The early-19th century will of John Tinsley in Amherst County, Virginia, clearly indicated which child was to receive which piece of property. This was located early in my research when I did not know too much about records. For years I only used the will in my research. Later I discovered there was an accounting of all the receipts and disbursements that provided more information on a few of the children and better glimpse into the family’s financial state. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Try their “GenealogyBank Search” and see what discoveries you make.
When making digital copies of original records, I take notes on paper instead of using some sort of note taking software. Those notes (what I found, what I didn’t find, what I noticed, etc. ) are important and need to be kept with the images made from the actual records. My last step after I’ve made record images is to take a picture of my notes and put it in the same digital folder as the record images. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Try their “GenealogyBank Search” and see what discoveries you make.
When using original local records, indexes created by clerks are often the gateway to locating material. When making digital copies of these records, make a copy of the index as well as the records utilized. That way you will know you got everything and looked up all the relevant entries. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Try their “GenealogyBank Search” and see what discoveries you make.
The key word here is “may.” Widows in pension cases sometimes had difficulty proving their marriage to the veteran. Sometimes the only witnesses to the wedding would be relatives who had lived near them for their entire lives. Sometimes the witnesses would be children of the marriage who could testify to their age and use that as an approximation of when the veteran and the widow married. Look at how long the witness has known the widow in a pension application. Does it suggest that there might be a relationship? Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Try their “GenealogyBank Search” and see what discoveries you make.
If the names in a tax list or pre-1850 US census record are in rough alphabetical order (usually by just the first letter of the last name), proximity of names does not necessarily indicate near geographic neighbors. A list that is not in alphabetical order likely is organized geography.
We are again offering my popular “Organizing Genealogy Information” class this June–starting later in the month. Additional details are contained in our blog post.
“…corn in the hands of Jesse Cheney….” That’s a clue to an associate I missed when I read the document thirty years ago. Now I realize that this reference could suggest an extended member of the signer or holder of the note from this 1837 mortgage in Ohio. When was the last time you reviewed something you located years ago? Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Try their “GenealogyBank Search” and see what discoveries you make.
Before making a trip to a courthouse (or any records facility), plan ahead and find out the following things: days/time of operation copy charges and policies can cameras and cell phones be used in the facility? what about laptops or other electronic devices? what can be taken in the facility (paper and pencil only, no personal items, etc.)? are any records closed? If all you “information” needed to look up things is in your phone and you cannot take it in, that’s something you need to know beforehand. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Try their “GenealogyBank Search” and see what discoveries you make.
Just because your relative appears in an old DAR (Daughters of the American) roster does not mean he is still “approved” as an valid patriot from whom you can claim membership. Some lines have been closed because the original documentation was lacking or original conclusions have been shown to be incorrect. The current DAR patriot database can be searched on their website. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Try their “GenealogyBank Search” and see what discoveries you make.
Records created or archived at the state (or provincial) level should be included as a part of your research plan. These materials may mention state land purchases, state census records, court case appeals (even to the state supreme court), institutionalizations, and more. The state archives, state library, state historical society, or similar agencies are good places to start learning more about these records. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Try their “GenealogyBank Search” and see what discoveries you make.
Locations can cause all sorts of research difficulty, especially when an indexer or database creator uses a location that’s not quite the “correct” one or at least not the one the locals know. Several of my ancestors attended a Lutheran church a mile from where my grandparents lived in Hancock County, Illinois. It was near the town of Basco and locals referred to it as the “Basco church” to distinguish it from the Lutheran church in the county seat of Carthage a few miles away. When Ancestry.com included the records of this church in their “U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940,” they used Carthage as the location, not Basco. I never thought of the church as being in Carthage–largely because it is not. When looking for any […]
Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Check our their May offer for “Tip of the Day” fans–offer ends 31 May.
If your ancestor refused to answer the door for the census taker, neighbors may have answered questions for him. Their knowledge may have been sketchy. If your ancestor was in a boarding house, the landlady may have answered questions for him. And it’s possible that your relative was missed by the census taker entirely. It’s unusual to be missed if a person was “stable” and not moving frequently. Movers and people avoiding the law tended to sometimes avoid the census taker. Check out Genealogy Tip of the Day the book!
Take a picture of the entire cemetery, getting panoramic views that show more than just the stone. In addition to helping you remember which stones were near each other, it will give you perspective on the area’s geography. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Try their “GenealogyBank Search” and see what discoveries you make.
Sometimes people just get mixed up. An earlier tip mentioned that Astoria, Ohio, might not refer to a village–it could be a township, “spot in the road” or other place in Ohio. It could be an incorrect spelling. It could also be that the informant, who never lived in Illinois or Ohio, was mixed up. The deceased was born in Fulton County, Illinois–which has town named Astoria in it. The informant was a child of the deceased and may have been mixing up where their mother and grandmother was born. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Try their “GenealogyBank Search” and see what discoveries you make.
Recent Comments