An administratrix is a female administrator of an estate. The term has fallen from use and is rarely used today. If you have a female relative as the administrator of an estate, see if certain women are unqualified to be administrators. In some time periods and locations, married women could not be appointed administrators of an estate. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Every so often I review various relatives and realize that I’m “missing” one or another in a certain census record. Sometimes I still don’t find them, but other times I discover that when I originally looked for them I must not have really looked all that hard. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When was the last time you made a backup of your electronic genealogical data? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Don’t look at just the alphabetical names in a city directory. There may be directories of businessmen that could provide more detail about your ancestor who owned a small shop, was a tradesman, etc. Rural directories may list owners of specific types of livestock in special sections and some even list who owned what type of automobiles. City directories may also have reverse directories in the “back” of the book. The point? Get away from the alphabetical list and you may learn even more about your ancestor. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
The marquee said “DOS GUYS” in all capital letters. I never went to hear them perform, so I cannot really be certain what the “DOS” meant. For the longest time I thought it meant 2 guys–the “DOS” being the Spanish word for two. Later it dawned on me that “DOS” could have been an spelling for “those” based upon the way some people say the word “those” to where it sounds like “does” or “dos.” And “DOS” could stand for the old computer operating system referred to as “dos.” This might be a stretch, but someone familiar with Spanish might think the word means “two,” the person who says “those” like “dose” might think it means “those,” and the computer geek might think it stands for Disk Operating […]
Set a date to periodically review those families you have not worked on in a while. It can be easy to get wrong ideas, misconceptions, or incorrect memories about your families in your head when information has not been viewed in some time. New databases or websites might have become available since you last looked at the family or you might have learned more about research in general since you last worked on the family. Maybe your ancestor’s birthday, anniversary, etc. would make a good day to annually review your files–especially on those people you gave up on or thought you had “completed.” ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Reading through every bill paid by your ancestor’s executor or administrator might seem as fun as watching paint dry, but I learned: My great-grandfather was paid $2 in 1918 for setting posts on his deceased father’s farm My great-grandfather was paid $3 for hauling manure on his father’s farm The fire insurance on the farm in 1918 was $32.50 A phone call made by the executor from Tioga, Illinois, to Carthage, Illinois, cost 20 cents–no mention of how long the phone call was. Looking at the chronology and to whom the phone call was made, it’s pretty clear the executor was calling the loan officer at the bank to inquire about the mortgage payment. All from a look at the estate accounting. Interesting stuff. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s […]
There was a time when in many states, married women could not make wills. If a female ancestor makes a will that is later proven in a probate court to be valid, determine what the law was in the state when she wrote the will. It could be a clue that her husband was dead at the time the will was written–depending upon the state statute in effect at the time the will was written. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
There are some points, in some places, some ancestors have been researched as far back as possible. If there are no earlier records it may just be that you have reached the end of the line. If there are no records, research is somewhat difficult. Make certain you’ve learned all you can about other ancestors in that same lineage–and the extended family as well. There’s probably research you can do, but extending the lineage further back in time may be impossible. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Ever wonder what the phrase “heirs and assigns forever” meant on an old deed? The intent of the phrase was to convey to the grantee a fee simple title, meaning that the grantee was able to keep, mortgage, sell, or bequeath the land as he or she saw fit. This type of ownership was different from a life estate, which is where the grantee only has use of the property during their lifetime. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
For those who were not aware, I have three daily blogs: Genealogy Tip of the Day Daily Genealogy Transcriber Search Tip of the Day–(not actually daily anymore–just when something crosses my desk) ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
The great thing about re-reading material or records is that one realizes how easy it is to remember things incorrectly. Are you making a research decision (particularly online late at night, or while researching in those last minutes in a library) based upon what you “think” a record says? Relying on our memory can be a big mistake. We often realize that great-grandma might not have remembered things correctly when the census taker arrived. Can we expect her great-grandchild to be any better? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
In most US states, minors over the age of 14, could usually choose their guardian, subject to the approval of the court. If you see your ancestor choosing his guardian, it probably means he or she was over the age of 14, even if the record does not state that fact. You should check the contemporary state statute to be completely certain. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Your great-great-grandparents may have decided to live separately without ever divorcing because “we don’t believe in divorce, but can’t live together either.” In cases like this, there won’t be divorce records, but it is possible that a court action for “separate maintenance” might have been filed. This would have kept the couple “married,” but contain information similar to a divorce. Couples might also have lived separately without any type of court record or agreement. I had an uncle who lived on the farm while his wife lived in town and an aunt who lived across the street in a separate home from her husband. Her home did not have indoor plumbing–his did. When he would go to a nearby larger town to run errands, she’d go across the […]
Don’t forget that ads in newspapers, yearbooks, etc. can also be clues. They may provide information about your ancestor’s residence, occupation, or even affiliations. A 1925 yearbook in Chicago contained an advertisement from a relative (well beyond high school age) that showed his occupation and where his business was located. Too bad there wasn’t a picture. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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