State statute dictates how the estate of a deceased person who dies without a will is to be disbursed among the heirs. That process can be complicated if the deceased person dies without leaving any descendants of their own. That process can change slightly over time. It is important to know what laws were in effect at the time an estate was being settled. John Trautvetter died in 1937 in Illinois leaving no children and his mother and six siblings as his heirs. Contemporary statute gave his mother a double share compared to his siblings. For that reason the estate was divided into eighths, with his mother to receive two of those shares and his six siblings to each receive one share. The estate was to be divided […]
If your relative laid “claim” to a piece of property, what documents might have been generated as a result? Did he pay taxes on it before the title was actually clear? Did he have to find a land claim or some sort to obtain title to the property? If so, before the American Revolution the place to look for land claim records are at the appropriate state archives. Land claims after the Revolution are at the National Archives. It’s possible that your relative filed a pre-emption claim if he settled on property in the federal domain. That’s a federal land record and the completed claim would have generated a patent. The process for completing a pre-emption claim is different from that of filing a homestead claim. If your […]
Widow’s military pension records often contain affidavits from individuals who knew the widow before she was married, were at her wedding, knew that she and the veteran lived as husband and wife, knew the widow had not married again, etc. Always ask yourself: How long has this person known my ancestor? Have they lived in more than one place where my ancestor also lived? How did this person come to know this information about my ancestor? If that person has known your seventy-something year old ancestor since she was married at the age of twenty, that’s someone you want to research in a little more detail.
The bill from the “office of L. U. Albers” indicated that he was located in Keokuk Junct. and that the bill was dated 5 April 1875. No state is listed on the document. That is not to confuse the reader over one hundred years later. It is because the information was not needed by the reader in 1875. The reader knew where Keokuk Junction was located. It’s also possible that Albers paid slightly less for his stationery since there were fewer printed letters on it. Many records that genealogists use have “missing” details that we would like to know today. A significant number of those details were “obvious” to the creator and user of the document at the time it was created. They saw no need to state […]
Genealogical researchers are reminded to be aware that any record can contain an incorrect piece of information. That’s true. A document can contain 15 pieces of information and 14 of them can be totally correct and that one last piece can be a mistake. Maybe. Don’t conclude immediately that something is wrong just because it looks off. Make certain that: You have the correct person. You’ve transcribed the item correctly. You have a good clear image of the record. You are understanding all the terminology in the record. The other information you have about the person is correct.
Riley Rampley has three tombstones in the Buckeye Cemetery in rural Hancock County, Illinois. Two of them have different dates of birth. My transcription of these stones should be true to the original–exactly as they are written. Comments about the accuracy of the information on any stones should be made in my notes. That should be done in such a way as to make it clear what the transcription is and what my comments are. I should not correct the information when I make my transcription. This also serves as a reminder to consider the possibility that your ancestor has more than one tombstone. Although I just wish more of my relatives had one stone–I’d be happy with that!
Going to a cemetery is more than knowing where it is and having your camera and other supplies with you. A few things to think about: Is it in a safe area? Contact locals who should be able to give you some insight into concerns you might have about safety of the area in which the cemetery is located and areas you may have to drive through in order to get there. When is it open? Are there a limited number of hours during the day when the cemetery is open? Can you find out where the stones are before you get there? Is there an office you can visit when you get there to determine the location of the graves you wish to visit? Some cemeteries are […]
Avoid overwhelming your new DNA matches with too much genealogical information. Focus you first communication is trying to confirm who they are and how they connect to you. An informal, laid-back approach is best–but avoid being too familiar and immediately jumping into personal questions. Your initial goal is to get a response and see if you can figure out the connection. Sometimes that’s a big goal. Save the 6-generation pedigree chart for when you’ve determined just how interested they are. We’re not suggesting hiding information–what we are suggesting is fostering a connection and an interaction.
Periodically reviewing your research on “worked up” ancestors is a good way to make additional discoveries, catch mistakes, and find ways to share what you’re already written up. Using the birthdays of your ancestor (if you have them) is one way to do that. I wish my software allowed me to assign an “annual review date” for each ancestor. That would give me a day to use for all those people for whom I don’t have a precise date of birth. But the annual review of each person might not be a bad thing–especially for those people you’ve been stuck on for a while and have put aside to work on other individuals. Today (1 Sept 2019) would have been my Grandma Ida (Trautvetter) Neill’s 109th birthday. I […]
“Grandma worked out as a young girl and when they bought their farm in the late 1930s it was on the ‘hard road.’ ” Explain terms in your notes that may not be clear to someone else later. Grandma was not going to the gym when she “worked out” and most farms in the 1930s where they lived were not on paved roads–it was a big deal at the time. She called it the “slab” too. Grandma babysat me when I was small and she’d warn me not to go out near the “slab.” My children had no idea what I meant. It was the state highway that ran in front of Grandma’s house. Always make certain your terminology is clear and make certain that you understand terms […]
Aside from names that are spelled wrong, first names that are omitted, and names that are flat-out wrong, there are at least two other big reasons you may have difficulty finding a newspaper entry for your relative simply by querying a database: the database of newspapers may be incomplete and the original images are virtually impossible for OCR (optical character recognition) to recognize. Browse the images to determine if there are gaps in the newspapers online at the site and look at some images from the time period in question to determine how legible. Some digital images of newspapers were made in the early days of microfilming and may be difficult for the computer to interpret. You may have to read them manually and search them that way […]
James Chiaro is referenced twice in this estate document from Cook County, Illinois. In the initial mention of his name, he is simply James. In the second reference, buried in text that sometimes gets overlooked, was the name of his alias. Had it not been read, it would not have been noticed. This document was indexed at Ancestry.com and the index only lists James. It does not list the alias of Vinenzio which is also given for him.
Depending upon the location and the time period, an individual’s probate file may have a “proof of death” statement or affidavit. The court wanted to know that the person whose estate was being probated was actually deceased. In other places there may be no such record and the best estimate of date of death is simply before the first date the individual is listed as “deceased” in the records.
It took me forever to “realize” where the nickname probably came from. Some family members referred to my Aunt Luella as “Law.” I had known her by those names for so long that I never questioned it and never wondered where it came from. I just took as it was. Until today. I was saying the name to myself for some reason or another and it dawned on me that the originator of the “Law” name probably said “Luella” in such a way that “law” was a part of it. I never heard it pronounced that way and didn’t say it that way myself. Of course the reason I never heard anyone say “Lawella” or “Lawellaw” is because those people never said her full name. They called her […]
We are excited to offer this new class on using US census records. Virtually every US genealogist uses census records, but not everyone is aware of how those records can be maximized for what they do contain. There are limitations to these records, but there are advantages to them as well. If you’ve wondered if you are getting the most out of US census records, this class is for you. Content: This three-week session will look at US census records from 1850 through 1940. Topics discussed will include: enumerator instructions and how information “got in the census” organization of original records working with family structure in 1850-1870 records correlating a family’s census records over time evaluating accuracy of census records determining other records suggested by a family’s enumerations […]
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