Due to a schedule conflict, these have been moved back one week from the original schedule. If you have registered and this is a problem, please email me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com. Revised Schedule and Four New Topics! Sign up for all 4 for $25! Those who cannot attend will receive complimentary downloads of the sessions after they have been completed. 4 September 2015-Friday–5 PM Central Time. Original, Derivative, Primary, Secondary, Direct and Indirect, Evidence and Proof and More!: Troubles with Terms This session will look at just what is typically meant by these genealogical terms. Anyone’s research can benefit from an understanding of “proof” terminology, even if publishing in a journal is the furthest thing from your mind. Knowing the differences of these terms and when to use each one […]
Our genealogy webinar closeout continues through 22 August (today). Download is immediate and presentations can be viewed when or as often as you want. Don’t wait!
In your desire to preserve and record the past of your family, do not forget to include materials on yourself. Newspaper clippings, photographs, awards, certificates, diplomas, and other items that relate to YOU are important as well. At some point in the future, you will be on of those names on a chart just like the relatives you are trying to track down today. Future genealogists in your family will be glad that you did not forget to preserve items on the living as well as the dead. [Thanks to Facebook fan Bella C. for suggesting today’s tip!]
When information is inconsistent or you are trying to sort out individuals, consider making a chart or table to summarize the information that is conflicting or does not make sense. Sometimes just the process of thinking about how to organize what you have and then organizing it will help you to notice things that you did not notice before.
Here is a summary of freebies we have: 2 free copies of Casefile Clues–simply enter in your email address and “submit” order. There is no credit card or other personal information required. Copy 1 Copy 2 My Brick Walls A to Z Webinar (and handout)–click here to process order. Coupon code is “brickwall” no credit card or personal information except email address is required. Just hit “check out with PayPal.” The item is free, you won’t be prompted for a credit card. You can subscribe to Genealogy Search Tip (free) by entering in your email address in the box on the right hand side of the blog page at http://searchtip.genealogytipoftheday.com. Feel free to share with your friends, blog readers, etc. etc. Thanks!
Besides the “news” part of a newspaper, your ancestor could appear in the classified ads section. This ad from a Rock Island, Illinois, newspaper in 1905 mentions a bay mare owned by August Mortier. The ad provides evidence that he was alive on the 4th of July night and was living at 2609 4th Avenue in Rock Island on that date as well.
Our genealogy webinar closeout continues through 22 August. Don’t wait!
The problem with programs and websites that pre-fill in data is that it’s easy for the user to not really pay attention to what is going on. I’m working on sorting out individuals with the name of Anson Butler who lived in several counties in New York and Michigan. This includes Genesee County, New York and Genesee County, Michigan. If I’m not careful on data entry, I could easily get the locations incorrect. Take a second or a third look when entering in places, particularly if they have the same or very similar names. I’m just glad they also didn’t spend time in Geneseo, Illinois.
Always browse the end of a record series. The 1865 New York State census included some additional information at the end of the enumeration for a town or village. This information included (in some cases): couples married during the year deaths during the year men who had been in the military church information agriculture statistics effects of the Civil War on prices, etc.
Our genealogy webinar closeout continues through 22 August. Don’t wait!
A search of the yearbooks on Ancestry.com located a reference to an individual named “Newport Ufkes” in a University of Iowa yearbook in 1950. The name Ufkes is highly unusual and I was 99% certain the reference to my uncle who attended the University of Iowa Law School. Turns out the men in a picture were listed by last name only. My uncle stood next a man with the last name of Newport. Seeing “Ufkes, Newport” the automatic indexing assumed it was a person whose name was Newport Ufkes. Another reason to not always include first names in searches.
The old tips that did not get uploaded originally have all been posted to the blog. Thanks for your patience. This should end the “more than one” daily postings.
If your relative took a state examination to receive a teaching certificate, there’s a chance that it was mentioned in a local newspaper. Have you looked? This newspaper item from 1918 mentions my aunt, Luella Trautvetter. She would have been 17 at the time she took the test. Now I’ve got to look and see if she passed–this newspaper reference only indicated those who took the exam in March of 1918 in Adams County, Illinois.
Do you know the legal description of any real estate your ancestor owned in the United States? The legal description precisely states where your ancestor’s property is located, such as: Lot 5 in block 2 of section 8 of Wilson’s Addition to the City of Warsaw, Illinois The north half of section 2 in township 4 north of the 5th principal meridian. Some land indexes are organized geographically. Tax records are organized geographically and other records are organized in this fashion as well. In upcoming tips we’ll have ideas on finding that legal description.
Join us for a week of genealogical research in the world’s largest genealogical library in May of 2016–18 May through 25 May. We are in the library from open to close–with an optional hour long presentation at 8 am. every morning. More details are here.
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