When taking notes, writing reports, and communicating with other researchers, avoid abbreviations wherever possible–especially “homemade” ones that you have dreamed up for your own convenience. That shortened version may make perfect sense to you, but it may not make sense to someone else. And even you, when reviewing your own notes years later, may have no idea what “HCDB” stands for. Sometimes abbreviations can be figured out from context, but not always. You don’t want to be guessing and don’t to make research more confusing than it already sometimes can be.
I recently discovered that an ancestor of mine died when he had barely been married five years, leaving behind a wife and three small children. In 1837 this caused a large change in his widow’s life. Did she move back to the nearby village where she was from? Did she move in with parents or a family member? How did she support herself and her children? Did she marry again and have more children? All are things I need to think about in my research strategy to locate the ancestor after her husband’s death. Check out Genealogy Tip of the Day the book!
Online message boards and genealogy groups are great places to interact with other genealogists, get helpful suggestions, and find out about new sources, etc. They are also places where all sorts of inaccurate information and theories get passed around. Double check what some random person told you a genealogy word means, what a certain legal process really entailed, etc. They may be correct–but they may be wrong as well.
If your relative owned real estate and there is no deed that can be located, consider the following options: The relative inherited the property and the deed of acquisition is the will where it was bequeathed or the intestate probate of the deceased owner they were an heir to. The deed of purchase was not recorded. While it’s not too common, it is possible. Consider that your relative never actually owned real property.
If you’re trying to get a different grasp on your ancestor and her life, see how many things you can use to describe them that do not involve numbers. While numbers are important, it’s also important to think about those other characteristics of our relatives that are non-numeric in nature. Often these qualitative characteristics can help us get a broader picture of our ancestor and perhaps think of some sources or research methods that we have overlooked.
When using any sort of record for genealogical research, ask yourself–who gets in this record? Is it just landowners? Is it everyone who was alive in a certain place on a certain date? Is it just men of a certain age? Is it anyone who dies in a certain location? Is it just people who can vote? Is it people who have sufficient assets? Is it members in good-standing of a certain denomination? How people get into a record matters when you are interpreting the information you find in that record and how you go forward when someone is not located in that record.
You may be fortunate enough to know what your relative’s occupation was. But do you know anything about that occupation during the time period your relative had it? There could be clues in that occupation that could help you learn even more about your relative than you already do. And just because you know how the occupation “works” today does not mean that you know how it “worked” in 1750.
If your relative immigrated, don’t assume they only crossed the border or ocean only one time. It was not unheard of for immigrants to make return trips to the old country. Sometimes this was done to bring other immigrants on the return trip. The immigrant might have thought they wanted to go back home to stay only to realize that they really did want to immigrate. Some returned for short visits to family members for one reason or another with no intention of remaining in the home country. Never assume that relative only made one trip to immigrate. That first trip could have been one of a series of voyages.
If Amazon’s too slow, we still have copies of the Genealogy Tip of the Daybook that can be sent directly to you via USPS. It can be a great way to refresh yourself on things you forgot, learn new things, or view research from a different perspective. It can be read in one setting, browsed at random, or used to generate ideas for your own research. It’s easy to read, informative, and geared towards helping you with your research and not seeing how much labored prose and ten-syllable words can be used in one sentence. If you’re “stuck at home” (or even if you are not), get your copy today! There’s more information on the book on our website.
Dealing with a “new to you record” can sometimes be confusing. That confusion is compounded when the record is written in blank book format where the clerk or records keeper had to create their own form. Sometimes that “homemade form,” was unique to the person who originally kept the records. Determining what the format was for each entry, what the columns stood for, etc. may take some time. It may require more than just looking at the entry of interest. It may require more than looking at just the entries on the page containing your ancestor’s entry–particularly if some columns are used infrequently. And it always requires patience. Note: I’ve been reminded of the importance of this in working with some tax records from Ohio. All of us […]
There is so much information on FamilySearch that it can be easy to confuse exactly what database is what. The Family Tree is an attempt to create one worldwide “family tree” where everyone can collaborate, make additions, corrections, changes, etc. The theory is that the “cream will rise to the top,” but it contains errors. Sometimes entries in this tree will contain links to actual images of records. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/find/name Databases and indexes are an attempt to make it easier to determine if certain names of individuals are contained in certain sets of records. These items are meant to be finding aids and they are imperfect. The transcriptions are meant to make it easier to find someone in the actual record and should not be used in place of […]
Court cases that seem to have no genealogical relevance may still suggest ancestral associates and give clues as to individuals who may have been related to your ancestor. The difficulty is that these records may not state the specific relationship–or they might. I’ve been viewing several early 19th century court cases from central Virginia. They are not cases where heirs are fighting over property but appear to be neighbors fighting over unpaid debts and property lines. There are depositions and statements of testimony from several individuals. Further research determined that several of these individuals were relatives to the plaintiffs or defendants in the case–either by biology or by marriage.
Court records, particularly court packets of papers from early 19th century court cases, can be confusing. To increase understanding and minimize confusion organize the papers in chronological order, make certain you have the images paired correctly (the right front with the right back), and read any conclusions and verdicts issued. Those techniques will not clear up all issues, but is the best way to get started.
While the internet may make it seem like there is no limit to genealogical data, the reality is that there is. All researchers get to a point where there is no more information and additional details about an individual probably are not forthcoming. The difficulty is in knowing when that limit has been reached and not stopping too soon. Some ways to avoid quitting too soon or banging your head against the wall for too long include: Reading genealogical journal articles for the time period and location of interest–not to find your family but to see what sources and methods were used. Being aware of all sources for the time period and place and how those sources are accessed. This means not just the sources you are comfortable […]
When a relative died in Missouri in the 1860s, all his personal property was ordered sold to pay bills and to settle up his estate. It was inventoried and appraised before the auction. When comparing the sale values with the appraised values, I noticed that what the widow purchased went for pennies on the appraised value while the other items went for relatively close to what they had been evaluated at. It was not difficult to see what had happened. The law said there had to be an appraisal and there had to be a sale. The law said nothing about the neighbors shooting dirty looks at anyone who made a bid against the widow. The procedure was followed, but the widow was not forced to really pay […]
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