Before I extensively research individuals who appear as witnesses on ancestral documents, I keep in mind a few things: What is a witness? A witness is simply saying that they saw the signer of the document sign it. Who is a witness? A witness usually has to be of legal age at the place and in the time where the document is signed. They could be a relative of the person signing the document. They could be another warm body nearby when the document is signed. The witnesses in ancestral documents that I research first are those whose names appear most often or who witness documents an ancestor signed in different geographic locations. People in those two categories have the highest chance of having a significant connection to […]
From a while back… Your ancestor’s name may not appear in the city directory or directories may not be available. Classified ads in the newspaper may tell you where the person lived or had a business establishment. They may also help you confirm addresses for people who moved around quite a bit–sometimes one step ahead of the rent collector.
The mother’s maiden name on this 1960-era death certificate from Iowa is wrong in more way than one. The first name was not the mother’s first name, but it could possibly a nick name for her of which I am unaware. The last name was a splitting of the mother’s second married name which was actually Greenstreet. It is very possible that the informant heard the mother referred to as “Greenstreet” and always assumed it was two words–particularly if they never saw it written down.
A relative is married in 1843 in St. Louis, Missouri. He is married again in Illinois in 1848. The most likely scenario is that she died. It is possible that the couple actually divorced or separated and never bothered to divorce. The divorce would have generated a court record. A separation that never resulted in divorce may not have generated any records at all. But I should not assume the first wife died unless there is some additional evidence other than simply the subsequent marriage.
A stint in prison can explain why your ancestor is not enumerated with his family in the census. Court records or newspapers may contain additional details about why your ancestor landed in prison. State prisons (or the state archives) may have additional records. And, it is also possible your relative ended up divorced over his incarceration–resulting in more records.
Is your ancestor’s obituary or writeup hiding in an ethnic (often in a foreign language), religious, trade, or other “non-typical” newspaper? Obituaries for immigrant ancestors may be more detailed in a local foreign language newspaper, and a notice in a religious or trade periodical may provide information not given in the local newspaper. Local libraries, historical or genealogical societies may be able to provide information about newspapers of this type.
Communion tokens were used by members of Reformed churches in Scotland and other areas of Europe as a means of granting access to communion in the church. Generally speaking it meant the the holder of the token or coin had received sufficient instruction and was a member of the local congregation in good standing. The genealogist may be interested in these coins or tokens. If one is found in a relative’s attic, trunk, or elsewhere it could be a clue as to where the family had lived at one point in time. The communion token in the illustration was issued in 1850 to someone from Lochmaben in Scotland. Additional information on the coins can be found on Wikipedia and this online article. They can also be found for […]
Remember that throughout much of US history, a person could easily change their name without going to court at all. Don’t expect to find a court record of a name change for your ancestor who started going by a different name in the 1860s. You might find comments about the varying names on land deeds (if the ancestor purchased land before the change and sold it after) or military pension records (where applications were made after the name change). It is possible that other records may reference the change–possibly a death certificate.
A relative was mentioned regularly in the local weekly newspaper until 1978 when she “disappeared.” She did not reappear until approximately 1995. When searching for newspaper references to her son, I found a reference to him and his mother with a different last name. Searching for that last name I found several references to her between 1978 and 1995, including a divorce about the same time she started reappearing under her earlier last name. I’m assuming she and the husband eloped a distance away which is why the marriage reference was not located when searching local newspapers. If your female ancestor or relative disappears, consider that she could be right under you nose–under a new last name.
From a few years ago… Imagine you are researching your ancestor in a new location–one where you have never researched before. Unless your ancestor moved from the upstairs bedroom to the downstairs bedroom, there’s the chance she crossed a political boundary. Crossing that boundary means: laws may change types of records available may change records access may change information contained in records may change your ancestor’s citizenship status may change or something else Learning about these things in the new location will help your research. Don’t assume that the address was the only thing that changed when your ancestor moved.
If your ancestor owned real property and you’ve found him in tax records, do you know where they had to go to pay their taxes? They probably did not go to the actual courthouse. There might have been other places throughout the county where payments could be made. Newspapers are one great place to look for such information. Don’t assume that the collection process in 1850 is the same as it is today.
This 1861 baptismal register contains an entry for two individuals who were twins. Most of the entry appears to have been in the same handwriting–likely of the pastor at the time. There’s a notation in English apparently made by a separate person. My transcription of this record should include the “twin” reference and make it clear that it was done separately from the original record. If it is suspected that parts of a document were written by a different person or at a different point in time, that should be noted in any transcriptions made by include a note in brackets.
It is advised to always doublecheck what a word means before arguing with someone about it. Several years ago in discussing intestate probate, I indicated that my children were not heirs of my mother upon her death. An attendee in the audience insisted that they would be. Nope. They would not be heirs of my mother since I was alive at the time of her death. They would only be heirs of my mother if I predeceased my mother. My mother could have made them beneficiaries or legatees, but not heirs. An “heir,” sometimes written as “heir-at-law,” is someone who is legally entitled to inherit from someone if that person dies intestate. Living children of someone who dies intestate are their heirs. Living grandchildren of someone who dies […]
From a while back… If your ancestor was born in a small, out-of-the-way place, it may have been easier for them to give a nearby larger town as their place of birth instead of where they were actually born. If you can’t find them in the “town where they are supposed to be,” try the smaller outlying towns instead.
When viewing and saving images of digital records, take the time to capture relevant information in case it’s not on the document itself. This 1888 tax list from Gothenburg Precinct, Dawson County, Nebraska, did not include the location or the year on the record–despite there being a place for it. I used the tax records for several years and saved the images in the same order each time I made them–pages from the book, then the cover, pages from the book, then the cover, etc.–so I know the year and location of the record as that information is written on the cover of each book. That method of organization saved me time while making the images, but preserved those details which will be helpful in analyzing the images […]
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