Most genealogists “hear” the names of their ancestors in their head. Not in the sense of “hearing voices,” but by “hearing” that pronunciation in our head of a name that we may never have actually heard spoken aloud. My grandfather’s first name was Cecil and there was only one way it was ever said “See sull.” It was years later before I learned that the name was often pronounced as “Seh Sill.” From a research standpoint this can present problems, particularly with last names. Especially ones like Taliaferro–because it is usually said in such a way that it rhymes with “Oliver.” Try to discover how that “new name” was probably pronounced. Because how it was pronounced makes a difference in how it gets spelled.
Immigrants looking to settle in the United States were not the only ones to cross the ocean on a ship and appear on a manifest. Depending upon the time period, passengers could also be: merchants and other businessmen soldiers returning to the United States native citizens returning from a trip abroad immigrants returning to the US from a return trip to their homeland I even found a manifest entry for a cousin who was a Red Cross nurse in Europe during World War I. If a passenger list entry is recent enough (generally late 19th century or later), it may give significant details about the passenger.
Census enumerators are sometimes given a slightly incorrect detail or two to make a family situation appear different than it is. In this 1930 enumeration the husband’s “age at first marriage” is incorrect–probably to make it look like he was the father of all the children. The oldest child was the wife’s by a previous marriage. There is not really anything in this enumeration to suggest that either–the gap in ages of children could easily be explained by an infant death, miscarriage, etc. This is why looking at more than one record is imperative.
Some weekly newspapers would publish a “days beyond recall” or a similarly titled column containing items from issues that had been published decades before. Just because your relative died in 1855 does not mean he might not be mentioned 40 years later. It can happen. My relative died accidentally in 1855 and several decades later in a retrospective column his death was mentioned.
Names of immigrant passengers on a ship may put in separate areas of the manifest. Most of the time they aren’t (especially since they are travelling together), but it can very easily happened as it did with this 1869 list of arrivals into New York City. The parents are listed separately, then much later on the page are the minor children, the father’s brother, and the father’s mother. Never hurts to read the whole thing.
This World War I draft card for Malerbi Alighiero indicated he was born in 1916. It’s clearly an error on the part of the registrant. It’s easy for a clerk (or anyone else) to make an error such as this. Transcribe the document as written and use the word “sic” to indicate that there is clearly an error: The card for Alighiero indicated he was born in 1916[sic] That way someone knows you did not make a transcription error. And if you think a World War I draft registrant could have been born in 1916, a review of world history is in order.
Every record and finding aid has limitations. When using a source or a finding aid, it can be easy to get caught up in what it tells us and how it helps us. But it is to our advantage to not just focus on the pros of what we are using. We should think about the “cons” of that material as well. How can it be wrong? Could it provide biased information? Could it be incomplete? And so on. Being aware of the “cons” does not mean that we ignore the “pros.” But if we are only aware of the ways a record can be right or can help us we may get “kicked in the genealogical rear end” by the negatives we are not considering.
When was the last time you read a genealogical reference book or other item to increase your knowledge and understanding of genealogical research methods and sources? Blogs and other materials can be helpful, but sometimes it’s nice just to have a book. I purchased a copy of the new edition of Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, There are other good books out there, but I only mention ones with which I have actual experience and which I have actually purchased and used. Sometimes just a re-reading of something I’ve read before gets me to thinking. Sometimes one can get used library editions on Amazon (see links below) Ebay or for low-cost–other times not so much. State Census Records by Ann S. Lainhart Genealogist’s Handbook for New England Research, 5th edition, edited […]
While they don’t always respond and they may not know any more about the family than you do, it still may be worth contacting individuals who have submitted/corrected entries on your family members on FamilySearch. You may make contact with others who share an interest in the same family as you. This may be helpful when you are “the only one” working on a family or you have had difficulty making contact with relatives. You do not have to put your own tree on FamilySearch to use the trees or to contact the submitters–you can search all you want, but will have to make an account to contact some submitters. You do not have to make corrections or tree additions yourself. Not everyone responds, but I have connected with others who […]
I maintain the following genealogy blogs: Rootdig.com—Michael’s thoughts, research problems, suggestions, and whatever else crosses his desk Genealogy Tip of the Day—one genealogy research tip every day–short and to the point Genealogy Search Tip—websites I’ve discovered and the occasional online research tip–short and to the point? Subscription/Unsubscription links are on the top of each page. Unsubscription links are also in each email sent.
Farms that get smaller and smaller create certain problems. In some locations and time periods, land may be subject to “impartible inheritance.” When this concept is practiced, an individual’s land holdings must be passed to one individual and not split up among different family members.
This is your periodic reminder to digitize those not-so old color photographs that you may have in boxes, albums, etc. Don’t wait until you “know who is in them” to make digital images–do it now. These photographs do fade with time.
Ultimogeniture is an inheritance practice where the right of inheritance belongs to the youngest child (usually limited to the youngest son). It was practiced in some areas of Europe. It is in contrast to primogeniture. That is where the oldest child has the right of inheritance–again usually the oldest son.
Records of private businesses are private records. They do not have to be shared with genealogists. It does not matter how long your ancestor worked for the company, how much money your ancestor spent at the store, or how “bad” you need whatever information they have. Private records are just that: private. Some companies do maintain an archives and are willing to share information with researchers. The records of some defunct companies have been preserved in a public archives. Those are exceptions. You can try and request information from a company for which your ancestor worked. But they are under no obligation to provide you with any information.
When analyzing information on a tombstone, one thing to consider is when it was likely inscribed compared to when the person died. The longer it had been between the death date and the probable inscription date, the higher the potential for error. Just because it was thirty or forty years from the date of death to the probable inscription date does not mean the date is wrong, just that the potential for error is greater.
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