The bulk of local land records in the United States document land transfers between individuals or groups of individuals. Generally speaking, the only land documents that may be recorded after a landowner dies are deeds that never were recorded originally, quitclaim deeds to sell property or clean up title after their death, or court orders resulting from court action involving the property. It’s possible however that there may be affidavits or other documents related to the title to property and its transfer that are recorded and yet are not actually deeds themselves and are not transferring any property. A 1940-era affidavit by a relative, filed with the local land records, documented the property ownership back to the 1870s–including owner’s names and transaction dates. In the affidavit parent-child relationships […]
The United States Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System is a database of more than 2,000,000 place names within the United States. It is one place to search for a location when online interfaces to modern maps fail. There is more about this database on their site. There is a link to the search page there as well. If you have a place name you cannot find on the USGS n and you have an idea of where it might be, try searching digital images of old newspapers for the place name. It may be mentioned in old newspaper articles even though it’s not an “official” place.
We are excited to offer new and updated sessions of these two popular presentations. Introduction to US Probate Records 17 September 2020 at noon central This session will provide attendees with an overview the US probate process and how records created fit into that entire process and the basic terminology required to understand and interpret the records correctly. Included will be a discussion of ways to interpret and understand the records, determining what additional records should be searched, and ways to access probate records—including search approaches and use of indexes. Handout included. Live attendance on 17 Sept at 12 noon central time–$8.50 Pre-order a download of presentation–$8.00 Introduction to Local US Court Records 17 September at 1:30 pm central This session will provide an overview of local courts […]
An excellent suggestion when the genealogist is stuck is to check the associates of your ancestor for clues as to where the actual ancestor was from. The theory is that often these associates are relatives, extended family by marriage, or former neighbors of your ancestor. Many times it works. But sometimes it does not. Because there are people who simply settle near where they have no relatives and where they know no one. My great-great-grandparents shortly before 1880 moved to a county where they had no relatives (their families of origin are fairly well-documented). When the mother died, the two children were farmed out to strangers to raise them. Many times people “ended up where they knew someone” and the extended family/kin network approach can help to determine […]
When viewing the image of any record, one should ask “is this an image of the original image or is it something else?” In the case of this 1779/1780 set of marriages, the typed nature of the document indicates it was created sometime after the fact, probably from transcribing original records. Clues that what you are looking at was created later or copied later, includes: handwriting/ink that is too consistent from entry to entry, signatures that are all the same, typed materials from the early 19th century, etc. Transcriptions are not bad and not necessarily incorrect. Any of them that were created manually were created by humans and can contain the occasional error. Get the Genealogy Tip of the Day book. Great for reading cover to cover, browsing, taking […]
If you are looking for Blahtown in a state don’t assume that the first place with that name is the actual one you want. There could have been more than one place originally named Blahtown–perhaps a place whose name was changed when it was realized that there was another one in the same state. There could also be places named “Blah,” “Blahsville,” etc. to which the “Blahtown” reference was actually referring. Blah could also be the name of a political jurisdiction other than a town (perhaps a township) and could even have been an informal area that never warranted an official name. If you have an idea where “Blahtown” was at but cannot find it, search old newspapers in the area for that name. If it was an […]
Some genealogists work hard to convince family members to take DNA tests to help them solve research problems and increase their ability to analyze their own DNA matches. Others, for one reason or another, do not. Have you at least reached out to other descendants of your grandparents, great-grandparents to see if they have done an autosomal DNA test? If they have, the connection is close enough that they should show up on your list of matches. You will know they tested because they are on the match list (you just may have difficulty determining who they are). If another descendant of a set of grandparents or great-grandparents has tested and they don’t show up as a match, that’s something to investigate. But if you do not reach […]
Do you have the only copy of a family history item that you have not preserved? We are not talking about digital images of records that are available elsewhere as those are already preserved. Personal items such as photographs, letters, handwritten materials, etc. where your original is the only one in existence. What have you done to preserve, identify, and share the item?
Even if your ancestor did not serve in World War I or World War II, they should have registered for the draft. Many of these cards are online free at FamilySearch. The “Young Men’s Draft” from World War II are free, but not indexed–but are in alphabetical order. World War I Draft Registration Cards World War II Draft Registration Cards–Old Men’s Draft World War II Draft Registration Cards–Young Men’s Draft–free at FamilySearch. (incomplete) Get the Genealogy Tip of the Day book. Great for reading cover to cover, browsing, taking notes in, or reading at random to get your research started.
Researching family names we have never heard pronounced can present challenges when those names originate in a language other than the one in which the records were kept. It can be worse when we don’t speak that language either. For any name, try and find out two things: How it was likely spoken by your ancestor. How it is likely said by people today. Both ways matter. That “original” pronunciation will impact how the name is in early records and knowing how the name is pronounced today will impact how the name can be written in later records. This issues are not usually an issue with people researching Jones and Smith. It is a concern when tracing any last name that’s “foreign” and is how Behrens gets written […]
It was not unusual for members of some immigrant communities to change their name some point after their arrival in the new country. The difficulty is that these individuals often immigrated under their original name only to change it after settling somewhere. The anglicization of theirname was not just to make it easier to pronounce, it was also to keep others from knowing their ethnic heritage. Irish immigrants may drop the initial “O” of their last name. Members of other groups may use the first two or three letters of their non-English name upon which to base their choice of an English one. Some would simply choose a different last name. These changes may be documented in the individual’s naturalization record. Family stories about the name change may […]
Terminology used in records can vary slightly from one state to another, one county to another (less often), and from one time period to another. It is always advised to make certain you have everything that comprises a record and know how each of those things fit into the marriage record as a whole. This “Marriage Coupon” was a part of the marriage paperwork when this couple married in Arkansas in 1943. After the marriage, this coupon was submitted to the Arkansas State Registrar of Vital Statistics.
This “Marriage Coupon” from Arkansas is actually a state record–not a local one. It was part of an Ancestry.com database of Arkansas marriage records, but since marriage records are generated at the county level, it’s probably not the only record of the marriage. The county may have additional information regarding the marriage, perhaps a marriage application or other “initial paperwork” filings. Always determine just who originally maintained the record at which you are looking. That will help guide you in trying to determine what additional materials may be available. If you don’t know exactly what you are looking at, you don’t know what else could be available and you might not interpret the material as accurately as possible. Get the Genealogy Tip of the Day book. Great for reading […]
If you see an age stated in a document, make certain to determine whether the age is given as of the date of the document or the person’s next birthday. Some records differ on which age they ask for. Not reading carefully could cause you to think ages are more off than they are.
This 1861 census entry from Ontario serves to provide two research reminders. Don’t crop the image too close–you need those column headings if they have them and other entries to give some interpretative context. And sometimes they just put things where there is blank space. Part of the space for the Darling family entries includes page totals for places of birth of enumerated individuals. It has nothing to do with the specific family’s entries. This was determined by seeing the same numbers on the bottom of the page and by manually checking the totals. Those are things you cannot do if you don’t have the whole page. Get the Genealogy Tip of the Day book. Great for reading cover to cover, browsing, taking notes in, or reading at random […]
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