Don’t wait to get pictures of those stones if you can. Some older markers are made of soft stone. Twenty-five years ago this stone was standing and reasonably legible. Today that’s not the case. ——————— Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank—search for your ancestors.
If you’ve made several discoveries on a family, let them “set” for a few days and work on something else. While it can be tempting to work as fast and furiously as we can, that’s how mistakes can be made and time and money wasted. I find it good when I’ve made a lot of discoveries on a family to write up what I have found while it is fresh in my mind. And then put it aside for a few days. A fresh eye is more likely to catch errors, see additional clues, or just see ways to make the analysis you’ve written stronger. Let your genealogy concrete cure before you drive that big old research truck over it. ——————— Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored […]
Years ago I scanned the photograph and had not looked at the original in years. It had been even longer since I had looked at the reverse side of the envelope that held the original photograph. There on the back were the names I had written down as my great-aunt told me who the people were. Never hurts to flip things over and look all around. Maybe you really didn’t lose what you thought you lost after all.
Constantly be aware where the nearest political borders are to your ancestor’s place of residence. An aunt met and married her husband in Germany in the 1840s, a few years before immigrating. His naturalization indicated he was from a different German state than she was. A quick look at the map indicated that her place of birth and his were not that far apart–what separated them was a political border. ——————— Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank—search for your ancestors.
The reference to Sophia (Derle) Trautvetter in her son’s biography says she died at the age of 77. It should have said she died in 1877. It’s a relatively easy mistake to make, and to a genealogist it makes a difference. Sometimes errors are simply errors and nothing more. And sometimes it is helpful to try and determine if there’s a relatively easy explanation for the error. Becomes once in a while that’s all it is. ——————— Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank—search for your ancestors.
Our webinar closeout is wrapping up and ends on 11 May. Our prices are low and orders over $50 can receive an additional discount by using coupon code 2016over50. View the entire listing page-where you can also order.
A clerk or transcriptionist can easily spell something in the way they are used to–even if the word is not supposed to be spelled that way. I have two ancestors whose last name is Bieger. I’ve typed the name more times that I can remember. Recently I had cause to mention the singer Justin Bieber in a comment on Facebook. It took me four times to spell his last name as “Bieber” instead of “Bieger.” I wanted to spell the name the way I was use to spelling names that started with “Bie” and ended in “r.” Is it possible that a clerk’s “mistake” was simply a habit that they applied to your relatives name when they should not have?
While it can be exciting to find things, try and organize as you research. If you are in the habit of saving files and making “notes” as you go, it is easy to go in circles, overlook things, and spin your wheels needlessly when you avoid data entry and organization until “later.”
Always put the births of children in the chronology of their parents’ lives. Were the parents a “usual” age when they started having children? There are several reasons why a person can wait to get married, but an age that is slightly older could mean there was a previous marriage–perhaps that resulted in no children. Or it could just mean that they waited until they found the right person. The ages on this passenger list are correct and suggest the mother was around 31 when the daughter was born and that the father was around 37.
The name in this 1880 census enumeration does not look like Henry Herzog, but that’s what it is. This entry from Hancock County, Illinois’ Walker Township (family 193, dwelling 195) looks like Henry something or other. The census taker was a German native and wrote in a handwriting that was difficult to read. It is very possible that he wrote “Herzog” the way it sounded to him. Henry Herzog was a German as well, but if he and the census enumerator were from different areas and spoke differing dialects the rendering of the last name could be very creative. Always consider how your ancestor said his name. Always consider how the keeper of the record heard the name and what biases he may have had. Always consider sloppy […]
The download service I use for the webinars only allows me so much space and I’m at the limit. I need to decide which ones to keep selling, which ones to no longer offer, and–I need a change of pace for a while. So…effective 11 May 2016, I’ll no longer be selling the recorded copies of old webinars as shown below (we’ll still have our scheduled ones in May and will have downloads for those who register and happen to miss those). But we will be stopping the sales for a while so that I can regroup and focus. Now’s a great time to order. Our prices are low and orders over $50 can receive an additional discount by using coupon code 2016over50. View the entire listing page-where you can […]
If you are only going to use an image for your own personal use, then asking permission is not usually an issue. However, if you are going to post the image on a website, a public tree, a blog, etc. then it’s a good idea to ask permission. One reason is that it is the right thing to do. Another reason is that the photographer may have additional items, better photographs, etc. Irritating them may make them less willing to share information with you. [note; The following paragraph was somehow deleted from this post when it originally went out.] The best reason for not using a picture that you did not take is that the original photographer has copyright to the photograph that they took. It is their picture […]
We’re excited about our May 2016 webinar schedule: Irfanview for Genealogists Digital Media Organization American Court Records Federal Land State Property Descriptions: Sections, Townships, Base Lines and Meridians Barbara’s Beaus and Gesche’s Girls Visit our announcement page for specific schedule.
Never assume that the heirs of one person are necessarily all heirs of their spouse they had at death. It is easily possible that there were multiple marriages by either the husband or the wife. This could result in them having different heirs. But a missing heir when the surviving spouse dies could simply mean that that heir died before the surviving spouse did and that heir left no descendants of their own. Bottom line: compare heirs of the husband and wife if you can to find clues about potential multiple marriages. ————– Learn more about US probate records in my class.
Join us for the following events this April/May (registration is limited): US probate records class-discussion starts 8 May Organizing Genealogical Information– discussion starts 9 May
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