Charles Brown “chose” his guardian in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in 1766. His choice still needed to be approved the court and, if necessary, post a bond in the amount determined by the court. Charles may or may not have been fourteen years of age on 30 September 1766 when David Jewell was approved by the court as his guardian. The document only says “upwards of 14 years.” Jewel’s connection to the family is not known, but he was not Charles’ step-father. It is possible he was willing to teach Charles a trade, but any apprentice relationship is not stated in the guardianship papers. Genealogy Tip of the Day book is just about ready! Add your name to be notified when it is ready for distribution.
No matter how many times something is reviewed and proofread, errors can creep in. That’s a reminder to proofread your own material and to keep in mind that any published item or transcription can contain the occasional error. Some writers, editors, record clerks and tombstone cutters are more careful than others. The flip side of this is that there are not necessarily errors in all transcriptions or errors either. Don’t assume that an original record is wrong because it disagrees with you on a key statement. It could be that you are correct. Just because published and other materials can contain errors does not mean that they always do.
In the greater scheme of things, it is probably a minor thing. I made a reference on Twitter to a relative on whom I made a discovery. I referred to her by her relationship to me second cousin twice removed. After I posted the tweet, I realized that I had not really double-checked the relationship before I posted it–I thought I knew who her grandfather was “off the top of my head” and went from there. My memory was my source. Fortunately I didn’t refer to the cousin by name, so the error is not as bad as it could be and I realize that one tweet isn’t the end of the world. But it was a good reminder to me to check before making statements online. That’s […]
There’s more to a picture than just the names of the individuals are are shown in it. Where was it taken? Who took it? Why was it taken? Does it look posed? If someone has written on it–who was that? Did they know the people in the picture or where they probably identifying them based on something they were told by someone else? How do I end up having it?
If 19th or 20th century newspaper to your relative includes the phrase “please copy,” pay close attention to that location. A death notice for Charles Waterman of New Orleans, Louisiana, indicated that the Detroit and Rochester should copy the death notice. The death notice mentions that Waterman was a native of Rochester, but the reference to Detroit in the “please copy” reference indicates that Waterman had potential ties to that area as well.
While some relatives take their family history stories to their grave, others become more willing to tell stories as they age. The reasons 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.
“Never say never,” may sound like a tired and oft-used saying, but sometimes there is a bit of truth to it. Applying it to your genealogical research can be helpful as well. If in your head you ever think to yourself, “my ancestor never did x,” ask yourself “how would my research change if my ancestor did do x.?” Don’t carry this to the extreme and decide that your ancestor flew around the sun and returned, but other things such as “my ancestor would never have moved away for a few years, my ancestor never would have gotten divorced, my ancestor would never have had an “early” baby, and my ancestor never would have been arrested” may not be as true as you think. The word “never,” and […]
We’re been working it for a while now–a book of some of our earliest genealogy tips. I’m excited about the upcoming release of a list of tips in print form. We’ve pulled out announcements and items that were timely and have not included those. Tips that were repeated have been deleted as well. We’ve updated a few tips that needed to be refined. And hopefully we’ve caught the minor grammar errors that occasionally sneak in. If you’d like to get an email when the book runs live, add yourself to our email list.
The man is referred to as John Sears in a variety of court records from Bourbon County, Kentucky, in the 1806/1807 era.The handwriting of the court clerks and staff is fairly clear: John Sears. Like most documents, there is more. Sears signed two documents as a part of the original papers in the case file. It does not look like he signed John Sears. The first name in both references clearly looks like Johann. Sometimes in records of this age, signatures may sometimes look like scribbles or just be viewed as “sloppy and written by someone who is not too literate.” That viewpoint can be a mistake. The temptation may be to just assume the signature is exactly what is written elsewhere in the document by someone whose […]
Access to many digital images at FamilySearch is through the catalog. The images have not been separately indexed and are essentially “online microfilm.” Search the catalog for your counties and other geographic areas of interest and the browse the subject headings to see what materials may be available. Everything in the catalog is not online, but looking at specific catalog entries will indicate how the materials can be accessed. The catalog can be searched online at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog
Through 9 am Pacific time on 17 November 2019, we’re giving away free copies of my 2018 “Brick Wall” genealogy webinar. No credit card needed.
A signature can be a way of identifying a relative when other details are scant or inclusive. The difficulty comes when the researcher does not really know if the executor of a document actually signed it or not. Some records genealogists use are original documents containing actual signatures and other times those records are transcriptions or record copies of the original documents. Record copies made in the day when transcriptions were made by hand don’t contain the actual signature–they contain a transcription of it. Once in a while original records may not contain the actual signature of the “signer,” even when they appear to. This 1827 bond from Fleming County, Kentucky, contains the “signatures” of James and Enoch Tinsley. Their signatures look very similar. The “signatures” of their […]
“Demise” does not always mean death. This court record from early 19th century Bourbon County, Kentucky, states: in the year 1811 John Goodlittle on demise of James Tinsley exhibited… It does not, does not, mean that James Tinsley met his demise in 1811. It means that John Goodlittle had a lease to real estate owned by James Tinsley. Always make certain you are interpreting words in legal documents in their legal context.
A dowry is property a female brings to the marriage. Dower is a right a woman had to a share of her deceased husband’s real property as his widow. The widow’s dower was generally a one-third interest in her deceased’s husband’s property and it was held as a life estate (meaning she could transfer it, encumber the title to the property, etc.). Actual title to the real property would transfer to the husband’s heirs at his death.
Geography matters in genealogical research. No one lives on a flat piece of white paper. It never really clicked that my Rampley family all lived along Bear Creek in Hancock County, Illinois, until I was tracing where the creek emptied into the Mississippi River. When I traced the creek through Walker Township using an 1874 plat map, there they were: every member of my Rampley family. James and his sons all owned at least one piece of property through which Bear Creek flowed at least in part. Based upon the map, they also tended to favor land that contained a fair amount of timber. I need to look at the locations in Ohio (where the family lived before they moved to Illinois) and Maryland (were the father, James […]
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