When viewing an original document (or a microfilm or digital copy), do you try and determine if the same person wrote out the entire record? Or does it look like perhaps more than one person wrote on the document? If that’s the case there may have been multiple informants on the record or someone may have written in additional information years later. All of which impacts how reliable we perceive the information to be. 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
How much of your “genealogy time” do you spend on social media? Is it helping your research or hindering it. Do you make effective use of social media for your research during your “genealogy time” or are you scrolling through posts and updates that are highly distracting? For me, the one drawback of being online for research tasks, database use, etc. is that other aspects of the online world are also available. Those aspects can waste time. I find it helpful to turn certain apps, programs, and notifications off. Closing out certain windows can help as well. It’s great to reach out online for help in understanding and interpreting records, but give a thought to whether the amount of time you are “on” social media is actually beneficial […]
The recording date of a document is the date that a copy of the document is filed for record. The execution date is the date the document is signed or actually executed. If you’ve got an extensive series of documents on an individual, order them by execution date–not by recording date. The items may not have been recorded in the order in which they were executed. 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
In his early 19th century will, a Maryland ancestor appears to disinherit a daughter when he leaves everything to her two children and appoints a guardian for them. The man writing the will might have not so much been disinheriting the daughter as he was avoiding a son-in-law. In the very early 1800s, when this will was written, a man would be able to exercise control over real property that his wife inherited. By leaving the real estate to his daughter’s children, and appointing a guardian, the testator was providing for the children while circumventing the son-in-law. And you thought that only people today who had to use creative ways to get around things. Help support Genealogy Tip of the Day by visiting any of the following sites: Try a GenealogyBank Genealogy […]
While supplies last, we are offering copies of Genealogy Tip of the Day the book at $17.00. The 286-page book contains an edited version of our earlier tips. We’ve removed repetitive content, promotional items, and “news” that’s no longer news. There’s more information on the book on our website–that page does not have a link to this offer. This link is the only one that contains an order at this price. The book’s price ordered directly is $25. The Amazon price is slightly less than that for Prime members. You can learn more about the book on our website, but this link is the only one that has the discount price.
The title of this post is not a true statement. But there was a time as a child when I thought it was. I grew up in western Illinois, barely fifteen miles from the Mississippi River and Keokuk, Iowa, which is the southeastern portion of the state. The Mississippi River forms the Illinois-Iowa border. The Des Moines River forms a short portion of the Iowa-Missouri border in that part of the state. When I was a child, if we went to Iowa we crossed the Mississippi River. If we went to Missouri, we either crossed the Des Moines River or the Mississippi River (depending upon how we travelled). But the thing was, given our always limited travel radius, we always crossed a river to go into a new […]
If you are using information that you transcribed or manually copied, always double check it for accuracy before completing your analysis or constructing online searches. It can be very easy to transcribe something incorrectly or transpose digits in an age or year of birth. Doublechecking may save you time and frustration. ——————— Search for your ancestors in GenealogyBank’s newspaper collection.
We’ve got a limited number of our “Genealogy Tip of the Day” pens ready for shipping. Order yours here.
Putting a clause in your will that “my genealogical papers are to go to the BlahBlah Library” without some advance planning could have unintended consequences. Some thoughts on preserving your “files” and papers by donating to a library or archives: libraries may not want or be able to maintain random copies of public records that are available elsewhere libraries may not want or be able to maintain random copies made from published books unorganized materials are difficult for libraries to inventory and manage and they are difficult for patrons to use photographs, personal certificates, and other “unique” items are more likely to be preserved and collected, but it can be difficult for some facilities to afford to maintain these collections–consider leaving some financial legacy (if possible) to assist […]
There are many reasons to organize your genealogical data, including: noticing clues you did not notice before; finding gaps in your research; making it easier for you to share your research; reducing the number of times you locate something you already have; making it easier for you to publish your information (if that’s your goal); making it easier for someone to preserve your information after your death; making it easier for someone looking at your information to help you; and saving money if you hire a professional–they will have to organize it for you before they can help. 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
In any record or genealogical reference that lists a group of relatives or family members, determine if there are individuals who should be there who are not. Sometimes this is easier to do that others, but it’s still a good exercise. The 1959 reference in the illustration is to a birthday party where siblings and nieces and nephews birthday celebrant were in attendance. The newspaper lists two individuals as “Mrs.” with no “Mr.” listed. In one case, the husband was deceased. In the other case, he was not (it’s not known why he did not attend). I also made certain that there were no other siblings of the celebrant besides the ones listed. One guest was actually the girlfriend of one of the nephews but that is not […]
The 1870 US federal census instructions include detailed instructions about how occupations are to be listed. Among the distinctions to be made was the one between “housekeeper” and “keeping house.” Someone who was a “housekeeper” was one who received wages for performing that service. Someone keeping house for their own family members was to be listed as “keeping house.” Instructions for the census were to be followed precisely, but like anything else, there can be variation from one census enumerator to another. The complete set of 1870 census instructions can be found online at https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/1870instructions-2.pdf 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
I realize county boundary changes can create genealogical research challenges, but there are times when it seems like some individuals think those changes are the solution to every research problem. It’s not. Just because an approach works sometimes or because you heard a professional use it a few times does not mean that the approach works all the time. An individual was having difficulty locating the birth certificate of their ancestor in a rural Illinois county in 1902. The first two responses to their question were: “did the county boundary change?” It is important to be aware of county boundary changes. There is no doubt about that, but context matters. By 1902 in most US states east of the Mississippi River (and quite a few others to be […]
Some researchers are anxious to begin their foreign research as soon as they learn they have an ancestor born in a foreign country. This hasty approach may cause you to look in the wrong place or to lack adequate information to perform your search “across the pond.” Research the ancestor in the area of settlement first, as completely as possible. Doing so may provide more detailed information about his or her origins and may also give you names of potential siblings or relatives who might be easier to track across the ocean. Complete research in the area of settlement (expanding into known relatives who immigrated as well) generally helps the researcher to pinpoint where “across the pond” they need to research. There are exceptions (my Annie Murphy for […]
We often want something “personal” about our ancestor and, when pictures are not available, signatures can be a great substitute. Just make certain that it really is your relative’s signature and not something written by the clerk or records official. In the US, record copies of deeds, wills, and other documents contain transcriptions of what was in the original document–including the signature. That’s the case with the “handwriting” of the Sledds’ in the illustration. It is from the record copy of the deed they signed. The record copy of a record is the official copy retained by the local records office. If you have located an image of the actual deed, will, etc. then that rendering usually is the actual signature. The 1889 signature of Ulfert Behrens (as […]
Recent Comments