when a website will go down forever. There was a website of cemetery inscriptions for one cemetery that after being up for ten years went “away.” And those inscriptions are not on any other cemetery website. Lesson learned. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
It’s no April Fool’s Day joke–the 1940 census is coming. Originally it will be unindexed–our webinar will discuss search strategies for those who want to search the census before the indexes go online. This webinar will be held on 1 April 2012 at 3:00 PM Central–4:00 PM Eastern—1:00 PM Pacific.Join us for “Searching the Unindexed 1940 Census.”Register online for $4. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Look carefully at the bondsman on an ancestor’s marriage bond. If he was not related himself, research him further–it could have been his wife who was a relative. And remember that marriage bonds were not required in all US states and generally fell out of favor by the Civil War. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Is there a first name in your family that gets passed down from generation to generation and is somewhat unusual? Was it possibly someone’s maiden name? While that’s possible, don’t hold to that theory too closely–it’s also possible that the unusual name came from a non-relative. Unusual names are clues to potential information about a relationship, not proof. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Three of my blogs are available for delivery on your kindle: Daily Genealogy Transcriber–view blog—order kindle version Genealogy Tip of the Day–view blog-–order kindle version Rootdig —view blog—order kindle version ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When your research crosses a border into a state where you have never done research, put the ancestor away. Learn something about research and records in the state. Visit the website for the state archives, state historical society, state historical library, etc. Learning something about the materials that may be available to you may help you more than immediately digging away using approaches that worked elsewhere. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If your ancestor filed a homestead claim under the United states Homestead Act of 1862, he had to be a citizen of the United States. This might be a place to locate your ancestor’s naturalization record if he naturalized in some unknown location “back East” before moving west to homestead. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
March 2012 Fundamental WebinarsRescheduled due to illness–see new dates below Our fundamental webinars are each approximately 20 minutes in length. These short session are geared for beginner or somewhat experienced beginners who would like to learn more about the following topics. Each presentation includes the 20 minute or so presentation and the handouts. Downloads of previous fundamental webinars can be ordered here. Quick Google Ideas—this is geared towards the advanced beginner to intermediate genealogist as all the fundamental webinars. Our focus will be on searching, what to search for and how to search for it. Runs on 13 April 2012 at 2:30 PM Central. Register for $2. · Organizing Census Searches—querying census databases to locate hard-to-find ancestors is necessary. Organizing the search is necessary as well. Through three quick examples, get ideas […]
We have rescheduled my missed webinars and posted the new schedule. If you have already paid and registered–you’re still good to go for the ones that I had to reschedule. Our upcoming lineup:Genealogical Proof Standard (rescheduled)Proving Benjamin (rescheduled)Sourcing in Your Ancestry Tree (rescheduled)1940 Census–NEW!Preparing for Mother’s Death-NEW!The new schedule is online at:http://www.casefileclues.com/webinars_neill.htmIf you have questions, email me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
For some locations and time periods, there may be civil and church records of birth (baptism), marriage and death (burial/funeral). Make certain you’ve located both the civil and church record if appropriate. One may be more detailed or legible than the other. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If an ancestor “disappears,” consider the possibility that they were admitted to the county poor farm? The ancestor may have fallen on hard times or otherwise become unable to care for themselves. Records of the poor farm may not be overly detailed, but they may help explain why Grandma “disappeared.” ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If your ancestor bought and sold property after property, the deed work can be tedious. However if he were married during those land transactions, his wife would have had to “release” her dower when the property was sold. The name of the wife on those releases could provide clues as to the existence of more than one wife and approximately when he was married to which one. A Mary releasing dower in 1802 and 1805 and a Susannah releasing dower in 1810 and 1817 could be a good clue. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Recent Comments