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A residential directory may contain more than a directory of residents with addresses. Some directories have specific directories after the main residential listing. Those “directories in the back” may contain additional clues about someone you are researching. This 1918 Prairie Farmer’s Directory for Hancock County, Illinois, contained several additional directories, including ones for various breeders of cattle and chickens, tractor owners, automobile owners, and silo owners. The directory contained an unexpected reference to a relative who was living in a different county at the time. His mention in the “Silo Owner’s Directory” may indicate he still owned property in the area even though he did not live there.
A person’s last name might not have been as “fixed” as you think. There are several reasons why your ancestor’s last name may not be as permanent as you think, including: gender–women in some cultures change last names upon marriage (some cultures do not do this) ethnicity–in some cultures the same name is not passed from parent to child parental marital status–a parent marrying after the child is born may cause the child to be listed with different names in records attempts to avoid “the law”–your relative may have changed his name to avoid authorities desire to hide ethnicity–your relative may have changed or alter his name to disguise his ethnic origins desire to be unique–if the town was full of Carl Carlsons, your relative may have changed his […]
This session assumes listeners/attendees have a basic understanding of what AncestryDNA offers, how to navigate their AncestryDNA matches, how to track working with their matches, what shared matches are and are not, and have already done some work with with their AncestryDNA matches–at least having worked through their first/second cousins matches at least once to determine connections where possible. If you have not yet played with your matches, this session is not for you. The basics of the system are not covered in this session. This is a session focused on research methodology and more advanced working through the matches. In this session we will work through several extended examples based on Michael’s own research. This will include a relatively straightforward example, families that have multiple relationships, and families […]
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.
This is your reminder: Don’t forget to digitize those photographs and include documentation on them.
If your relative died under suspicious circumstances, there may have been an inquest into their death. These records, in the United States, typically start in the late 19th century, but there are exceptions. Generally they are local (city or county) records and they may or may not be available online. Testimony of witnesses and doctors may be included. That testimony may give additional insight not only into the death, but also the life, of your relative.
My relative’s 1806 birth in Vermont was recorded twice in two different towns three years apart. The date of birth was the same on both records–it was just recorded in two different Vermont locations. I should not just look at his birth record. I should also look at the records of his siblings. It turned out several of them were recorded twice in the same locations where his records were recorded. If we look at just one record, we may miss clues or we may get a skewed perspective. It’s advised to look at all records in context. It is particularly important to do this with with any record with which we are not familiar or one that looks unusual. Sometimes when this can be helpful is when […]
There are times where I still like to use pencil and paper. For me, it’s just faster and one of those old habits that I just can’t get out of. However, I need to keep those notes in a way that I won’t use them. Typically my notes are made while searching and making digital images of records. I was using a page from an 1895 genealogy of the Sargent family to start my search for vital records of the family. To keep myself organized, I took a picture of my notes sheet and filed it with the digital images I made of the vital records that I located. Then when I go to review those images my notes are right there. If I need to take more […]
There can be much gnashing of teeth about what spelling is “correct.” It is important to remember that 20th and 21st century concerns over spellings and names matching exactly were not a concern in an earlier time. In some places they were not even a concern in the early 20th century. Documents should be transcribed as they are written, even if the name is not spelled “right.” If a census spells great-grandma’s name as “Fany,” that’s how I transcribe the document for my records. Because that is what it said. If my great-grandma’s birth certificate spells her name clearly as “Francis,” then that is what I transcribe the record as. I don’t change it. If great-grandma herself always signed it as Fannie and that’s what most of her […]
When was the last time you reviewed your genealogical information? It may be that: you’ve made a mistake somewhere, a new database has become available, you’ve got new information that’s not been compared to what you already had, etc. I recently reviewed my ancestor table on my other site. In correcting an error I discovered new leads to follow. Genealogy Tip of the Day is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Try their “GenealogyBank Search” and see what discoveries you make.
Some locations have precise geographic borders. Those borders may change over time, but often are reasonably well-established. Some places, particularly those whose names are informal and known to locals, may have more fluid boundaries or just be a general area. Ethnic regions of some urban areas can change over time and have boundaries that are in a constant state of flux or have no precise definition. In some rural areas, certain areas may have a name that known to locals but does not appear on any map, post office list, or other geographic finding aid. Frequently these items are mentioned in newspapers, family letters and correspondence, and other unofficial records. Some thoughts on locating such places can be found in our recent post on Prairie Precinct in Winnebago […]
In families where the same name was used repeatedly, it can be easy to: merge two different people with the same name into being the same person confuse two different people with the same name and assign the wrong record or event to the wrong person overlook yet another relative with the same name–there could always be one more Correctly sifting out people with the same name can be difficult. Look at records that mention: age middle initials–if they even have them spouse occupational clues specific residence or residential clues relatives And look at every record you can get your hands on in the area where all these people with the same name lived.
If your ancestor owned real property, you should search for at least the following records: record of acquisition: a deed of purchase, patent, inheritance, etc. payment of property taxes: do that or lose it. record of disposal: deed of sale, will, foreclosure, tax sale, etc. In the United States these are county-level records. Knowing your ancestor owned property is not enough–those records may provide more information.
It may sound morbid, but if you happen to be around when a loved one is at the end of their life, write down some of the more poignant moments. Not the medical details, but the other little stories. A few days before my mother died, I had finally fallen asleep at around four in the morning only to have a nurse come in and perform a bed check. I yelled and shot out of my chair. There my mother and the nurse were, laughing as if it were the funniest thing they had ever seen. Who knows, maybe it was. I was aware enough of my surroundings not to be irritated that I was being laughed at. And I remember my mother’s cousin and his wife coming […]
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