Did your immigrant family have a temporary landing spot when they immigrated? Even if they lived in one state for thirty or forty years after their immigration doesn’t mean that was where they originally settled. I had one family where many extended family members immigrated over fifteen years. Almost all of them spent a few years in Kentucky before settling permanently in Illinois. I just assumed all their United States records were in Illinois, which was incorrect. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Abbreviations should be used in your records and transcriptions very very rarely. Will anyone else know what they mean? Will you remember them in five or ten years? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Just remember that what is obvious to you might not be obvious to everyone else. And that what is “obvious” to you might not even be true! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Is the last name you think is your ancestor’s last name the last name of his father or his step-father? Perhaps the mother’s remarriage is creating a roadblock for you. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you are looking for when an ancestor died in an era before good death records, consider looking at property tax records if the ancestor owned property. If the ancestor suddenly is listed as “deceased” or “the estate of,” that could be a big clue as to when he died. The estate may be paying taxes for several years before the property actually changes hands. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Keep in mind that there are a variety of records that might mention your ancestor and that are not everyname indexed. Court records, estate records, and other records usually are not FULL name indexed, unless they have been abstracted and published. It may be necessary to get away from indexed records in order to solve your problem. The difficulty is that unindexed records take longer to search. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Some information lends itself to making charts–some doesn’t. Regardless there may be some way to organize information in table format. Doing so may help you to notice trends that have someone passed you by or catch omissions in your research. Either is a good thing. We use a fair amount of charts in Casefile Clues–because it helps organize information for readers and is good for the researcher as well. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you are stuck on an ancestor, are you using the “same old sources” you always use? Are there records you avoid because you don’t understand, they are “difficult” to access, etc? Some individuals avoid land records, court records, and other records for these reasons. Are there un-utilized sources that might have the answer to your problem? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If the last name is MacDonald, look for Donald. If the last name is DeMoss, look for Moss. If the last name starts with an “O,” drop it. Try looking for Wall instead of Van de Wall. And on the reverse side, if the last name is Neill, you might want to try O’ Neill or McNeill. Just in case. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
A wife’s dower is that portion of a man’s estate or possessions that the law assigns to his wife. Typically a third, it was determined by state statute. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Historically a woman who was authorized by law to manage her own affairs. She might have been single, a widow, an abandoned wife, or in very unusual circumstances, a married woman. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
A femme covert is a married woman whose rights are incorporated into those of her husband. She doesn’t have legal rights of her own. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Of the things to do when visiting that distant courthouse-remember that the purpose of the office is to do the daily business, which often is not to assist you with your research. Be polite, be patient, know what you are looking for and don’t come across as the “tourist genealogist” who thinks they “know everything.” Your goal is to get records–remember you most likely don’t know anyone there, aren’t a local taxpayer, aren’t a local voter, etc. You’ll have more luck with a softshoe approach than a brash one. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Is it possible that two individuals who were first cousins were actually cousins on another side of the family as well? It happens. Keep in mind that individuals may be related in more than one way. Or that individuals who are related by blood may have additional relationships too, either by marriage, employment, etc. Sometimes the connections are not entirely crystal clear and may be multi-layered. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Do you really know how your ancestors said their last name? I always thought I knew how my grandmother’s maiden name was said, until I saw it in an 1870 census with a “new” spelling. I asked on an German research list how the last name was likely said by a low-German speaker and was given a pronunciation slightly different from what I had always used. Then the alternate spelling made perfect sense. Do you know your ancestor’s name was said? It can make all the difference. Subscribe to Casefile Clues and see how it helped with the family I was researching for issue 42. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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