Records of a private business, such as a funeral home, are private records which do not have to be made available to the public. Yes, they may have provided funeral services for your great-grandparents, but they are under no obligation to tell you who paid the bill, what biographical information was provided, or anything else. So be courteous and polite when requesting these records, or any records that are not public records. This includes church records as well. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
An 1870 estate settlement lists your male ancestor as an heir of their grandfather. The estate settlement enver indicates your male ancestor is a minor, so you (reasonably) conclude they are “of age.” Based upon this you conclude that your ancestor was born by about 1849. Did you list the estate settlement as the “source” of the approximate year of birth? Did you include in the notes HOW you reached this conclusion. The estate settlement doesn’t provide direct evidence of age and the indirect nature of it (which includes your reasoning) should be discussed in your notes on the specific ancestor. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
We won’t be offering our September and October topics for a while and because of hosting and other costs, the registrations for future webinars will be higher. Topics: Court records Land records Establishing migration trails Barbara’s Beaus and Gesche’s Girls The schedule, registration information, and download information (if you cannot attend) is here http://www.casefileclues.com/webinars_neill.htm ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If there are key terms that confuse you, consider taking a short list with you when going to a courthouse to research onsite. If you cannot remember the difference between grantor and grantee, quitclaim and warantee, executor and administrator, etc. having a list might be very helpful. It could prevent you from misinterpreting something and wasting time. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember that heirs to an estate are typically prevented from performing certain roles in the settlement of an estate. Heirs usually are not allowed to appraise an estate or to witness the will of a person from whom they are inheriting. Relatives can witness a will or appraise an estate, they just cannot be heirs. And remember that relatives of a deceased person may not necessarily be their heirs. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you are having difficulty getting a family member to remember things from their youth instead of getting aggravated at them, considering using names of music, music itself, names of movies, etc. as a way to get their memories started flowing. Who won the presidential election the first year they were allowed to vote? These and other things might get them started remembering. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Do you have modern maps of where your ancestor lived? Do you have maps contemporary to when your ancestor lived in the location? Geographic perspective is always good–keeping in mind that places in 1750 might not be named the same or of the same size as they are in 2011. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Every word in a document, record, or newspaper account needs to be kept in context. The precise meaning of a word may have been different in 1800 than it is today. A word being used in a legal document may have a meaning that is more specific than when used by a layman and may have a slightly different meaning than in common conversation. Is there a word or phrase that you could be interpreting in a 21st century way–and not the way it was meant when it was used in the document? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
While it was unusual, some women who divorced in the 1800s did revert to a previous married name. This should be stated in the divorce decree and it was not common, but it did happen. However, it is more typical for the divorced female to use the last name of her most recent husband. And divorce in the 1800s was not as common as in the twentieth century, but it did happen. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Do you know what until the early 20th century in the US if a native born female married an un-naturalized man that she lost her citizenship status? Wasn’t always a real big problem—until women got the right to vote. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If the wife survived when the husband dies, be certain to look through all the estate and probate records for clues about subsequent marriages by the widow. In some cases, she may be listed as “Barbara, late wife of Henry Smith, deceased.” In other cases, her new marital status may not be stated so clearly. The widow could be listed on virtually any document in the estate papers simply with a new last name, with no mention of the husband. And if the wife appears in initial papers settling her deceased husband’s estate and a man, whose not a known blood relative of the widow or deceased husband, suddenly “appears” in the records–check him out. There’s a chance he is the new husband, just with the relationship not […]
The correct link for my series of October genealogy webinars is: http://www.casefileclues.com/webinars_neill.htm An email contained the incorrect link. My apologies for the confusion. Topics in October are: Seeing Patterns Court Records Land Records–Federal Land States Barbara’s Beaus and Gesche’s Girls Determining Your Own Migration Trail Now back to the tips! Thanks… ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Be cautious of a researcher who guarantees to find your family for you. Genealogists can search records to which they have access and that they can guarantee. However, no one can guarantee that they will find your great-grandparents–unless they already have done it and located the information before you ever contacted them. If a search has not already been done, there is no way someone can “guarantee” they will find your family for you. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Information on your ancestor’s records may be inconsistent for several reasons. One to keep in the back of your mind is that maybe they “got something in their head wrong” and used that wrong information every time they answered the question. There are times where there’s no real “reason” for incorrect information and “wrong” details are not given with the intent to deceive. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Check with your local library and determine if they have access to subscription databases that may be helpful in your research. There are obvious ones like Ancestry.com, Fold3, HeritageQuest, but also academic databases, periodicals, etc. may be useful in your research. Academic journals may contain historical articles related to the area where your ancestor lived and while they may not mention your ancestor specifically, the history may be helpful. And these articles often contain references that may provide additional information. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Recent Comments