Don’t assume no one has ever published part of your family history. A little searching located a genealogy published in 1987 on the family of my great-grandfather’s sister’s husband. It contained pictures and a great deal of information I did not have. Search out the in-laws! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Use compilations of others as clues, not as proven facts to be copied down with nary a thought. Make certain you reduce the chance you perpetuate the mistakes of others by trying to validate their conclusions and information. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When asking relatives questions, try and avoid planting ideas in the mind of the person who is answering your questions. You want the interviewee to remember as much as THEY can. Suggesting answers might cause them to “agree” with you when they shouldn’t. Of course, ask for clarification if necessary. Asking if you heard correctly is different that suggesting an answer in the first place. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Yesterday’s tip was “how was life different” for your ancestor? Today think about what aspects of your ancestor’s life were the same. There has to be something. Think about what motivates you, what tasks you have to perform every day, every week, etc. Which ones did your ancestor have to perform as well? Any clues in those tasks? Any clues in those motivations? In some ways we aren’t all that different from our ancestors. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you’re stuck on an ancestor, make a list of ten ways your ancestor’s life was different from yours. These ways can include lifestyle, educational level, ethnic background, native language, physical environment, what they ate for supper, etc. It just might get you thinking. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If your ancestor owned property (whether it was a small lot or a large acreage), determine how it came into and left his possession. Either document could provide vital clues. But both ends of the transaction are important. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Try a new genealogy website, read a how-to article from a journal, work on a family you’ve never worked on before. Keep your genealogy mind engaged. Get off the cycle of searching for the same names in the same places in the very same ways. Getting outside your comfort zone may help you break that brick wall. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Catalogers make mistakes when going through materials. Consequently what appears as the description in the card catalog for an item can be incomplete or wrong. Items get missed when being microfilmed or digitized. Look at page numbers and dates of entries, could some be missing? It may be necessary to go back and view the original. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Make certain you read the entire set of court, probate, divorce papers, etc. There may be incomplete or incorrect information in one part of the file that may be corrected or discussed in more detail in a later section. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I’m not talking about one hiding in the basement. Instead does a man have a first and a second wife both named Mary? Does a woman marry a man who has the same last name as her maiden name (that’s happened more than you think)? Was there a first, short-lived, marriage because a spouse died young? Just something to think about. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Is it possible that your ancestor never moved, but where he lived changed? In early days of settlement county boundaries were sometimes in flux. And in urban areas, street names or numbers sometimes changed as occasionally did city boundaries. Was your ancestor annexed? Just something to think about. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If your ancestor divorced, determine any relationships with those who provided testimony. Siblings and relatives may provide testimony in a divorce case without specifically stating their relationship. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Think about the record you are using and the pieces of information it contains. Are there facts that don’t really need to be accurate? Yesterday’s tip mentioned a marriage date in a divorce record. Think about it for a minute. In most divorce cases, is it material if the date of marriage is slightly incorrect? Probably not. The key fact is that the couple is married. Uusally a date being sightly off is not going to impact the divorce case in any significant way. Always keep the intent of the document in mind when analyzing the information is contains. It doesn’t mean things have to be wrong, but there may be certain facts that don’t have to be 100% precise. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of […]
A 1921 divorce case I’m looking at for an upcoming issue of Casefile Clues indicates several times that the couple was married in 1908. Just because this year is repeated in several places does not make it more likely to be correct. Frequency does not mean accuracy. Errors can easily be repeated and a divorce record ten years after the marriage is not a primary source. Just because you see something repeated numerous places does not mean it’s right. That’s true even if legal documents are being used. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When searching for materials in the Family History Library Card Catalog, make certain you have searched for materials cataloged at all jurisdictional levels, not just the town. In some areas, this may include township, county, state, province, nation, etc. Don’t just look at the town or village level records. There may be other available materials. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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