Never assume there cannot be more than one person with same name–or a name that’s very close to it–in the same area. Whether the area is rural or urban makes no difference. It is always possible. While writing a recent tip, I came across a person named Hilka Huls who died in the 1950s in Hancock County, Illinois. Wanting to make certain I had the correct person and the correct date, I did a little searching. There were two women with this name in that location. Both were born in the 1870s. Both died in the 1950s. They were sisters-in-law. Same namers may be related–most likely first or second cousins. They may be related by marriage–as in this case. They may also not be related at all. Sometimes […]
Inconsistencies in records can create a problem for the genealogist. Ages can be off. Specific dates of birth can vary from one record to another. Names can vary slightly from one ancestral reference to the next. Any piece of information about an ancestor can be different in different references. The difficulty is in determining whether these differences matter. Do we need to revise what we think we know about a specific ancestor or do we need to conclude that we do not have records involving the same person? It’s not an easy question to answer as it usually depends on the specifics of the situation. Generally though it’s best to look at each record as a whole in trying to determine if a record refers to the person […]
Congregational reports can contain a variety of unique information. The 1955 report from Trinity Lutheran Church in Carthage, Illinois, includes a list of members who passed away during the year and in whose name a donation was made to a children’s home. It’s not clear from the report whether the date given is the date of death or the date the donation was made. Locating these items may be difficult. Churches may have copies of old reports, but they likely will not search them for you. Denominational archives may have copies of reports of some of their congregations. Local historical societies may have them as well. Many copies from the 20th century are probably in attics, boxes, and other locations individual’s homes. That’s where this one was found.
In many rural areas of the United States, census enumerations do not provide exact residences for households. In some cases, particularly before 1880 when enumeration districts came into use, determining where someone lived at the time of the census may not be done with as much precision as we would like. In rural areas, the census may provide a smaller civil geographic area–such as a township or an election district. Other census enumerations may only be as specific as the county. In all of these cases, determining where your ancestor lived with more precision may be done potentially with land and property tax records (for landowners) or with land and property tax records for their census neighbors (for non-landowners). There may be other records that provide a more […]
I am giving a webinar on US funeral home records and creating children’s stories from genealogy materials on 27 October 2023–details on our announcement page.
Reminder that all US federal censuses are free on FamilySearch: United States Census, 1950 United States Census, 1940 United States Census, 1930 United States Census, 1920 United States Census, 1910 United States Census, 1900 United States Census, 1890 United States Census, 1880 United States Census, 1870 United States Census, 1860 United States Census, 1850 United States Census, 1840 United States Census, 1830 United States Census, 1820 United States Census, 1810 United States Census, 1800 United States Census, 1790
Families can be separated on passenger manifests. Always make certain to read the entire manifest for additional entries with the same last name as the person of interest. This 1869 manifest from the Hansa, which landed in New York City on 30 August 1869 contains entries for the Bruns family. Ulke (actually Ubbe) and Trientje Bruns appear on the manifiest approximately twenty entries before those for their children, Nanke, Jacob, Gerd, Albert, and Hinrich. Why the family is separated on the manifest is not known, but the fact remains that the names are not together. Always read the entire manifest for other potential family members who may have travelled with your ancestor.
A blast from the past: It can be easy to waste “research” time by mindlessly looking at online sites for one thing or another. Some ways to avoid these time wasting activities are: make a list of research tasks you wish to accomplish; turn your internet connection off; make a list of documents to transcribe; make a list of “done” ancestors that should be reviewed; set a schedule of when to go back and check a site for an update to a database (daily is probably excessive); lists in general are good. Chasing some research leads down those “rabbit holes” can be a good thing–sometimes. But it can be easy to waste an inordinate amount of time chasing after half-baked, uncooked leads on your computer, when you’ve got […]
“Great-grandma Neill wouldn’t let Nellie date the Humke boy because they were related.” I know someone told me that. I am not dreaming it. I had already known the Humke boy was related, but the dating (or potential dating) was news to me. I remembered the tidbit while doing something completely unrelated and the statement just popped into my memory from out of nowhere. The problem is that I cannot for the life of me remember who told what great-grandma said. I will include the statement in my notes on these individuals, but indicate clearly that I cannot remember who told me this or when I was told this. It is even more frustrating because I was told this little nugget years after I had started genealogy and […]
Sooner or later you will encounter conflicting information in your research. Record the information as it is provided on each source and put any analysis in your notes. Do not change, correct, or modify the information from an actual record. Your job is not to edit. If there are obvious errors, indicate that in a comment, but do not “fix” the record.
My uncle was married to his wife for ten days when he died of the flu in 1918. His widow never remarried and lived the rest of her life with her parents. In at least one federal census, she was enumerated with her maiden name. The listing is probably an error as later records use her married name. Everyone else in the household had the same name, except my aunt. It is very possible that the census taker simply got confused. Do you have a female relative who is inadvertently listed under their maiden name in a record created after their marriage?
Before you scan 400 family photographs, scan a few and make certain your scanner is working the way you think it should. Make certain you can back up the images. Make certain any editing is working the way you think it is. Then continue your project. Before travelling to distant cemeteries to take photographs, make certain you know how to use your camera in a cemetery during different times of the day. Make certain you know how to upload your photos to back up services and media. Practice while you are at home and have time to learn and “get it right” instead of learning on the fly at a cemetery when the rain is about to start and you are about to leave. The same goes with […]
Years ago after a presentation, a gentleman came up and told me that I should not suggest people rely on census records or other “secondary records” (his phrasing) for information. I should suggest better sources. That’s just not the way it works. We do not always have the sources that we would like to have. While census records can be incorrect and information that’s secondary can be suspect, sometimes it is all that we have. My ancestor, Ellen Butler was born in Missouri in the 1850s. Her family moved frequently, did not attend any church that kept records, there is no family bible that I can find, and she died before there was vital registration of deaths as well. While I keep looking for a “better source” of […]
There are several ways one can approach “problem-solving” and it’s been mentioned as a tip of the day before. One way is not necessarily any more correct than another. The important thing is to think about your research as you do it. I’m a fan of the problem-solving process attributed to George Polya, which I’ve slightly modified. There are essentially four steps in the problem-solving process: Understand the problem–this involves learning the history of the area, learning the applicable laws of the time, all the records available (and their issues), knowing key terms in any documents already located, assumptions you have made, your ancestor’s background, etc. Understanding takes time. Plan–pick a record to access or an approach to use to answer your question Execute-search the record or apply the […]
When making digital images of any piece of paper, always make an image of the back as well as the front of every item. Consistently making such images will help to guarantee no information is lost and will not leave you wondering later if there was something on the back of the item.
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