Your foreign-born ancestor who immigrated to America as a child and who was under the age of majority when his father naturalized would have become a citizen based on that father’s naturalization. Children of the father who were over the age of majority would not have become citizens via their father’s naturalization. One of my homesteading relatives in Nebraska in the 19th century used his father’s citizenship to prove his citizenship. Before the early 20th century in the United States, the citizenship status of a woman was tied to that of her husband throwing an additional complication into the mix. Search NewsBank’s GenealogyBank for your ancestors.
One has to be careful inferring too much from small words. “The” and “a” are such words. If the marriage announcement indicated that the bride was attended by “a sister,” does that mean she had more than one sister. If a the reference to the groom indicated that “the brother of the groom was his best man” does that mean that the groom only had one brother? One would have to assume that whoever wrote the item knew the family well enough to know who had more than one sibling and who did not. One would also have to assume that there were no errors in the account of the wedding published in the newspaper. Wedding announcements are not the only references where “a” and “the” may suggest […]
One interesting genealogical activity is to try and determine how your relatives met their spouses. Marriage requires a geographical proximity and, with the exception of online dating and personals ads, the initial connection does as well. My parents and grandparents met through geographic proximity based upon where they grew up. For their siblings that was true as well with the addition of moves for higher education and military service being added to the mix. I had one great-aunt whose initial connection to her husband had always puzzled me. A re-reading of her obituary suggested the likely connection. The great-aunt had finished out her high school career while living with her grandmother some thirty miles from where she grew up and where she had attended her first three years […]
Researchers claim a relative formally and legally adopted his step-children. Following the money is the best way to find out. The relative’s estate was settled in Illinois in 1904. He had a relatively significant amount of real and personal property at the time. The step-children were alive in 1904. The relative does not name the adopted children in his will–even to give them a token amount so they cannot say they were forgotten. They are not listed in the “Order of heirship” where his biological children were listed. A reference to contemporary state statute indicated that legally adopted children could inherit from their adopted parents. That seems to suggest that the step-children were not legally adopted by their step-father. Reading state statutes can be tedious, but it can […]
“Adoption” is one of those words that has meanings both inside and outside the law. It’s also one of those words that gets thrown around in genealogical writing, genealogical software, and any time families and relationships are written about. It is also a relationship that genealogy researchers sometimes assume took place during a time period when legal practices were different than they were today. My great-great-grandmother was born in 1851 in Illinois. Her father died less than five years later and her mother was married to another long-term husband by 1859. My great-great-grandmother was listed with that step-father’s last name in the 1860 census and in her 1868 marriage record. Was she adopted by him? Do those references prove that she was? A census taker may have simply […]
In some cities, streets have been renamed and renumbered between the time your ancestor lived there and today. If your family lived in the same house from 1880 through 1930, make certain the address didn’t change during that time period. Chicago had major changes to addresses in 1909, and other cities did as well. A larger town may have absorbed all or parts of bordering suburbs or towns. Before you type that 1890 address into Google Maps or another modern map site, make certain the address hasn’t changed. Search NewsBank’s GenealogyBank for your ancestors.
A 1931 era photograph of my grandmother and her nephew has four separate sets of identification written on it. Two are written on the front and two are written on the back. The photograph was apparently removed from a scrapbook which has removed part of the identification that was written on it. Three of the identifications name both individuals. One only names my grandmother and, interestingly enough, is written in her handwriting. Fortunately it’s not the only identification otherwise I might have wondered if “Dot” was the baby or the young child holding the baby. The printed name in pencil on the reverse serves as a good reminder to avoid jumping to conclusions. After some reflection and some research, I concluded that it says “[probably Dot or Dorothy] […]
For some genealogists, their ancestral families are fairly homogenous, coming from the same ethnic background, geographic area, social class, religious background, etc. In cases such as these it can be easy to develop a tunnel vision in terms of research. I see this on various message boards when advice is asked for and someone will say “land records always help,” “church records always provide parents,” or some other generalized answer. Land records help if your families usually owned at least a few acres of land. While church records should always be on the research to-do list, some denominations keep more detailed records than others. One way to find a different family to work on is to use that of an in-law who grew up in a significantly different […]
This chart containing ancestral residences was mentioned in an earlier post. The chart itself could use some revision and modification. The pedigree chart layout–I’m on the far left, then my parents to the right of me, then my grandparents to the right of them, etc. In hindsight, because a time line along the bottom might be helpful, I think I would flip the chart horizontally as shown in the draft image (note the locations are also flipped). This would make the timeline along the horizontal easier to make and understand. Boxes would be shorter or longer based on individual lifespans which has not been done in the image. I’d also make the colors similar for areas that areas that are geographically close to each other. It might be […]
From a while back… One thing that creating the various pedigree charts has reminded me of is that I think I know more than I actually do. The drafts of the charts have been created from memory and there is usually at least one factual error in each rough draft. It makes me wonder, “are there other times when I’m searching that I’m operating under premises that are not true? Do I have something in my head wrong that is making it more difficult for me to find someone?” Try creating one of the charts of your own based on memory. Then check it with your records. You may be surprised at the results
A genealogy record provides a date of birth. Despite what some may say, there’s no guaranteed way to know the conclusion you have reached about that date of birth is accurate. But here are some things to think about: Who was the likely informant for that date of birth? How likely was the likely informant to have first hand knowledge of the date of birth? Was the likely informant providing information when their memory was still fresh and reliable? Any chance the informant was heard wrong or the clerk made some sort of error? How possible was it that the informant guessed? Am I using a reliable copy of that record or could there be an issue with the digital copy or transcription that I am using? And […]
Years ago, when I was very new to genealogy, I was “certain” that a certain ancestor was born in 1820. I put that year of birth on all my pedigree charts and family groups charts. I put that year of birth in queries that I had published in print genealogy query magazines. That’s not the year he was born. I had no source for that year. Now it’s all over the internet. It is virtually impossible to get a wrong date of birth for someone out of all the genealogy sites. This is not to fault individuals who make honest mistakes. This is not to say don’t publish or share any information. This is a warning to be careful and make certain you have some evidence for a […]
Pick an ancestor at random–preferably one you know a little bit about. Ask yourself what are three things researching this ancestor told you about research? Thinking about what you had to learn to research that ancestor or what you learned by osmosis while researching that ancestor may give you a bit of insight into your current problems. Or it may remind you that there was a time when you did not know as much as you do now. Sometimes we all need to be reminded of that. I wrote an extended series of posts of this type for my Rootdig blog several years ago.
Some say you have to have at least three sources before you know a fact or statement is true. Like many “rules” in genealogy research, the suggestion is well-intentioned. The reality is more nuanced. Sources can be wrong or they can be correct. It’s the perceived reliability of a source about a certain piece of information that is key. Three different sources can agree even if they are incorrect–particularly if they actually have the same informant, either directly or indirectly. If Grandpa was wrong about where he was born and told that to his children, any record on which they were informants would be incorrect. The key would be to try and get sources that had independent informants with first hand knowledge of the event. For Grandpa’s birth, […]
In current genealogy parlance sources (record books, vital records, marriage records, etc.) are said to be original or derivative. Original records are ones that are in their “first form.” Derivative records are ones that are created from original records–transcriptions, abstracts, summaries, compilations, and the like. Technically, according to some, scans and photographic reproductions are derivative copies as well but they certainly are more reliable than hand written copies. Information is considered to be primary or secondary. Generally speaking, a piece of information reported or stated by someone who had first hand knowledge of the event is considered primary. The statement needs also to have been made when the person’s memory was fresh and reliable. Other statements are usually said to be secondary. This classification system is not meant, […]
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