The use of the “in-law” did not always just indicate the relationship that it does today. In most modern uses of “in-law” a “father-in-law” is the father of someone’s spouse. In the same way a “mother-in-law” is currently generally interpreted as the mother of one’s spouse. In earlier uses, particularly the early 19th century and before, a “father-in-law” could be indicating that the “father-in-law” was actually a subsequent husband of the person’s mother. Today that person is generally referred to as a step-father. Similarly a “mother-in-law” reference could mean that the “mother-in-law” was a subsequent wife of the individual’s father. Today that person is generally referred to as a step-mother. The “in-law” portion of the term stems from the marriage contract signed between the two individuals marrying.
Locations can create all kinds of problems for genealogists. For this reason it is necessary to be as precise as possible. Some locations are logical. For example, Knoxville, Illinois, is in Knox County, Illinois. But this is not always the case. Des Moines, Iowa, is in Polk County, not in Des Moines County, Iowa. Keokuk, Iowa, is not located in Keokuk County, Iowa. And remember there are townships as well which may or may not add to the confusion. Hancock County, Illinois, has a Webster Cemetery and a village of Webster. Webster Cemetery is not located near the village of Webster. Provide as much detail as possible when listing locations in your genealogical database. Personally I always use the word “county” in a location. It reduces confusion.
I posted this a while back to the “group” page for Tip of the Day in response to a question about step-parents and their relationships with children by their spouse’s previous marriages and thought it made for a good tip: Explain the biological and “relationship by marriage” relationships clearly. It’s fine to indicate if a subsequent spouse of an ancestor served as the parent of the children in ways that are crucial, life-lasting, and important to that child’s development and relationships. Just make sure that the biological and non-biological aspects are clear so that later DNA tests are not needlessly confusing. If that subsequent spouse was influential in the life of the child, document it and record it. Those are things that tend to get lost as time […]
Determining landowning neighbors of your landowning ancestor in federal land states (where property is generally described in townships and sections) requires knowledge of the legal description of the property. You have to know where the property is located. This can be obtained on the deed of acquisition or sale, a will where the property was bequeathed, an estate inventory, etc. Deeds in federal land states infrequently mention adjacent landowners. Here are some places to determine who those nearby property owners are: county atlases of landowners–frequently called platbooks property tax records–often organized geographically tract or parcel indexes that index land transactions geographically
Before you donate your papers to an archives or library: make certain they are able to receive the donation organize the material you have remove duplicate items remember that archives and libraries prefer to collect unique material–usually unpublished items (letters, diaries, etc. ) and not photocopies of papers It is essential that you communicate with the facility before you make the donation and while you are still alive. Don’t just “put a clause in your will” donating your papers and think that’s enough–it’s not. Communicate with the facility Communicate with your family Organize what you have The facility may not want or be able to take your materials. Find out while you are still alive and kicking or your heirs may be forced to kick your materials to […]
Don’t forget if you have found that will in the packet of probate papers for your ancestor that there might be a “will record” contained with the probate records as well. Not all jurisdictions kept these records, but many did. Perhaps if the will has a difficult to read portion, is partially missing, or open to interpretation, the transcription in the “will record,” done at the time the will was admitted to probate, will answer your questions. Check out our land records class starting this weekend!
If there is a period of time where you are not certain where your ancestor was living or what he was doing, then you have an opportunity. Short gaps where a person is “missing” could mean military service, an out-of-state job, a short-lived marriage, a trip in search of gold, etc. Or it could simply mean they never moved and simply didn’t leave any records for a three year time period. But if you never look one thing is certain–you’ll never know.
Spouses, siblings, and others can be hiding in the et al. that is used in some indexes–particularly recorder’s indexes to land and court records. That’s why it’s important to search indexes for the whole family. A deed where all the heirs are grantors is indexed only under the first name. The other grantors are hiding in the etal reference in the index-they should be named on the deed. The same thing goes for clerk’s indexes to county court records.
A derivative citizenship is one that is derived from the citizenship of the parent, usually the father. In the easiest of cases, foreign born children under the age of majority when their father naturalized would be considered naturalized themselves and would not have to go through the process themselves. If your ancestor immigrated as a child, indicates he is naturalized but you cannot find any papers in his name, then consider the possibility that he had derivative citizenship through a father’s naturalization.
We are excited to again offer our 5-week session on United States land records in May 2018. Land records can shed a fair amount of light on your genealogical research–as long as they are understood and thoroughly researched. Learn more about these records, how to research them, and how to analyze and interpret them. Michael has researched his own family extensively in land records for over thirty years, both in federal and state land states. Content: Week 1–discussion of different types of deeds, terms and definitions, record keeping practices and procedures, types of land ownership, and women’s property ownership changes over time. Week 2–discussion of metes and bounds legal descriptions, property descriptions in metes and bounds states, pre-Federal land records, and general research strategies in those states. Week […]
Wills can get things wrong. This 1903 will from Hancock County, Illinois, refers to a granddaughter as a daughter and another relative as Lanne Ensmer when her name was Lena Ensminger. Other information in the probate file may contain the correct relationships and other details. Testators may say names in ways that make it hard for the actual writer of the will to get it correct. Genealogy Tip of the Day book is here. Learn more about it. If you’d like to get our genealogy tip daily in your email for free, add your address here.
Always read those “aside” comments that occasionally get made in records. Clerks and records officials don’t add them because they are bored. There is usually a reason and working to determine that reason could lead to additional discoveries.
Before interviewing that relative, see if you can determine the names of any near neighbors. Names of those neighbors may generate memories of events you never would have asked about otherwise. Census records that are public (if the person is old enough) are one place to get these names. City directories are another (particularly if they are searchable by address). Telephone directories may also help, particularly for those ancestors who were rural. Ask about your interviewee’s neighbors. You may get more than you bargained for.
Local court cases usually only index the name of one defendant and one plaintiff, regardless of how many people are involved in the case as defendants and plaintiffs. Witnesses and others who may be mentioned in testimony and other court cases will not appear in indexes either. For this reason it is important to search for names of relatives of your direct line ancestor in defendants’ and plaintiffs’ index to court cases. Otherwise you may easily overlook something involving your ancestor, especially if he and his siblings were sued and the name of his sibling is the one under which the case is indexed. Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank. Search NewsBank’s GenealogyBank for your ancestors.
When using a record set with which you are not familiar, think about how someone gets into the record, how the information in the record is obtained, how the record is organized, and how the original record got from its original state to you. All of these issues get to how we use and analyze the information contained in the record. Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank. Search NewsBank’s GenealogyBank for your ancestors. What to do while waiting for your DNA test and results.
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