If land records in the United States have always confused you or if you have always wanted to learn more, read more about our upcoming 5-week class on these wonderful records.
Sometimes, for a variety of reasons, records of a birth or a court case may be closed. Remember that sometimes that birth may be listed in the newspaper or there may be a reference to the court action in the newspaper as well. It’s hard to restrict information once it appears in print.
When a digital image of a record appears on a website, do you try and find who created the original record, where that original is housed? There are several reasons for trying to make this discovery, one of which is so that you don’t pay another site or record office for a copy of a record you already have.
Never reach a conclusion from reading part of a record. A relative claimed in his initial homestead application that he was a citizen at the time his entry was filed. Additional documentation in the file indicated that he actually was not naturalized until shortly before his homestead paperwork was completed. Always read the entire item before concluding. And read it again just to be certain.
If researching the life of your ancestor seems like too large of a task, focus on one aspect of his life–perhaps his military career, all of his land records, all of his court records, the last twenty years of his life, etc. Sometimes it’s best to pick a narrow part of your puzzle on which to focus.
Have you searched local court records for your ancestor? More individuals appeared as either defendants or plaintiffs than people think. Court records can contain a wide variety of personal details in testimony and affidavits. Most of these records are kept at the county level in the United States.
US Revolutionary War pensions can contain names of individuals born well after the war, including: names of children of the patriot names of witnesses names of justices of the peace, county clerks, etc. names of descendants who inquired about the patriot, etc. This blog post contains a letter from the great-grandson of the man who supposedly married the veteran and his wife in Virginia shortly after the war.
It was a major revelation on one of my ancestral families when I discovered how the last name was actually pronounced by a native low-German speaker. Variant spellings made much more sense and I was better equipped to see other ways the name could have been rendered in records by someone who did not know how to spell the name. If the last name you are researching is not English, see if you can find someone who knows the language to help you out. Even native English speakers may say their name in a way that you don’t expect and that too can create unexpected spelling variants.
Sometimes it’s not easy coming up with “new” tips every day, so for today we’ll look at a few things I’ve been reminded of in the months since my Mother’s passing: Identify everyone on every picture you have. There are a few Mom and I never went through and now I’ll be hard-pressed to figure out who they are. Ask the minor questions. It’s not genealogically relevant, but now I’ll never know if it was Mom’s Grandma Ufkes or Grandma Habben who had the pink peppermints and gave Mom one every time she came to visit. Write down what you remember about your recently deceased relative. You may be surprised at how much you forget if you wait. Don’t learn this the hard way. Never assume you will […]
A reminder that our October 2015 session of “Organizing Genealogical Information” starts on 7 October–that’s when download links will be sent for the first presentation. More information here.
Deeds and other land transactions are usually recorded in the local county recorder’s office. This office may have other land-related records as well, particularly records of surveys and plats. These maps created by surveyors may have been done when an area was first being settled, when a new subdivision or a town or village was created, or when heirs were partitioning out an estate.
We are starting up another section of my popular “Organizing Genealogical Information” class this month. Consider joining us. Details have been posted here.
Newspaper accounts of a death may give details that are not mentioned in the death certificate. It is doubtful that this 1923 suicide, made in response to harassing telephone calls, mentions those calls. This item was obtained on GenealogyBank.
The dog is painfully aware of the cone she has on her head. Her caretakers are painfully aware that she can’t see as easily with it on. Researchers often have their own cone–one that they’ve had forever. Sometimes it’s helpful to ask if we are using our peripheral vision, looking at all the angles and any assumptions we may have about the people being researched. It will be very clear to the dog when her cone comes off. Can we say the same about ours?
If part of your analysis of a record involves the word “always,” ask yourself: is that really “always” the way it is? could this situation be an exception? (make certain you have valid reasons for thinking that this case is an exception) how do I know it’s “always” true? Sometimes our brick walls and assumptions are buried in an “always” in our analysis that’s not necessarily always true.
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