I’ve Found It: Now What? Already held. This presentation discusses what do to when you’ve located that elusive document. The bulk of the presentation will include ways to get the “most” of the document, making certain to interpret it in the historical, legal and other contexts. Also included will be a discussion of the problem-solving process, organizing research plans, and organizing what’s confusing. The presentation will wrap up with a discussion of how to create further research plans based upon what has been located. This is over. The recording and handout can be ordered for immediate download.
Never assume that your ancestor went directly from point A to point B. Finances, broken wagons, unexpected opportunities, illnesses (as in the example) or other reasons may have caused your ancestor to pause somewhere along the way. This pause may have been for a short time or longer–it’s seven years for the family who stopped due to a measles outbreak in 1813. A variety of events along the trip may have drained your ancestor’s finances and necessitated a longer stay along the way than intended. And sometimes those stays generate records.
If you are wanting to do something “genealogical,” but are extremely frustrated and need a break from actual research, consider doing one of the following: organize your files, go through photos you have not identified, write about your childhood (or any part of your life), write what you remember about deceased relatives, take an object from your history (anything in good taste will do) and write about it, take a break–there are dishes to do, clothes to wash, etc.
No one signed this 1968 postcard sent to my great-grandfather in 1968. Given the salutation of “Dear Dad,” it was obviously written by one of his seven children. This tip isn’t about determining which child wrote their Dad a postcard in 1968 and mailed it from Wyoming (some handwriting comparison will have to be done, if samples can be found). It’s about those documents and records that often have pieces of information that we think are missing. The reality of it is that sometimes those “missing” details, while not stated in the item, were clearly known to the individuals at the time. M. J. Habben likely knew which of his children was travelling out west in the summer of 1968. He may even have known their handwriting as […]
For any ancestor presenting you with research challenges, can you think of five ancestral associates–people your ancestor interacted with in a significant fashion–other than blood relatives? Associates could be geographic neighbors, sponsors of children, witnesses on a record, etc.
My webinar on “Beginning German Genealogy” has been released. Information has been sent to those who pre-ordered copies–email me if you did not receive your download link. We are offering a 25% discount on orders through 4 October. Details on our announcement page.
Many census records used by American genealogists are actually handwritten “cleaned up” copies of the census taker’s field notes. Those copies were the ones that were microfilmed and eventually digitized. There’s always the chance for error. A copy of will in a will record is a handwritten copy of the will. It’s not the original will itself–even though a record copy is the legal equivalent. A copy of a deed in a deed record book is usually a handwritten copy of the actual deed–if recorded before photoduplication was an option. Is that entry for a relative in a marriage register the “original” or is it a transcribed copy of what was in the marriage record? The same thing applies to an entry in a death register. Was it […]
Even if your ancestor’s estate was intestate (without a valid will), the probate records could contain a copy of will that was refused probate by the court. While that will was unprobated, it still could provide good genealogical clues and reading it may tell you it was not allowed to go through probate. If there was a separate court case over the will it may be filed with non-probate court records in the county where the estate was administrated.
A witness to a document is simply indicating that they saw you sign the document and that they believe you are who you say you are. They are not saying anything about what is in the document. They do not have to be related to you in any way. Witnesses to wills cannot be beneficiaries to the will and need to be old enough to execute their own legal documents (meaning of age and of sound mind).
If your ancestor worked for a company, there may be a record out there that could help you in your family history research. Those of us who have generations of farming ancestors or otherwise self-employed family members have to rely on whatever materials our relatives left behind–and those are often minimal. However, if your ancestor worked for a large employer, it’s possible records are sitting around somewhere. Employment records for your ancestor can provide significant information on your relative, perhaps brief biographical data, citizenship status, address, etc. The difficulties with these records are that they were not always retained long term by the company, may have been destroyed when the company closed (was sold, went bankrupt, etc.), and are not public records. If you find them, you may […]
“I had a large client report.” The report, or more accurately the client report, was what was large–not the client themselves. In this case, it is probably pretty clear that the word “large” does not refer to the client themselves. But ask yourself when reading any statement: is there another way to read that? Is there a different interpretation that is reasonable? Don’t get stuck on your first interpretation of a word, phrase, or sentence. Some items genealogists use are poorly edited for clarity, particularly 19th century county histories, “mug books” of biographies submitted by family members, and more newspapers than one may care to admit. If that’s the case, references to certain items may be ambiguous. Always ask yourself: Is there another reasonable way to interpret this?
Write down everything you think you know about a specific ancestor. Do not refer to anything other than what is in your mind. Include birth, death, marriage information, likely educational level, religion, occupation, how often the person moved, etc. When you are done, see what pieces of information you can find in actual records or “reliable” sources. Those other pieces of information about your ancestor for which you have no source may not be true, could be partially true, or completely incorrect. But if you have those pieces of information “in your head” while searching for your ancestor, they could be impacting how you search, what types of records you look for, etc. And that could be hindering your research.
Some families move more frequently than others. That can be a difficult concept to grasp for researchers who still live in the same area where all their great-grandparents did. The bigger problem is making certain that the same people have actually been located in different locations and that the researcher is not assuming they have the same person (or family) without more than just a hunch. Making certain ages, places of birth, and other identifying characteristics are reasonably consistent is one way to reduce the chance of making an incorrect identification. Researching as thoroughly as possible is another way to be more certain that two people in records hundreds of miles apart are actually the same person. The more items that are located in each of the geographically […]
I will be offering a live session of my “Beginning German Research” webinar on 2 October 2020. This session can either be attended live or be pre-ordered as a downloadable presentation. An earlier version of this post went out with the incorrect date.
Some documents indicate who provided the information contained in the document. Other documents do not. Even documents that have an “informant” may actually have had several different people who actually provided the information. How likely was the informant to actually know the information they provided for the document? Where would the informant have obtained the information they provided for the document? Was there any penalty for lying? Was there any reason to lie on the document? Just because a person could have lied or given incorrect information on a record does not mean that they did. It just means that the potential is there.
Recent Comments