I always assumed that my great-grandparents met because they grew up on farms a few miles apart. It’s an easy conclusion as proximity facilitates relationships. But there was more to it. I learned later that he worked for a few years as a hired man for his future mother-in-law. It’s not unusual for the hired man to marry one of the daughters. It’s not those details that are the point. The reminder is that we should not quit looking for “reasons” just because we have the reason. We may not know the whole story. While our initial “reason” may be valid, the other reasons may provide additional insight and research suggestions. Jumping to the correct conclusion can sometimes limit us. But it is better than jumping to the wrong conclusion. Genealogy […]
Years ago I received copies from the National Archives of selected documents from the Civil War pension file for my relative, Emmar Osenbaugh. The file was rather large and, since I’m somewhat “stuck” on certain parts of her life (and that of her parents), I decided to obtain a copy of the entire pension file. If you have an abstract of a record or selected documents is it possible that there are clues in those un-abstracted pieces of information or un-selected documents? Sometimes what seems trivial to someone unfamiliar with the family is not trivial at all. Note: (added after Jade’s comment) The cards referenced in Jade’s comment are located online at United States Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933” on FamilySearch.
It was somewhat unusual, but it’s possible that your relative’s middle name really was just a letter. Most of the time that middle letter does stand for something, it’s just a matter of determining what it was. But there are always exceptions to the rule.
Sometimes parts of records are missing. It is always a challenge to find names that have been removed from a record, but consider searching: by other search terms. for others who “should be on the same page.” page by page if possible.
Color photographs from the 1960s and 1970s are notorious for fading. Sometimes they are blurry. If you have access to photographs from this era that have not been scanned or preserved digitally consider doing so. Don’t forget to put what documentation you can on the photograph itself. Even something is better than nothing–at least your name, where you got the photograph, and when you digitized it.
Mimke Habben’s will gave his wife a life estate in his real estate after his death. This meant she could use the property, earn income from it, and (within reason) use it as she saw fit. She could not sell, mortgage, or bequeath the property. Her husband’s will indicated who was to get it upon her death–in this case it went to all their children. There are reasons a person may do this. In Mimke’s case it prevented his wife from giving the entire farm to one child–which she tried to do by writing a will that a local judge refused to probate upon her death.
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Sometimes it can seem like we are the only person researching a certain family or set of ancestors. Sometimes we get so focused on going back further and further that we neglect to track down modern descendants. This can be important even if writing a book of all your ancestor’s descendants is the furthest thing from your mind. Any of those descendants can have a family item that could be useful in your research. They may know stories, etc. I recently made contact with a descendant of one of my great-great-grandfather’s brother’s descendants. If you think about it, your great-great-great-grandparents may have more descendants than you think. Who knows which lineage path ended up with the family bible and other items?
I was convinced that I could see my mother in a recently discovered picture of her great-great-grandmother. I was certain there was no other opinion. Without telling her what I thought, asked my daughter who she thought the woman in the picture resembled. I was certain she would say “Grandma.” I was positive. She didn’t. And she rattled off the name of another family member. After thinking for a minute, I could see it. I was so set in my initial view that I was unable to see anything else. Sometimes you need to hear a different perspective, listen to it, and contemplate it. In the end you may not agree with the alternate interpretation, but being challenged and thoughtfully considering the possibility there’s another interpretation besides yours […]
I hear the following all the time, but sometimes it can be difficult to believe it: have patience keep looking something may turn up And sure enough it did–a picture of my third great-grandparents on Famil ySearch. I’ve researched these people since the early 1980s and this is the first time I have seen a picture of them. I could barely contain my excitement. But…it does not look like the mental pictures of them I had in my head. But I’ll take it.
Is it possible that your person of interest had a short-term marriage, perhaps after a longer one that resulted from the death of a spouse. A relative, shortly after his wife of twenty years died, married a local woman in the 1870s only to divorce her within a year. His family never mentioned her as if it never happened. The divorce records were quite informative and would not have been located had I not just decided to look “just in case.”
Newspaper writeups of funerals may give additional clues as to survivors. Pallbearers may be more distant family members who are not named in the obituary. Most of the men listed in the 1962 example were nephews of the deceased–there’s just one that I have to figure out who he is. Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank –give them a try today.
When you transcribe a document, do you make a notation if some of the handwriting appears significantly different from the rest of it? Different handwriting indicates a different person did the writing–at least most of the time. Multiple “authors” could have written on a document at different points in time, had varying levels of knowledge regarding the document’s content, or served different positions in the agency that created or maintained the record. Sometimes that really matters.
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When genealogists are challenged by their ancestors, they are often told to research the associates of the ancestors–including ancestral friends and neighbors. If you are stuck on a person and have tried this approach, how thoroughly have you researched these associates. An hour or two online probably isn’t sufficient. If your problem ancestor is in a place and time that’s difficult to research in general, it may take some time to really research those associates thoroughly enough to locate all potential clues.
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