Do you keep track of what databases you use and what people you try and find in those databases? Or do you just keep entering in names, hoping to find something eventually? Knowing what you have already looked for in a database helps you to formulate new searches and strategies. Research logs are not just for manual searches of unindexed books and local records. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When was the last time you read some local history for the area adjacent to where you are doing research? A little more background information never hurts. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When researching urban ancestors and using city directories, determine if more than one publisher published directories. If you are only checking the directories published by one publisher, you could be missing out on clues–especially if your ancestor moved around quite a bit. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
For those who are new: I currently write and maintain the following blogs: Genealogy Tip of the Day http://genealogytipoftheday.blogspot.com/ Genealogy Transcriber http://genealogytranscriber.blogspot.com Search Tip of the Day http://genealogysearchtip.blogspot.com/ Casefile Clues Blog http://blog.casefileclues.com Viewing or subscribing to the above blogs are free. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Some immigrants, when providing birth or origin information in their new country, may have provided a town “close” to where the were actually from or were born. Some might have thought that no one had ever heard of their actual place of birth and instead gave a nearby larger town–perhaps the local seat of government or town where most business was conducted. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
In viewing some marriages as listed in the Bourbon County, Kentucky, marriage register for the 1815 era, it was easy to see that the marriages were not listed in the register in precise chronological order. In looking at the entire set of pages, it became clear that they were listed in the order in which the minister or Justice of the Peace brought them in as the entries were clustered by the name of the officiant. There may be a reason why things appear “out of order.” You may not be looking at the right part of the record in order to determine what the order actually is. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember when analyzing family structure and possible migrations that the mother has to be in the same place as the child on the date of birth and the mother and the father in the same general area roughly nine months before the birth. Dad didn’t have to be in the same location as the mother was when the child was born. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Just because a female has the same last name as her father does not mean she is unmarried. A relative of my had the maiden name of Mattie Huls and her husband (unrelated) had the last name of Huls. It is always possible that a woman marries a man who has the same last name as she does. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
A grantor is the person “selling” or transferring the property from his or her ownership on a deed. The grantee is the person who is receiving the property. [This is the first tip I’ve knowingly re-used. It is the one on the blog that gets the most hits.] ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Make certain you have searched the records of all the courts that a county or other local jurisdiction might have. Some counties might have separate “courts” that heard probates, guardianships, civil cases,criminal cases, etc. The judge and records office might have been the same, but the courts may have been separate with separate records. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
All of us have a set of “tricks” that we use to search for people in online databases. Don’t search for every family in the exact same way. The approach that worked for one family might not work with another. Make certain you are aware of all the search options a site has to offer, wildcard searches, soundex searches, names of others in the household, keyword, etc. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Our $5 webinar sale is back! All presentations are made by Michael John Neill. Our style is informal and informative with the intent on providing you with information to extend your knowledge of your ancestors. Michael shares research knowledge from nearly thirty years of family history research and experience.What is Not Written. This presentation discusses the importance of discovering, as best you can, what is going on “behind the scenes” with a document or a record. Materials used by genealogists are usually created in response to some event and sometimes seeing what’s “really going on” is not easy. Through examples and general methodology we will see how to get “behind” the document and discover what was really going on. Add to cart Creating Research Plans. This presentation discusses how to create […]
Can you remember the last historical fact you learned? If you can’t, maybe it’s been too long since you learned something about the history of where your ancestors lived. Not knowing history really hinders your genealogical efforts. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
We are offering the following genealogy webinars in June 2012: Crossing the Pond–Part 2 Making Corrections to Your Ancestry.com Tree American Revolutionary War Materials on Fold3.com If you signed up for one originally and missed it, you’ll get it at no additional charge. If you haven’t already registered, do so at http://www.casefileclues.com/webinars_neill..htm ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Leaving someone out of a will does not mean that they were not a child of the testator. It could be that the child had previously been given their inheritance, perhaps upon marriage or reaching adulthood. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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