When a document gives the name of an informant, consider how likely they are to know the information they are providing. Sometimes the informant may not be all that informed. A daughter-in-law who is the informant on a death certificate probably does not have first hand knowledge of the deceased individual’s parents. And yet, she may be the only person who is available to give the desired information. Remember that even you are not a truly primary source for your date and place of birth. Your knowledge of that event is because you were told it or you read it on a document. It is not because you were aware of the event at the time it took place. Not being a primary source does not mean you […]
Always make certain you have the dates correct. An attendee at a computer workshop wanted me to help them locate an ancestor in the 1880 census. They gave me her name, date of birth, and family information in an attempt to help locate her. We spent about 10 unsuccessful minutes when I asked him if he had any other information. The gentleman told me he had the ancestor’s obituary. Reading it, I knew why we had not found her in the 1880 census. The ancestor had died in 1873. Make certain the date span of the record fits your ancestor’s lifespan or chronology. Otherwise you may be wasting your time. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If some piece of information given by your ancestor in a record does not make sense, consider the possibility that he lied. People lied for many reasons, including wanting to get married wanting to enlist in the service wanting to avoid the service trying to escape their past (parents, spouse, children, debts, etc.) An outright lie can be difficult to research around, but people did lie about their age, place of birth, name, marital status, etc. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Did your ancestor die with minor children? If so, there might be guardianship records for his children, particularly if he left real estate behind or a significant amount of personal property. For much of American history, women had no property rights and a widow by herself might not be able to receive money for her children or to manage real estate they inherited from a deceased father or grandparent. Records of the guardianship might provide more information on the children and perhaps clues as to the mother’s remarriage. Researchers should always research the guardians fully to determine if they had any biological relationship to the children. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Christmas is a good day to take a break from your research and focus on the living relatives. It also brings to mind another tip. Take a break from that family or problem that really has you stonewalled. Work on another family for a while, putting the brick wall group aside for a week or a month. It may be that when you come back to your problem, you notice something you did not notice before. Perhaps when working on another problem, something will dawn on you regarding the original problem. In the back of your mind the original problem is there and something totally unrelated to your research problem may cause you to have the breakthrough idea you need. Sometimes what we need most is a little […]
Just because a record is “official” does not mean that every detail it contains is correct. A death certificate probably has the date of death and burial correct, but the date and place of birth could easily be incorrect. And there is always the chance that a death record has the wrong date of death or place of burial. An official record does not guarantee the information is accurate. Remember that in most records, the information is only as accurate as the informant and that in most records information submitted came from someone’s mind and was not verified with another source or official record. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Do not mindlessly type names in database searches without first learn what you are actually searching. Is it a website that contains voluntary submissions of data other researchers have compiled? If so, it may be incomplete. Is it an official archives site? Even those may have omissions because some records were not extant. Most sites will indicate where they obtained their information. Find out and find if all records were extracted. Gaps or omissions seem to always be for the time period one needs. Not knowing what you are searching may explain why you are not finding the information you seek. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
This is my newest blog, where every day a new genealogy tip will be posted. Tips will start appearing tomorrow. Feel free to share our site with others. Readers can contact me at michael.john.neill@gmail.com Stay Tuned! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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