Every few weeks take a look at what is on FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org. New information is being added on a regular basis. We are talking about indexes to actual records and images of actual records here, not compiled genealogies and submitted “trees.” ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Is it possible that some of your ancestor’s children were sent to live with neighbors or strangers? That may explain why you cannot find them as children in a census. Your ancestors might not have been able to take care of all fifteen children, or an older relative without children of their own may have needed some extra help around the house or the farm. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Make certain when you get a copy of a deed or transcribe a land record that you look at where the deed was acknowledged. Those acknowledgements might have been done a distance from where the property was located (and where the deed was recorded). If the sellers have moved or are heirs who never lived in the area, those acknowledgements may give a clue as to where they were living at the time the deed was executed. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you are travelling a distance to do research, , do more than just make certain the records office will be open when you are planning to arrive. Find out if there are any days to “avoid” using the facility. Some small courthouses have court on certain days of the week only–these are days to avoid. If you arrive when offices are being remodeled, accessing things may be difficult. And you may be told to wait to come until “Gertrude comes back from vacation. She knows where everything is.” It’s not always possible to schedule a visit perfectly, but sometimes you can maximize the chances you have the best research experience possible. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
In answer to several questions, here is a summary of our freebies: Michael’s article “Brick Walls from A to Z”–email your request to brickwallsa2z@gmail.com 2 Free issues of Casefile Clues–,my weekly newsletter–email your request to samples@casefileclues.com 1 Free Issue of Casefile Clues for Beginners—our bi-monthly newsletter–email your request to beginner@casefileclues.com Thanks! Feel free to spread word of this offer–the direct link is:http://genealogytipoftheday.blogspot.com/2011/06/freebies-we-have.html ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Don’t assume your ancestor moved infrequently. Some people did move rarely and others moved every few years. It might have just been your ancestor’s wanderlust that kept him or her moving constantly. Or it could have been the local law, too. Seriously–a relative of mine whose Civil War pension file I have appears to have moved at least a dozen times between 1850 and 1890. And she very well could have moved a few more that simply were not documented in the file. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you’d like to receive a sample copy of Casefile Clues for Beginners–email me at beginner@casefileclues.com. Thanks. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I just assumed that a genealogist I had known for ages had correctly transcribed a date from a Virginia land record correctly. When I reviewed the record myself the date had been transcribed 10 years incorrectly. In this case, the year made a difference as it was used in part of an estimate of someone’s year of death. We can all easily make mistakes. It pays to check–your own work as well as someone else’s. Sometimes mistakes are minor and sometimes they are not. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember that the only parent who has to be present at the birth of a child is the mother. The dad had to be around earlier, but could easily have been dead or moved on by the time the child was born. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Never assume that your relative was too insignificant to have been effected by historical events. A step-ancestor who was a native of Canada, decided that the American Civil War was the prime time to leave the state of Missouri and return to his native country. He just went “poof” and the Civil War was the reason why. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Is that “S” an “L” or is that “L” an “S?” These two uppercase letters are easy to confuse. And that’s why when looking for Sargents I always remember to look for Largents as well. There are others as well. Could your Feather family be hiding with some Leathers? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If your ancestor had a guardian appointed, look at when the guardian was released. It should be a clue as to approximately when the person for whom the guardian was appointed had reached the age of majority–typically 18 for females and 21 for males. A clue as to approximate year of birth. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Think about who might have written the obituary of Grandma that appeared in the newspaper. Was it a family member with “issues?” Was it someone who wanted certain people left out? Was it someone concerned with being entirely accurate? Unless you were involved first hand in the planning, you might not really know who wrote the obit. And who wrote it makes all the difference. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I was using an index to land records that covered the first fifty or so years of the county’s land records. One entry was difficult to read. The volume was legible–the page wasn’t. Afraid I’d have to go page by page, I viewed the volume and there in the front was an index to just that volume, giving me the actual page number. The clerk compiled indexes to each volume as they were recorded and years later, a more comprehensive index was created. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
You can obtain a lot of information via libraries, microfilm, published books, etc. You can get help from people who have never stepped foot near where your ancestor lived. And sometimes it is extremely helpful to ask a local. They may know about unpublished, local sources that are difficult to access or have other “tricks” up their sleeve based upon years of experience with local families. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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