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
This is from a post (in part) I wrote in 2015 on my Rootdig blog. Are you making “genealogical statements?” Genealogical statements can be seen as being about an individual or expressing a relationship between two individuals. Genealogical statements about individuals usually are relatively specific as to time and location: Johann Schmidt was born in 1845 in Schteenytinystadt, Germany. Thomas Rampley purchased property in Coshocton County, Ohio, in 1818. James Rampley is buried in Buckeye Cemetery, Hancock County, Illinois. Riley Rampley served in Company D of the 78th Illinois Volunteer Infantry from 1861-1865. Genealogical statements between two individuals generally express a relationship between those two individuals (precise times and locations may not be known but they are helpful in distinguishing individuals from others of the same name): James Rampley […]
Don’t assume the first couple whose names are “close” to the ones of interest are actually yours. In 1880 in rural Walker Township in Hancock County, Illinois, there’s a family headed by a Michael and Franciska Trautvetter and one headed by a Michael and Franciska Turnhoffer. Both are of German descent. They are two entirely different couples. Similar names do not always imply the same people. ——————— Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank—search for your ancestors.
When ancestors “disappear” from records after they’ve reached a certain age, it usually is suggested that if they “didn’t die where they were supposed to,” that one look for them living near or with one of their adult grown children. Several of my ancestors who “disappeared” were actually living near one of their children after their “disappearance.”  Melinda Newman and her husband were living in White County, Indiana, after their children had left for other states. When I could not find Melinda after her husband’s 1861 death, it was because she had moved to Linn County, Iowa, to be near several of her grown children. But…. Not everyone does that. Melinda’s own son, William Newman, did not. After his children had all left the nest, William and his wife […]
Your ancestor’s civil marriage record may contain the name of the preacher who married your ancestors or the church with which he was affiliated. Try and see if the church has any extant records. Church records may provide more information about your ancestors. Or they may not. Or your ancestors may have been married by a Justice of the Peace–in which case there won’t be a church record of the marriage. ——————— Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank—search for your ancestors.  
When there are multiple marriages for multiple people, a chart may make it easier to visualize the relationships. In this case, the middle children are half-siblings to the left children and the right children, but the left and right children do not share a biological relationship. In this example the children from the very first marriage and very last one shown did not live near each other and probably never met, but many times that is not the case. [note: the typo in the image has been fixed] ——————— Genealogy Search Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank—search for your ancestors.
Make certain you have completely tracked children your step-ancestor might have had with spouses besides your direct line ancestor. After my ancestor‘s second wife died, she his second wife married again and she had a child with that husband. Tracking down the second wife, her second husband, and their child may lead to something that helps me search the actual ancestor. Or maybe not. But I don’t know if I don’t look. ——————— Genealogy Search Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank—search for your ancestors.
There are many ways your ancestor might have obtained federal property. Military service before the Civil War may have made him eligible for bounty land, he may have made a direct cash purchase, he may have been an early settler who filed a pre-emption claim, a homesteader who worked the ground the required amount of time, or someone who obtained property in another way. To search federal land patents–those deeds that transferred property from federal to private ownership, visit the Bureau of Land Management’s General Land Office website.
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.  
I first worked on my children’s Belgian ancestors years ago. When using the vital records from the 19th century, I used them the way I had other European records from the same time span. I looked in the “book” for and read through the entries for the years I thought included the person’s birth date. Then, if I had the correct person and had the names of the parents, I scanned the years before and after the birth to locate siblings. Imagine my surprise when I found indexes interspersed in the records. I had never encountered those before. While indexes are not perfect, they would have saved me a great deal of time. Moral-the first time you use any “new” record, familiarize yourself with the whole thing first, […]
If you’ve located an entry in local marriage records that a license was issued for your ancestor, have you determined if the license was returned? The issuance of a license means only that a license was issued and that a couple was intending to get married. Usually cancelled licenses are returned and “cancelled” is written somewhere on or near the entry in the record indicating the license was issued. But not always. Sometimes they are just not returned. Sometimes licenses that are used are not returned by the officiant, even if the marriage took place. ——————— Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank—search for your ancestors.
Get the Genealogy Tip of the Day Book
Get the More Genealogy Tip of the Day Book
Recent Comments
Archives