Never cite a source unless it was actually in your sight. It’s simple: If you saw a tombstone’s picture on FindAGrave, cite that website–do not indicate you were in the cemetery yourself or took the picture yourself. If you saw a transcription of a will in a published book, cite the book and that book’s transcription–do not cite the will itself. If your Mother told you something about her mother, cite your mother as the source-do not cite Grandma as you didn’t hear Grandma actually say that something. Whether the source is accurate is another story. We just want our citations to accurately reflect what used. To learn everything you ever wanted to know about citations, see Evidence Explained.
I have set the dates for my 2024 research trip to the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Details are on our trip page.
I’m working through a family where four of a couple’s sons were in the US Civil War. My original source for documenting their service (and the deaths of three of them in the war) was a letter another son (their youngest brother) wrote in 1879. I wanted to immediately document all their service and pension using the information in the letter. I thought it would be easy to document the service details–after all, everything today is online. That was not the case. I documented the service of three of them using online databases. I documented the death of one during war time and found a pension card for the fourth. Instead of continuing to search for the additional information, I am going to obtain the compiled military service […]
We have set the dates for our 2024 trip. Details are on our announcement page–we’d love to have you join us.
The pension index card for Illinois Civil War veteran Charles Schrader indicated an application number but no certificate number. This usually means that the application was denied. This is what happened in Schrader’s case–he received no pension. Don’t neglect denied pension applications. They can contain just as much information as approved pensions and the denial does not mean the applicant did not serve. It simply means he was not qualified for a pension under the laws in effect at the time of the application. Schrader’s application indicated that he applied in 1866. This was shortly after the war when fewer applications were approved. Had he lived until the 1890s, he probably would have received a pension as the laws had relaxed by that point in time. Neither he […]
If there was a court case after a relative died, make certain you have looked up every name of every heir in the court indexes. The estate being settled might be the estate of John Smith, but it could easily be that son-in-law Gideon Johnson is the lead plaintiff in the court case and grandson Barton Hanson is the lead defendant. Because of this, Smith’s estate fight will probably be in the plaintiffs’ index under Gideon Johnson and in the defendants’ index under Barton Hanson.
I will be giving this webinar (attend live or order a copy) on 17 November 2023. Details are on our blog post.
From a while back… When encountering a family tradition, take each statement suggested by the tradition and put it in one of two categories: probably generated a record most likely didn’t generate a record “Grandma sold sandwiches to support herself after her first husband accidentally drowned in the 1850s. Then she married Grandpa Haase and they moved to the farm.” Probably generated a record: The drowning may be mentioned in a local paper There may be estate or probate records related to the first husband’s death There may be a death record of the drowning–although in some US states this is too early for a death record There should be a marriage record to Grandpa Haase The place to start looking for these records is where Grandma was believed to […]
Different family members who experienced the same event will have different memories of it. Siblings may recall different characteristics of their grandparents or other family members. Older family members may have more memories of deceased relatives. Younger members of the family may have heard their parents tell more stories. Just because you’ve interviewed one member of a family does not mean that you are done. If there are more, it means there’s more to do.
If you are fortunate enough to find a biography of an ancestor, consider creating a chronology from the events and dates it contains. This can be an excellent organizational tool as biographies do not always list events in chronological order and thinking about how every event in the biography fits into a larger timeline can be helpful. Be certain to include all events–ones stated directly and ones stated indirectly. The same approach can be used with obituaries.
For individuals that lived during a time of no vital records, genealogists often do not have dates of birth for their long-dead forebears. In some cases, it may be difficult to even estimate years of birth. Genealogists and software programs like to put children in order. In cases such as these, make certain that you indicate the birth order is either a guess or inferred from the order of children in a will or another document. If children married, years of birth could be estimated from the marriage dates (if available). If the ordering of children is done based on when they married, indicate that as well. And ask yourself, would any of my conclusions change if the order of birth for these children change? Most times they […]
From a while back… The first son was named for this, the second son was named for that, etc. Keep in mind that these patterns are trends and social customs that your ancestor might have followed. They are not law. Sometimes illustrations have nothing to do with the post, but Journey reminds you to keep reaching for the answers and don’t let a plant grow from the side of your head. Your ancestor does not have to follow any of these “social mores.” They might, but they might not. What your ancestor does have to do is: Figure out how to get born. Figure out how to get married (or at least reproduce)–this means living that long Leave behind at least one record–although this seems optional sometimes We are defining […]
I have the original deed from 1958 when my great-grandparents sold some property to my maternal grandparents. Like many original documents, more than one person signed or wrote on it. Someone typed it (probably the lawyer or their secretary). My great-grandparents (as the grantors) signed it. The notary signed it (on reverse and not shown in illustration) My great-grandfather wrote his initials over the tax stamps that were on the deed as a required part of the transaction. A staff member of the county recorder’s office wrote in the document number and book and page of recording. If you have an original record or a photographic reproduction of one, do you think about all the different people whose writing may appear on this document? Don’t assume “just one […]
Perspective shots in a cemetery can help the researcher remember relative positions of stones and the general location of stones within the entire cemetery itself. Sometimes these broader shots can help the researcher realize that there were stones they forgot to photograph. When viewing this perspective shot of stones in the Dunkard Cemetery in Linn County, Iowa, I noticed there were stones with the last name of interest (Newman) that had not been photographed. I probably should not admit to the mistake, but we all make them. I’m glad I have the perspective shot to tell me that I need to make a return trip.
My mother’s confirmation class was listed in the church bulletin on the day she was confirmed. There’s not a lot special I have to do in order to create a source citation for this document. My source citation needs to include enough information for someone (or me later) to try and locate the bulletin elsewhere (perhaps in the church’s archives or a regional church archives). It also needs to include information to help me find the item of interest within the bulletin. Since the item may be rare or impossible to find, I’m also going to include that it was in my private collection of materials. Name and location of church. Date of service. Page in bulletin. I don’t have any other publication information as these bulletins were […]
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