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 […]
Recently I requested a translation of a funeral entry for a relative. I really wanted the cause of death part translated and included the “occupation” part only to provide additional handwriting as a sample. Turns out the “occupation” portion of the entry contained genealogically relevant information about the relative’s daughters and their residence at the time of the father’s death. All from a part of the entry that I thought would not provide me with any information.
This presentation discusses approaches and techniques for determining an ancestor’s maiden name and locating “missing” females. Geared towards the advanced beginner or intermediate researcher, it focuses on American records and sources before World War I. The content is not specific to any one time period and many of the approaches can be refined for different locations or types of records. Concepts discussed will include: overview of women’s legal rights; property ownership; inheritance; citizenship; and strategies for making the most from what you can find. If you are stymied on your female ancestors–and half your ancestors are female–this presentation may give you the insight you need. Order a recording of the session ($19) for immediate delivery–includes handout. Regular price $25. If you ordered this presentation and did not receive your […]
Always look to see what the “consideration” is on a land transaction. It’s what is given up in order for the grantee to obtain the property. If there’s not an amount of money listed, try and determine what the relationship was between the grantor and the grantee. Whenever property is transferred without cash being transferred, that’s something the genealogist needs to look into.
I’m working on man named Rufus D. Stephens. As I work on Rufus, I become aware of the need to remember that I may not have the same person just because the name matches. The other details matter to. My problem is made slightly easier because the Rufus in which I am interested usually uses the middle initial “D.” But he could easily appear in a record without that initial. I have absolutely no idea what the initial “D” stands for. My first knowledge of Rufus is a 1850 census enumeration in Michigan where he is living near a married woman who is believed to be his daughter. As I find Rufus in other records in other states (he’s believed to have lived in Michigan, Illinois, and New […]
At the time her will was signed, Barbara Haase made “her mark.” Readers should note that simply making a “mark” does not mean the person was illiterate. They might have been unable to sign or perhaps were told to “make their mark.” That’s one reason why documents such as this have witnesses. Barbara could sign her name–she did so on documents in the 1850s and 1860s in a lovely German script. Not certain why she made three marks–although she did have three husbands (or two or four, depends upon how you count).
If your relative obtained a land warrant (usually veterans or their widows for US pre-Civil War military service) and assigned that warrant to someone else, the reverse of the warrant could contain valuable information: the signature of the warrant’s recipient and residential information at the time the warrant was assigned. The National Archives has these surrendered warrants.
Read through the list of receipts from your relative’s estate carefully. Are there any benefit amounts paid from a society of some sort? That membership could be a clue as sometimes membership was limited to a certain ethnic group or denomination.
think through a few things: Can I get it somewhere for free? Can I get it somewhere cheaper? Do I really need it? Do I already have it? You might also want to see if a relative or fellow researcher is willing to help you split the cost.
Does the county where your ancestor live have more than one courthouse? Some counties do. Is your ancestor living in an independent city that has its own set of records? Find out where the records are kept and if your research has moved into a new county, state/province, or country, make certain you’ve learned where records are kept.
Genealogists use digital scans of out of copyright books and records all the time. If the scan you have located online has pages or areas that are difficult to read, consider that another site may have scanned a different copy or the book or used a different scanning process. It may also be necessary to see if a library can make a photocopy of that “bad page” or if a better scan is available through the original holder of the record.
Indexes are generally only used to get the researcher to the record that was used to create the index. There is always the chance that the indexer made a mistake or that there is more on the record than is in the index. If the originals are gone as sometimes is the case, then the index is all we have. And occasionally an indexer will add information to the index that’s not in the original record. But no matter the situation, you should at least ask yourself: how do I find the record that this index indexes? Failing to ask that question could be your problem.
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