This may seem obvious, but based upon my emails, messages I get in a variety of places, and comments I see to various postings, a reminder would not hurt. Read the entire question, document, etc. when analyzing it, asking questions about it, answering questions about it, etc. Genealogy is about details. Skimming leads to missed references that often are key to further research. And maybe as a suggestion after reading the entire thing: let any new conclusion based on a single document sit for a few minutes before follow up work starts. Consider reading the document again. Help support Genealogy Tip of the Day by visiting any of the following sites: Try a GenealogyBank Genealogy Search to see what you find. Newspapers.com AncestryDNA offers. Books on Michael’s Genealogy Shelf My webinars
If you’ve encountered “old tenor” in a 18th century deed from Massachusetts, it is a reference to a form of paper money. There’s a longer post about it on our sister website. There’s a Wikipedia article on American Colonial currency that discusses colonial money in general. Help support Genealogy Tip of the Day by visiting any of the following sites: Try a GenealogyBank Genealogy Search to see what you find. Newspapers.com AncestryDNA offers. Books on Michael’s Genealogy Shelf My 1950 Census webinar
The problem-solving approach developed by George Polya has been used in math courses for years. With a little adaptation, genealogists can use it as well. The four steps can be summarized as: Understand-learn all about your relative, the time period, the location, and the records Plan–decide what to search and how to search it Execute–do it…and track what you do Evaluate–analyze what has been found, integrate it into what is already known. If you solved the problem, then there are new ones to solve. If you didn’t solve it, go back to the understand step. That one requires the most work, particularly when research in a new area or time period is being undertaken. Order my problem-solving webinar.
A distant relative contacted me out of the blue and in reviewing a chart he sent on the descendants of my aunt’s husband’s parents, I realized I had information on several of that man’s nephews and nieces because the names were familiar to me. I had heard the names before and I knew where. They were not all in my database. They were all in my head. Even though two names were in my database, I didn’t search for them based on their name. I searched on them based on their relationship to me : wife of my second great-grandfather’s brother, wife of my second great-grandfather’s brother’s first cousin, man who attempted to homestead with a different second great-grandfather. Fortunately I had written about the homesteader situation and […]
Happy 2022 to all our readers. Best of luck in your research in the new year! Today we’re offering a 20.22% discount on two of our webinars.
Your ancestor may have waited to record a document for a variety of reasons. Land records were often filed relatively soon after the document was executed, but some individuals in frontier areas would sometimes wait to file a document because of confusing boundary lines, difficulty of getting to recording office, failure to realize the importance of recording the document. The example in this image is a relinquishment of an interest in a piece of property which was not recorded until the property was subject to an out-of-state lawsuit decades after the relinquishment was signed. Powers-of-attorney to transfer property are sometimes not recorded until the actual document transferring that property is recorded. Sometimes deeds of purchase were not recorded until the property is being transferred by the owner or […]
“I think Isaac Rucker died in May 1799…” That’s what Archeleus Reynolds said in August of 1834 in a deposition taken in Amherst, Virginia. The statement needs to be understood and evaluated based on context. There were several Isaac Ruckers in Amherst County, Virginia. The one Reynolds is talking about is his father-in-law–that’s made clear in other records in this case. Reynolds is making the statement 35 years after Isaac Rucker is claimed to have died. While this document should be transcribe exactly as written (along with a citation clearly stating where the deposition can be found and when it was made), the analysis should take into account the amount of time that has passed and how long it has been since Rucker died. A few things to […]
I treat recipes like photographs–something to be preserved. That’s what has been done with this innocent recipe for Jello cookies that was written in my great-grandmother’s handwriting. The digital image preserves it in it’s original form–better than a transcription which always has the potential for an error. The digital image also provides an example of her handwriting, which might be helpful for someone later in potentially identifying handwriting on the backs of photographs or other family ephemera. For some of us, handwritten recipes (if we are lucky enough to have them) are the best and only places to get copies of someone’s handwriting. The one thing missing from the commentary made on this image is who identified the handwriting. When known, that’s an important detail to add. How […]
A digital image of my Grandma’s noodle recipe provides a reminder of a variety of genealogical lessons that are appropriate as we wrap up 2021. Many stories (or recipes) remain in someone’s mind and may be passed down orally for generations until they are written down. That’s true in the case of this recipe as my Grandmother never wrote anything down. That’s also true of many family stories. It is important to make copies and to share them and to organize them. This digital image was made from a laminated photocopy of what my mother wrote down. It was also written down more formally on a recipe card that we now cannot find. Not every image is perfect. That’s ok. There’s a shadow of a coffee cup in […]
A close relative dies. There is an obituary on the funeral home website that contains information on the date and place of death. Several relatives communicate with you to let you know the family member has passed away as well. You learn of the funeral date and time. You know who this person’s parents are and where they were born. There’s little doubt of when and where they died. Do you need their death certificate? Probably not. There are other good sources to document the date and place of death. The only reason you would likely need the death certificate of a recently deceased person is if you were involved with the settlement of their estate. Of relatives who have passed away during the last fifteen years, there […]
Copies of my “Getting Ready for the 1950 Census” webinar are still available for sale. Our post has more details.
I’ve been searching local newspapers in Hancock County, Illinois, where I grew up and where most of my family has lived for generations–using telephone numbers to find classified ads placed by my parents and grandparents. I found the typical fare: eggs for sale, straw for sale (on the rack and bale your own), bulls for sale, etc. But I found several references to my parents phone number that I knew were errors including one for a Kiwanis breakfast and for inquiries on a home for sale. The references to my parents’ phone numbers in these cases were simply errors where likely two digits were switched (a transposition error) or a digit was keyed incorrectly. Before I get suggestions that these were actually references to my parents and that […]
Keep in mind that you can never be one hundred percent certain that any one record is one hundred percent correct. This is particularly true if you were not an eyewitness to every statement made in the record. There is always the chance of an error. Never “fix” what appears to be an obvious error either. Transcribe exactly as written and put your commentary elsewhere.
When a record is located, try and compare it to other records of the same type or in the same series. How is the record for your relative different from other records? How is it similar? Some differences, such as name, date, etc. identify the record as being for your ancestor as opposed to someone else. But make certain the “boilerplate” of the document is the same as others in the series. Differences, such as a phrase or word that does not appear in other documents may indicate a clue. Analyzing a record in comparison to others is especially helpful when looking at church records which often are kept in loose paragraph format before standard forms were used.
If the amount of “consideration,” or what was given for the real estate (often cash) is a token amount, determine if there was a relationship among the people involved. Transfers of significant pieces of real estate for token amounts are often done to clear up title among relatives. Not always, but frequently. Check out the relationships among those who transfer land for little to no cash.
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