The omission of one word can mildly confuse or significantly alter the meaning of a document, record, or statement. We discovered this in the original version of today’s actual “tip,” where the word “States” was left out in the phrase “United States census.” Make certain you are not leaving out words that matter and consider that a confusing document might be confusing because a word was left out of it. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
In a United States census enumerations, the abbreviation “Pa” on citizenship status means that “first papers” have been filed. Those first papers usually include the declaration of intent and if recent enough may reference actual passenger list information. And filing first papers does not guarantee the person actually completed the process and became naturalized. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Take a look at that stone for your ancestors who died in the 1840s. Does it look like it is made of the same material as other stones from that time, or does it have the look of stones from the early 1900s or even the look of stones from the late 20th century? The stone may not be the original. A picture would obviously be a great to provide evidence of this. but if that is not possible make a note in your files that you do not think the stone is the original. Stones made near the time of death can have errors. Ones carved a hundred later can as well. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Make certain you’ve looked at every part of a marriage record. In some locations there are registers, licenses, applications, etc. Any of these could refer to the bride as “Mrs.” And that’s a clue. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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It is recommended that you not “guess” about information you put in your genealogical files, especially in terms of where/when someone was born, died, or married. However, people will still do it. If you must guess, at least indicate in your “source” for that guess why you guessed what you did. It’s one thing to put in guesses and leave a reason. It is another to enter in guesses with absolutely no reason at all. The first may be reasonable speculation, the second is myth. There is enough myth floating around already without creating more. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
It’s always possible that your ancestor altered the spelling of his name. Name spellings, especially before the twentieth century, were not always consistent, and your ancestor might not have even been literate. Don’t get too tied to the “correct” spelling because chances are your ancestor did not care about spelling as much as you do. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
The month of Messidor was one of the months in the French Republican calendar which was used in France and areas controlled by France from from 24 October 1793 to 31 December 1805. The year consisted of twelve months of thirty days each. To learn more about the calendar visit this page on the Family History website. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Do not always assume that individuals with the same last name “have” to be related. It could simply be that the last name is more common in that local area than you know. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When reviewing a document, have you used every number in the document as a clue? Specific dates and ages can be used to help determine a chronology or calculate approximately when an event happened. Acreages can be helpful in using land records, house numbers can be useful in determining addresses. Make certain you’ve analyzed every number for any clue it may contain. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember that in any court case, the court is only interested in details that are necessary to render a fair and just verdict in the case being heard. There might be details that a genealogist would like to know, but the court is not concerned with leaving behind detailed genealogical information. That said, court cases where genealogical information is important, those involving inheritances and property rights of heirs, are of paramount use to the family history researcher. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
An effective tool for searching online databases and indexes is to have a list of all the spelling variants for your name of interest. If the list is only “in your head,” it is easy to occasionally overlook an alternate spelling. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Are you using place names to describe where an ancestor was born, died, or was buried, that are not listed in any gazetteer? Make certain that you also include a more reference (eg. GPS coordinates) to assist others in finding the location. On a recent trip to visit my parents, I had to take my brother lunch where he was discing–“on the McNally place, you know past his forty, which is past McGaughey’s and turn south.” Of course those names would be on local plat books and other records, but often those descriptions are only in people’s gray matter. Don’t make that mistake. Clearly identify locations. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Citations are not stressed in genealogy because some retired English teacher needed something to do. There’s a reason. Not all versions of a record are created equally and knowing the site you used to find something, even a digital image, can help you (or someone else) analyze it later. One website may have only posted selected images (as HeritageQuest Online did for Revolutionary War pensions) or accidentally “cut off” parts of images that were posted. Some books of extracts and abstracts may have only included “selected documents.” Clearly indicating from where something was obtained lets you (or someone else) know the version that was used. Then later it’s easier to decide if more work needs to be done. And it is ok if your citation does not fit […]
Don’t assume your ancestor would not be in a paper, because “our family didn’t warrant any mention.” You never know when your ancestor might have been in an organization that caused him to get mentioned, got into legal trouble, received a pension, or any of a number of things that might have caused his name to appear in print. He might have even written a letter encouraging his fellow farmers to grow more winter wheat as the United States approached the first World War. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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