My grandmother and her mother took care of my grandmother’s father at their home near Loraine, Adams County, Illinois, for the last two years of his life after he had a debilitating stroke. By the summer of 1934 his condition had deteriorated to where they could no longer handle him at home. He was sent to a state hospital where he died in August of 1934. His obituary stated that he died at his home. Family tradition always indicated he died at home. The death certificate says otherwise. There was a sense of shame that he had to be sent somewhere and so it was never mentioned. If you can’t find your relative’s death certificate in “the right place,” try looking for a death in a nearby hospital […]
FindAGrave is a neat site and makes it easier for genealogists to locate burial information. One suggestion if you are taking pictures for a memorial on FindaGrave: Get some perspective Include an image or two showing the relative position of nearby stones. Consider labeling who those stones are in the photograph and indicating which stone in the picture is actually for the deceased person in whose memorial you posted it The relative position of stones can be helpful in determining who may be related. Not every adjacent burial is a relative, but sometimes they are.
The 1880 US agricultural census asked the farmer about his land tenure–indicating whether the farmer: owned the land–there may have been a mortgage–“free” or “encumbered” was not asked. rented for “fixed money rent”–cash rent in today’s jargon. rented for “shares of product” Could be a clue as to whether land records need to be searched.
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US agricultural census records won’t give you family relationships, but they provide you with details about your relative’s farm operation and allow you to compare its size to others in the same area. Details about the number of livestock, acres planted in various crops, amount of items sold, and other operational information is often included. Most agricultural censuses in the US were taken in the mid-to-late 19th century. They are available on microfilm and digital format. More information on these non-population schedules is available on the National Archives website.
I don’t have pictures of too many ancestors. Signatures can be a good replacement. Trying to find them can be an “outside the box” problem-solving approach. Remember that record copies of deeds, wills, and some other records do not contain the actual signature. You need the original document or a reproduction of it–not a transcription.
Don’t let the angles and measurements intimidate you. The metes and bounds description of your ancestor’s property lines may mention neighbors and geographic features that can help you determine ancestral associates and approximately where your ancestor lived.
All dogs bark. Things that bark grow on trees. Therefore, dogs grow on trees. Always read over your logic and reasoning used to reach a conclusion. Also make certain you understand definitions of words and the context in which they are used. Genealogical records are full of legal and esoteric words more nuanced than “bark” and it can be easy to confuse them. Avoid barking up the wrong genealogical tree–check your reasoning and your definitions.
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If your ancestor owned real estate, make certain you have a record for how each piece of property left his ownership. Was it deeded in her will, sold for back taxes, sold before his death, quitclaimed by the heirs after her death? Each of these transactions has the potential to reveal significant information–particularly if the property was still owned by the ancestor at their demise.
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Keep a document that has a listing of the various ways your various ancestral names can actually be pronounced. A list of spellings is not a bad idea either but knowing various ways a name could have been said can be helpful as well. Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank. Check out their current offer for new subscribers.
Estate settlements of relatives (particularly siblings of ancestors) who died with no living descendants can contain significant genealogical clues. The distribution of assets may mention siblings of the deceased, nieces, nephews, and other relatives–depending upon the family structure. The records may provide relationship details and information on where the heirs lived. Estate settlements of relatives who were only children and who died with no descendants can be even more informative as the relationships of the heirs will be more distant. Review your files–do you have a relative whose estate settlement could name missing family members? People who “leave” tend to “reappear” when money is involved. Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank. Check out their current offer for new subscribers.
[this was posted to our Facebook Fan Page a few days ago, but I thought it was worth posting here as well for those who might not have seen it.] Some tips are location or time period specific. We’ve got people from all across the globe who are fans here. A tip unrelated to your place/time of interest may generate a question about a different time/period–go ahead and ask. Keep in mind that different places/time periods have different records–and different research challenges. But sometimes working in one place/time can help us in other time periods, just in broader ways. Researching my low-German immigrants in the 1860s is different from my Virginia families in the late 1600s and they are both different from my New England families in the 1700s. […]
Beliefs about the ethnic origins of non-immigrant ancestors are easy to come by. They are more difficult to prove. The best way to determine if a person has a certain heritage in their background is to research that person as completely as you can. Then do the same thing for their parents, grandparents, etc. Stories about where a person’s family came from are a dime a dozen. They are also difficult to prove the ethnicity is what you start with instead of the specific person. I may think my relative was Native American and it may turn out that they are. But the best approach is to research that relative in as many records as I can find and see what those records say. And go from there. […]
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