Most of us have asked someone a question or said something to someone only to have their response to us make it clear that they did not understand what we said. Is that why your relative gave “off-the-wall” answers to the census taker, records clerk, etc.? A person’s difficulty in understanding the question can be compounded by age, hearing difficulties, cognitive abilities, native language, etc. Do not assume that your relative really understood what they were being asked. Check out More Genealogy Tip of the Day.
If you have a male ancestor with a fair amount of land transactions, make certain you have noted the release of dower interest by the wife on them (if the time period is right). I was having difficulty narrowing down when a relative’s wife died in the 19th century and, upon reviewing the land records, noticed two in the early 1870s where he sold property and no wife is listed as having acknowledged her relinquishment of a dower interest. The chance the relinquishment was forgotten is very slim. The likely situation is that his wife was dead at the point in time when the deed was executed. Her omission would be indirect evidence she was dead at the date of the deed’s execution since it is not explicitly […]
Preservation suggestions for Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, and Tintypes from the University of Illinois can be found at: https://psap.library.illinois.edu/collection-id-guide/directimage More Genealogy Tip of the Day book has been published. Check out our announcement.
An 1884 biography of Thomas Chaney of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, indicated that some of his children were dead. Thomas himself had been dead for thirty years when his biography was published. His children who are noted as deceased may have been dead for decades (perhaps even dying in childhood) or may have died just before the book was compiled. Just because children were not listed as deceased in the 1884 biography of Thomas does not mean they were not deceased in 1884. Daughter Elizabeth (Chaney) Rampley died in 1883. She is not indicated as dead in the 1884 reference. It could have been an oversight or the compiler may not have known. Children listed as being deceased in the 1884 biography, could be given a death date of […]
At long last, More Genealogy Tip of the Day, packed with genealogy tips and ideas from ten years, has been published. We are excited to offer this companion volume to our original Genealogy Tip of the Day book. More Genealogy Tip of the Day can be read front-to-back or browsed through at the reader’s whim. Tips are about genealogical sources, pitfalls, and procedures based on Michael’s extensive experience researching ancestors in the United States and abroad. Tips are practical, easy-to-understand, and applicable to those with ancestors in a variety of locations. Tips have been edited for clarity and updated when necessary. Any content that was time-sensitive has been removed. What’s left is research advice and suggestions with some humor thrown in. Chapter 1: Selective Memory, Separate Maintenance, and […]
Emailed a county clerk in a rural US county yesterday and they were able to answer my question and get me a copy of the page I needed. I asked a very specific question about a specific item in a record set I had used before. I was not going on a fishing expedition. However, to maximize the chance of success in general, remember to ask specific questions, learn about the records (as much as you can before emailing), be patient, and always ask if there’s another way to access the information other than via an email correspondence. Keep in mind that while records may be open, offices do not necessarily have to respond to email requests. Always look and see what finding aids and other materials are […]
The first name of a newly discovered relative is not that bad, but it does get rendered a variety of ways. Her first name appears to be Ockje. Searching for that name in an English-language world can be a challenge. Most variant spellings of the name begin with an “O” and generally end with an “e” or an “a.” The “ckj” portion of the name gets rendered as “thch,” “kj,” “ck,” “ckt,” or something similar. When possible, a wildcard search for the first name using O*e and then O*a is helpful. Nothing is perfect. It’s also good to remember that an “A” in a name can be replaced with an “O,” depending on the inflection of the speaker and the ear of the hearer. This name is also […]
We won’t be around forever. What genealogy-related items would you like to make certain you actually finish? Is it: Or something else? Try and avoid spinning your wheels and spending too much time in genealogy rabbit holes…completion of a project is good too! We are taking orders for More Genealogy Tip of the Day, which is scheduled to be released in mid-to-late June. Details are on our announcement page. It’s over 400 pages!
We are taking orders for More Genealogy Tip of the Day, which is scheduled to be released in mid-to-late June. Details are on our announcement page. It’s over 400 pages! The book will retail for $29.95 on Amazon–before shipping it’s $29 if ordered from us directly. Payment can be made via credit card, check, or money order. Check it out!
Don’t assume that online site will “always be there” and you can always go and get what you need. Make a copy of that image for yourself while you have it on your screen. Save the information while you have access to it. Websites go down. Fee-based websites sometimes lose the ability to include certain items in their subscription. Websites change how things are organized and what you could find a month ago is impossible to find. Your cousin could remove their online tree from that hosting site. You may find yourself unable to continue to pay for that monthly subscription to that database site that includes images. Save it while you can. Name it in a way that makes sense. Save it where you can find it. […]
If you had an aunt or an uncle who was divorced, have you considered looking at their divorce records? These records are typically local court records and there may be some restrictions in accessing them in some locations, but they are generally public records–at least the generic details. In earlier times state or colonial legislatures may have granted divorces. In cases that were heard by a local court there may be a court packet containing testimony and affidavits. There may be mention in those records of where they married or where they lived when they were first married—details that can help with determining where your direct-line ancestor was from. And there is always the chance that your ancestor provided testimony in the divorce of a sibling. These records […]
While some relatives take their family history stories to their grave, others become more willing to tell stories as they age. The reasons for changing their mind really do not matter, but remain open to the possibility that Aunt Martha may eventually decide that the world will not end if she tells you that “family secret.” Or course some people are not going to tell you things no matter what. But some do become more open with age. It may be worth a try.
Genealogists do a great deal of work digitally. The plethora of digital images of records certainly has made research easier than it was in the past–both in terms of accessing records, sharing them, and storing them. But there still may be times (at least for me) where using paper makes it easier to understand things, “lay things out,” or otherwise help with visualization. It’s not just official records, relationship charts, and other charts that I sometimes like to use in paper form. Maps are another research tool that I sometimes like to print out and mark up with additional information–location of key events or key places. I have digital copies of these maps without my markings, but sometimes marking things on a piece of paper helps me to […]
I shared a picture of the cover of the upcoming second Genealogy Tip of the Day book and a cousin of mine commented on the picture I used to illustrate the front of it. I already knew who was in the picture and where it was taken. But a cousin of mine told me a few things about the picture that I did not know–the situation under which it was taken and my great-grandmother’s reaction to it. It reminded me that even when a picture has been identified, there could still be work to be done. Others may have additional memories of the photograph or be able to tell you more about it besides who is in it. Those details may be genealogically relevant as well. Personally it’s […]
If you have a newspaper clipping that is undated and unsourced, flip it over. Anything can be a potential clue as to location or date, even classified ads. One obit I found in a set of clippings had a date, but no name of the newspaper. Flipping it over I found the classified ads. The phone numbers and street names suggested it was from a nearby town of 40,000 and not one of the small towns near where the relative actually died. Accessing newspapers from that town allowed me to locate the digital image of the newspaper with the same obituary I had in the clipping.
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