It was not until I went through all the newspaper references to Theodore Hoontis that I discovered why there could be more to find. The legal notice regarding the settlement of his estate indicated that he was also known as Theodore Repas. This was the first reference indicating another last name for him. Because I already had a fair amount of information on him and no gaps in his chronology, this reference was a surprise to me. Now I have an entirely different last name to use when searching for him. Theodore had a large number of newspaper references because he advertised in the newspaper promoting his restaurant and other businesses and most of the time when he was in the paper, it was in that capacity.
Sources are said to be original or derivative. The original source is, generally speaking, the original document in its original form. My birth certificate, on file in the county office in the county where I was born is my original birth certificate. The little card my parents were given with my date and place of birth and certificate number–that is derivative because it was created from the original. The photocopy of the certificate that I had made years ago–that’s derivative because it is a copy of the original certificate. That “certification of live birth” I got a few years back because I needed it ( and that is a typed transcription of my name, date and place of birth, and names and places of birth for my parents) […]
This digital scan of a newspaper from 1858 is difficult for a human to read. It is difficult for OCR technology to convert to raw, searchable text as well. This item about a murder in 1858 was found by searching digital images of newspapers–but the reference was located in a 1958 issue of the newspaper in a section of items from 100 years ago. The dead can be mentioned in a newspaper long after their obituary has been published and forgotten. Historical items or “days from the past” (often used for filler in smaller papers) may mention that ancestor decades after they have died.
When writing about a relative, use more than just a title such as Aunt/Uncle, Grandma, etc. Grandma Neill or Grandpa Rampley can be equally vague. Also avoid using the title and just the first name. In some families, Uncle Cecil or Aunt Ruth can easily refer to more than one person. I had two uncle Cecils and three Aunt Ruths without having to reach into the distant past of my family tree. Sometimes even the last name will not be enough help. There were two Aunt Ruth Ufkeses in my family, although one was always referred to as Ruthie. Use either a maiden name in parenthesis, a middle name, or additional clarifying verbiage (year of birth and deaths) when referring to these individuals in writing–especially on photographs. When […]
Some documents used in genealogical research clearly state the name of the person providing the information. Others do not. Knowing who provided information helps the researcher judge the probable reliability of that information. If you have a record that does not specifically state who gave the information, indicate in your notes who you think likely provided the information–and give a reason if possible. Certain individuals are more likely to know certain details about the family or their live than others are.
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It may be fun to sketch out far-flung scenarios to explain that census enumeration or birth certificate that does not make sense. But remember that reality is often more mundane than the fiction we create in our mind and often the simplest explanation, or something close to it, is likely what actually transpired. It can be helpful to think about possible scenarios when trying to determine what records to search next, where the family might have been from, etc. but focus on the situations that are most reasonable–unless the records indicate something more atypical was taking place. You should not have to violate the laws of common sense, physics, and biology for a scenario to have played out. Violating state law could easily have happened–fortunately records may have […]
Not all families are composed of individuals who are biologically related to each other. In many cases, those relationships are extremely important to the individuals involved. DNA does not track those relationships where the connection is not biological. For that reason, when it is known that two members in a family are not biologically related, it’s important for the genealogist to clarify the relationship in their database as much as possible (adopted, foster, step, etc.) to help with the DNA analysis. It’s also important to document what is known about that non-biological relationship because it mattered (or matters) to the individuals involved and can impact their lives and records in which they appear together. An ancestor of mine in Massachusetts was raised by a neighbor (after the parents […]
Time is what we occasionally need. The ability to get “immediate” answers to many questions online sometimes makes us think that we should understand things immediately as well. The best realizations or awakenings about a document or a record do not always pop into our motind the moment we first read the item. It takes some a while for connections to be made, particularly if the problem has not been an easy one to solve and the language and terminology is not familiar to us. So give yourself time to understand. Do not expect an immediate answer. Knee jerk reactions sometimes end up kicking us in the rear end. I know that’s not really possible to do, but the statement is not meant to be taken literally.
If your ancestor has a surname as a first name or middle name, remember that it may be a mother’s maiden name, grandmother’s maiden name, or another last name from the family’s history. It’s also possible the name was for a family friend or notable figure. Keep in mind that not all notable figures during the time the relative was named are still notable figures today.
Making discoveries is great, but there comes a time when one has to stop gathering and start organizing, summarizing, and putting information in form that can help you make more progress and get less confused. Information from a new find needs to be compared with what is already known to determine if the right person has been located and if the information is consistent. It can be easy to latch onto the wrong person if one is not careful. And a chart to keep track of the names and relationships is usually helpful as well. Names can easily run together.
My grandmother had a few genealogy-related items that her sister had copied for her in the early 1970s. Most were obituaries or biographies of known family members. There was one item that I could not fit into the rough family tree I had created in the early 1980s: a biography of a drugstore owner in Quincy, Illinois whose last name was Miller. My grandmother’s great-grandmother was a Miller which explained the possible connection. The Miller name is extremely common, none of the names in the biography resonated with me, and none of my family during that era had any sort of occupation outside farming. He could not be a relative because nothing fit. Early in my research, I decided that the biography was something my aunt had simply […]
Reunion notices can be a great way to track down missing relatives when other records make them difficult to locate. Bear in mind that the description of the reunion may be more restrictive than attendance actually is. This 1940 reunion writeup is for the “Dirks” family appears to be for the descendants of Bernard and Heipke (Müeller) Dirks. And most of the individuals listed in attendance were descended from the couple. But there were a few attendees who were descended from Heipke’s sister and one attendee who was the widow of Heipke’s cousin. The attendees may be from a broader set of relatives than you think. Which makes these notices sometimes even more helpful. Add Genealogy Tip of the Day–the book–to your bookshelf!
Not everyone in a family may have used the same spelling of a last name. In this immigrant family, the mother used the spelling of Müller and the son used Miller. The difference in this case is small, but for names that were more difficult to spell or pronounce, the change could have been more significant, making it difficult for the researcher to immediately see the possible connection between the two names. Non-immigrant families occasionally change their names as well–often due to family squabbles, the desire to mask family origins, etc.
Her first name was Tomma and she was married to Gerhard Mueller until he died in the 1870s in Quincy, Illinois. She was a milliner after his death and is listed in numerous business dealings. Sometimes she was incorrectly listed as “Mrs. Thomas Mueller.” There was no Thomas Mueller–at least not in this situation. Any attempt to find the Mr. Thomas Mueller will only serve to confuse my research even more. Is it possible that the person you think existed as a separate individual was actually a just a mistake?
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