A relative died in the 1950s with no children or descendants. The relative had no siblings so their only heirs were the descendants of their maternal and paternal grandparents. A grandchild of the paternal grandparents was the administrator of the estate. The list of heirs failed to list those who descended from the paternal grandfather’s second marriage. That second marriage resulted in a half-sister (called A) for the decedent’s mother–a half-sister who left children of her own. A married at 14 years of age, moved away shortly after that marriage and likely interacted little, if at all with her two older half-sisters. There’s anecdotal evidence that those two older half-sisters were estranged from their father and his second wife. The children of A should have been included in […]
In many locations, minors who 14 years of age and over and needed a legal guardian could nominate one to the court. The nomination would have to be approved by the court and contemporary state statue would have dictated the legal requirements for being a guardian–generally that’s someone of the age of majority at the time, of sound mind, and generally perceived to be responsible by the court. Contemporary state statute would also dictate the age at which someone was a legal adult–for much of US history that’s been 18 for a female and 21 for a male. Many state statutes are available digitally online and a search for them can be started in this list of links at the Advancing Genealogist. Do not assume both parents were […]
A relatively new DNA match, we will call him Alfred, has three shared matches with me: David Ronald Thomas David and Thomas are known descendants of my Trautvetter 3rd great-grandparents via their paper genealogy. The shared matches I have with David and Thomas are not all identified, but for each of them over two-third of the shared matches are also know members of the Trautvetter family. Their Trautvetter connection is pretty solid. My Trautvetter connection is on my paternal side of the family. Then there is Ronald. Ronald has an unusual last name that is actually common in the area of Germany where my maternal ancestors are all from (Ostfriesland). Ronald has numerous shared matches. The closest 25 matches I have to Ronald are all known descendants of […]
Despite what some advertisements may say, it’s not always possible to come to a complete resolution on which document or conclusion is 100% correct. That’s because some documents are not 100% correct and it’s not always possible to determine which of several conflicting documents is wrong. There are times where it’s possible to determine which record is least likely to be right or where an obvious error has been made. The key in resolving genealogical conflicts is not to always get to the answer you think is 100% right, but to transcribe the records you have that address the question, cite those records, analyze those records, and write up your conclusion based those on those records and why you believe that conclusion to be correct.
Today a person typically spells their name the same way their entire life or at least changes that spelling infrequently. A person that has the same last name as their parent typically spells that last name the way their parent does. There was a time in many cultures and language groups when names were spelled a variety of ways for the same person throughout their life time–a time when there was no conventional orthography of names. That can apply to first names or to last names and can be a difficult concept to understand for those who are used to standardized spellings for names that are used as first and last names. When writing about family members during time periods of no fixed orthography, consider choosing the one […]
Always make certain you read every reference to the bride on a marriage record. That “Mrs.” can be a big clue.
If the dates allow, always consider that both members of a couple may have had a prior marriage that resulted in one or more children. That could explain why certain children are left out of a parent’s or grandparent’s estate, why it looks like the first child was born before the marriage, or people are marrying individuals who appear to be relatives (but are actually step-siblings).
If your relative indicated they were divorced, make certain that you have searched for: Records of all local courts that may have heard a divorce case. Look for a separate maintenance case as well–there might have been no legal divorce, just a separation. Look for land records on the couple for any property they owned. Look for any property settlements (even of personal or chattel property) in the local land records. Consider the fact that the couple was not legally divorced.
From a while back: This Albemarle County, Virginia, deed appears to have had a “correction” written in the deed book after the deed was transcribed and before the microfilming was done. It would be less consequential if it were not the name of the grantor. The “correction” appears to have been written in a different hand by a different writing utensil. My transcription of this document should indicate that: “…Between [illegible word with the word “Peter” written over it in an apparently different handwriting] Rucker (Son…”
The estate of Edward Tinsley in Amherst County, Virginia, was settled up amongst the heirs in 1783. The only daughter mentioned by name was Elizabeth Pendleton. The others were not mentioned outright–but their husbands were. It is frustrating to not have the other daughters named specifically. This was common for the time period. The advantage in this case is that I know who the spouses of the daughters were by name. Other records provide the first names of the daughters. Marriage records are not always available during the time period so the husbands’ names are helpful. Always look through the disbursements of the final money in an estate. The list can suggest relationships, tell you who was alive at the time the money was paid out, and potentially […]
Don’t assume because that ancestor disappears from the records that he was dead. It’s also possible that he simply pulled up stakes and left the area and his family. It is possible that there may be a reference to his disappearance in the local newspaper. It’s also possible that the family knew the person willingly left their family and did not want to draw attention to it. The person may be mentioned in court records or potentially a probate file for a deceased relative of whom they were an heir-at-law. If the disappearing ancestor had real property find out how that title was transferred to the subsequent owners. Depending upon the time period and the location there may be no record of what happened to the person. Sometimes […]
If you’re wanting to do something genealogical, determine how many times each of your ancestors probably moved. For each move, include the following information–if known–which as much precision as possible: Point of origin. Destination point. Date of move. Possible, probable, or known reason for moving. Distance travelled. Citation.
I thought I recognized a name that popped up on my Ancestry’s DNA match list recently. The first name was the same as my grandmother’s and the last name was a Swedish name that is atypical to find in my family. I have not heard back from the new match, but the shared matches we have and her projected relationship to me are consistent with the person I think that she is. And then it dawned on me: do I have other DNA matches whose identities may be hiding in my paper files, my digital images, and my old email messages? Searching some of these items manually may be difficult as not every name will “pop into my head,” but I can search my email fairly easily for […]
A reminder that chronologies can be useful in your family history research. Always make certain dates are accurate, doublecheck where you obtained the dates, make certain dates are in order if creating chronology yourself, don’t include events that had no reasonably logical impact on your relative’s life. Also consider creating a geographic chronology of where your ancestor lived and during what time periods.
Finding the exact location of places whose names were short-lived can be difficult. Sometimes it can be impossible to pinpoint precisely where a location was located–particularly if’s a place name that was never used in any official sense but was a nickname of sorts used for a neighborhood or an area. One place to get an idea of when the name was used and generally where it was located is to search for it in old newspapers. Dating the references can give an idea of when it was used and there may be clues as to the geographic location of the area in those newspaper references.
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