When working on my brick wall ancestor, I searched probate records. I actually never searched them at all for him because I was always told he was “dirt poor.” And there he was in the estate records two times. How can you die twice and have two estates? Turns out for the time period in question, insanity cases were filed with the probate and estate records. It was two insanity cases I had located for him, not probate cases. If I had never looked in estate files, I never would have found out information about his insanity hearings. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When searching http://books.google.com try a search for your ancestor and the county where he lived. A search for John Rucker Orange Virginia located several like references to my ancestor, including one in The Colonial Churches of St. Thomas’ Parish, Orange County, Virginia. I might have eventually found the reference, but Google Books made it faster. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
A cousin graciously shared with me a copy of a casefile a relative had shared with her. I was very glad to get it. The relative of the cousin received the file from the National Archives years ago. I wondered if the National Archives had sent her the entire file as it looked like the original copies were made in the days when mail in requests were for “selected documents.” Turns out there was at least one page the relative was not sent. In this case, the missing document was not a “huge” discovery, but sometimes it can be. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Tip of the Day Readers who want a sample copy of my newsletter “Casefile Clues” can do so by sending me an email at mjnrootdig@gmail.com. Those who subscribe by Saturday midnight (10 October 2009) will get back issues 1-10 and have their subscription to the weekly how-to newsletter start with issue 11. More information on Casefile Clues is on the website and subscription information is as well. A Paypal account is not necessary (you just need a credit card). Those who wish to use other payment options can email me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com for that information. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I recently wrote about my brick wall ancestor, Ira Sargent, in a recent column for Casefile Clues. One of the records mentioned was his 1900 census enumeration. I had originally looked at it years ago, probably when I was 14 or 15 years of age. I had seen it several times in the interim and really hadn’t given it a lot of thought. A reader pointed out that part of his census entry looked like it was in a different hand and perhaps had an item written in it after the census taker had made his enumeration. I’m not certain what was going on with the entry, but it makes a good point that perhaps something you’ve seen several times over several years may contain an anomaly that […]
Is there something you cannot read on a document? Instead of trying to transcribe it and post your transcription to a mailing list, consider scanning the image and asking list members of an appropriate genealogy mailing list or message board if anyone is willing to read it for you. Remember that many mailing lists do not allow attachments to be sent and that messages must be text only. Of course, if you have a blog, you can always post images there as well. Then let members of an appropriate mailing list or message board know where your post is located. Someone reading the actual image can do a better job of interpreting that than trying guess what really was on that paper you have. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s […]
Ok, so it’s not just a genealogy tip. Our laptop is on the fritz and my daughter wanted to use the desktop. I was forced to read some homestead case files without the internet and email as a distraction. And guess what? I noticed three things I had not noticed the first time I read through the papers. The first time I had read them while I was “waiting” on webpages or search results to load. Is multitasking your problem? Would you notice more details in a record or a file if it had your complete attention? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I realize it would never happen to any “Tip of the Day” readers, but could you possibly have made a mistake at some point in your research? Sometimes the misake isn’t consequential, but in some cases it could be. While citing my sources for an issue of “Casefile Clues,” I reviewed an illustration for an article I wrote years ago and which I have used in countless lectures. When footnoting one of the items used to compile the chart, I realized that I had a marriage year listed two years off. It was clearly just a typo and did not impact my conclusion, but it was still wrong. Could you have made a mistake or typed something incorrectly? Is it possible that the mistake has an impact on […]
Think about that marriage record for your great-grandparents that gives the names of their parents. Think about that 1900 census form that provides the place of birth for the parents. Do you really know who provided that information? Did the bride give some of the groom’s information? Did the groom provide some of the groom’s information? Did the wife in a 1900 census enumeration simply guess at where her in-laws were born? Very possible. And since most of us were not there when our great-grandparents’ wedding or when the 1900 census was taken, the only thing we can do is conjecture about who answered those questions. Is the informant the problem? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
This post includes thoughts…without necessarily answers. If my daughter tells someone her date of birth, she is a secondary source of that date. She has no first hand knowledge of her date of birth. If I tell someone that today is my daughter’s 21st birthday (which it isn’t, but pretend that it is), is that secondary? I was present at the birth, but if I say it or write it down 21 years later is that record primary or secondary? If I write it down with a month of her birth, that probably would be considered primary. But what about 21 years after the fact, even if I had first hand knowledge of the event? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
As I continue to integrate complete citation of sources into Casefile Clues, the importance of citing sources as research is done and compiled becomes increasingly important to me. It takes less time to create the citation and documentation as the research is done instead of months or years later. And saving time allows for more research time. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I know I have mentioned this before, but it is worth repeating. The Family History Library in Salt Lake has a wonderful collection of material. But they do not have everything. There are millions of documents and records that have never been microfilmed or digitized. These documents are in many locations, but most of these are in local county courthouses. You might be surpised what court records are there in addition to other local records that have not been microfilmed. This is true even for counties that have been heavily “filmed.” ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
10% Discount on Casefile Clues for fans today until 10:00 PM central time.Get a year of Casefile Clues for $13.50, 10% off the regular price. Visit http://www.casefileclues.com/facebook.html to get the discount. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Think about your ancestor’s career or occupation. How portable was it? A landowning ancestor who farmed might have moved, but it likely wasn’t every two years and moving took a little bit of time and planning. If your ancestor had a small business, he might not have moved around too much, especially after he got himself established. However, if you ancestor had a skilled trade, he might have been able to move more quickly, assuming he could find work. And your day laborer ancestor (like a few of mine), might have moved all the time. Think about your ancestor’s job, career, or employment and how easily it might have been for him to be portable. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Just because two (or even more) records agree on a fact or a date, it does not mean they are correct. It just means they contain the same information. It could still be incorrect, especially if it has been years since the event which the documents talk about took place. A death certificate, a tombstone, and an obituary may all provide the same date of birth. The reason most likely is because the informant was the same person. And doctors even give wrong dates of birth. It does happen. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Recent Comments