Stopping because you have located one record is never a good idea. By keeping on going, I discovered that an ancestor was divorced from the same man not once, but twice. By keeping on going, I also discovered that another relative’s first marriage “didn’t happen” and they were actually married two years later. Combine these unusual circumstances with the occasional record that gets entered or indexed late and you have even more reason to look for entries or documents “after you think you should.” ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
While some relatives take their family history stories to their grave, others become more willing to tell stories as they age. The reasons do not matter, but remain open to the possibility that Aunt Martha may eventually decide that the world will not end if she tells you that “family secret.” Or course some people are not going to tell you things no matter what. But some do become more open with age. It may be worth a try. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
My great-grandmother was born Frances Iona Rampley. There is only one record on her that uses that name: her birth certificate. Her marriage record, mortgages she signed, her social security death index entry, 1900-1940 census enumerations, court documents, estate papers, tombstone, etc. all list her as Fannie. Your ancestor may never have used their “real” name. And if they never used their “real name” was that their real name? In the case of my great-grandmother, I list her as Fannie and in my notes indicate what her record of birth says. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Before you put away those holiday decorations, consider taking pictures of the ones with sentimental value and recording the stories along with the pictures. Record the stories during the holiday season while the stories are fresh in your mind. Putting the decorations away can wait a little while. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
This was a comment posted by one of our Facebook fans, but it makes for an excellent tip of the day. Do the dates “fit?” Can the parent be having children at that age? Are they too old? Are they too young? Are the parents dying before the children are born? A father can die 6 months before the child is born, but a mother dying 6 years before the child is born is not possible. Genealogy isn’t connecting the dots (well, most of the time), but often it is about the numbers. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Merry Christmas, Season’s Greetings, and Happy Holidays from Genealogy Tip of the Day. We’ll be running around doing typical holiday stuff, but daily tips will still come your way like always courtesy of the scheduling feature. We may be delayed in approving comments and answering emails, but we will get to them. Thanks for all the support, suggestions, and interaction we’ve had this year. It’s been fun. Michael ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you are stuck trying to find a document or a record or are having difficulty in interpreting something a clerk has written in a document or in a record, remember the perspective of the clerk. The clerk may not have understood what your ancestor said, may have been poorly educated himself and cared little about the accuracy of the records he left behind. Or the clerk may have been very concerned about the accuracy and reliability of his records and your ancestor may have been vague in his answers, less than honest, or generally grumpy and unwilling to provide information. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Whether you have looked in the index or performed full-text searches, consider actually reading the county history for the location where your ancestor lived. If the entire book is too much, consider at least reading those parts discussing the area of the county where your ancestor lived. There might be clues–indirect ones, but clues. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
It is possible that a relative knew nothing about their grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. Depending upon how closely they lived to where those relatives lived and how emotionally connected their parent was to their own family, a person may have little knowledge of their relatives. And no matter how often you ask, it won’t change that. It doesn’t mean you don’t look for clues, but remember that sometimes people really do know nothing about their mother or father’s family. This is particularly true if their mother or father had some reason for not wanting them to know. There may be little clues–so keep looking. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
The story makes for a romantic one but, like many family legends, the reality may be somewhat different. A couple may not really have met for the first time on the boat. They may never have met on the boat at all. The future husband may have immigrated as a single man and then sent word back home that he had settled and was ready to marry. Story was my great-great-grandparents met “on the boat,” having been from different villages. They were born in different villages, but there’s more to it than that. The future bride’s family had moved to the small village where the groom was living about ten years before the couple married. They knew of each other before they ever crossed the pond. ———————————— Check […]
Some researchers will “believe” something when they have three sources that provide the same piece of information. One has to be careful using this approach. Sources may all contain information from the same person or “original source,” which does not really mean that three “sources” agree. It could only mean that the same person gave the information three times. And there is always the chance that the second two “sources” got their information from the first. Think about who provided the information, why it is in the record, and how reasonably the informant would have known the information. That’s a good way to get started with information analysis. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Your relative may know more about deceased family members than they are willing to tell you. And they may never tell you everything you know, no matter how much you wish they would or how many times you ask. For reasons that are entirely too long for a “short tip,” I know my own grandmother knew more about her grandfather than she ever told me, including the fact that he had a second wife. Yet my queries about him always received a “don’t know anything response.” Sometimes that is all you are going to get and sometimes you have to let it go to preserve relationships with your living relatives. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
We have announced our December-January webinar schedule. Intro rate for early enrollees. Details and schedule can be viewed here. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
In his early 19th century will, a Maryland ancestor appears to disinherit a daughter when he leaves everything to her two children and appoints a guardian for them. The man writing the will might have not so much been disinheriting the daughter as he was avoiding a son-in-law. In the very early 1800s, when this will was written, a man would be able to exercise control over real property that his wife inherited. By leaving the real estate to his daughter’s children, and appointing a guardian, the testator was providing for the children while circumventing the son-in-law. And you thought that only people today who had to use creative ways to get around things. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you cannot find your 1850 ancestor in the 1840 census–and you are certain he’s heading his own household–consider searching for his 1850 neighbors in 1840. Then look at their neighbors in 1840. There is a chance your ancestor is near at least one of his 1850 neighbors in 1840. A chance–not a guarantee. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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