Reading records in old script or a foreign language can be difficult. Reading just the item of interest is never advised. Looking at entries on the same page and on adjacent pages can give you insight into how the entries are typically structured. They can also help you in reading the entry in which you are really interested. Other entries may be more legible, have more words you can initially figure out, etc. Keep track of those words and names and then use them to help you with the item of interest. This can be a particularly good technique if one priest with awful handwriting wrote entries for thirty years–during which your relatives reproduced, married, and died.
Don’t forget to save those old envelopes. Sometimes the addresses can be just as helpful as anything else. This is especially true if the letter does not contain any addresses or does not include complete names.
What was the last undigitized record you accessed? Not everything is online. Manuscript records can hold great clues–many which have been hiding for decades. It can be more difficult to access materials that have not been made available in digital format, but brick walls are sometimes “brick walls” because no one has gone beyond materials that are readily available. There are many reasons for “brick walls,” but accessing as many materials as possible is one great way to reduced the number that you have.
It can be frustrating to find a record that contains an apparent lie. Before we assume a piece of information or a statement on a record is truly a “lie,” it is important to think about what we know and how accurate our original information is. Are we certain that piece of information really is a lie–or is there something we don’t know or are we the one who is misinformed? Did the person really lie or were they just confused and misunderstood the question? Did the person just guess? If they did lie, did they do it to protect someone or to protect themselves? Did they lie to “keep peace” with living family members? It is said there are two sides to every story. Sometimes there are […]
Some times it takes someone really familiar with the location and the local records to help you find all there is to find and interpret it correctly. The courthouse, local library, genealogical/historical society, etc. are all good places to find names of people who are familiar with local resources and may be able to help you. That person may or may not live in the area any more. What you want is someone who is familiar with things, not necessarily someone who lives next door to the courthouse (although sometimes that helps).
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Transcribing “Louis” as “Sonis.” I can see how it happens, but this one didn’t dawn on me immediately. There can always be one more variant…or so it seems.
In certain parts of the United States, more likely in areas where property was surveyed in metes and bounds, property owners would occasionally name their parcels of land. This wasn’t always done for vanity, it was often done to help identify different tracts. Is it possible that the name your relative gave to their property had some significance? Was it the name of a former residence or a deceased family member? It appears that my relative named a parcel in Harford County, Maryland, “Sally’s Grove,” after his wife Sarah in 1795. Too bad he didn’t name one after the village he was born in England.
This image was discussed on the Facebook page for Genealogy Tip of the Day and we’re posting it here for those who were curious about the names. The defendants in this case (James Sledd was the plaintiff) are: John Sledd, Charles Harrison, Rob Tinsley in his own right and as [ex?r?–with a mark over it to indicate it is an abbreviation and likely stands for executor] of Jno Tinsley ded James S Pendleton admin [again with a mark over it to indicate that it is an abbreviation] of Reuben Pendleton ded Geo Tinsley & Ro Tinsley and Edward Tinsley [exor?–again for executor or possibly executors] of David Tinsley ded Oliver Tinsley Edward Tinsley James Tinsley Elizabeth West Archd [for Archibald] Goff & Polly his wife Wm. Henderson & […]
This is your periodic reminder of two important things for “online” genealogists: Download images of records and materials to your own personal media. Do not rely on a paid subscription service to access and view images you have already located. Make a copy for your personal use. Identify people on pictures now. And…while you are at it talk to any living relatives if you have never talked to them or if it has been a while. They remember things long after you leave.
You shouldn’t ignore subpoenas in your genealogical research even though most times there’s not much information on them. From the standpoint of trying to “find and connect” people subpoenas can be helpful. An 1830-era court case in Virginia involved the heirs to an estate probated in the 1810s. The subpoenas were issued to the heirs and they were directed to the county sheriff in the county where the person was believed to be living at the time the court action was initiated. The counties where the subpoenas were directed were residential clues and told me where the heirs were living in the 1830s. That was helpful in tracking migrations from Virginia and confirming where the heirs had lived. That information was just as helpful as what was actually […]
Guardian petitions for approval to oversee the estate of a minor child frequently at least provide the age of the child on the date of the petition. These ages can help determine a time frame for a when a child was born and are particularly useful in locations that do not have birth records.
Always review digital images you make of original documents while you are at the facility. Always take pictures as consistently as possible. I should have written the file name and case number on a little slip of paper to include in each image–which I forgot to do this time. That’s important to do if you are making images from more than one set of papers at a time. Some documents were large and we took pictures of those records in pieces for that reason. We forgot to take an overview photo of one document. Fortunately we have all the record–just in pieces. When taking partial images of a document, make certain to have enough overlap in each image so that you know what fits were and that nothing […]
In 1798, John Sledd gave permission for his son, Thomas Sledd to marry Sally Tinsley, daughter of John Tinsley, and directed his letter to the Amherst County official who oversaw marriages. The letter is strong evidence as to the names of the fathers of Thomas Sledd and Sally Tinsley. Based upon the writing it even appears that John Sledd wrote out the consent himself. What I need to determine if that if the consent was required for males who were not of legal age to marry in 1798 as that would help me pinpoint down when Thomas was born.
If I could just find that one document, I would be set. It’s not always that easy. Sometimes locating one record that specifically states a fact is difficult. Occasionally it is impossible and we are left putting together a case from bits and pieces of indirect information. If we do find that document that explicitly states that which we want to know, we have to ask: How reliable was the informant? How much did they really know? Did they have a reason to lie on this document? Etc. Finding information is like shopping for shoes in a large store. From a distance you cannot tell if the size is right or the style is really the one you want. It needs to be seen up close to determine […]
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