Keep in mind that records do get misfiled. Packets of court papers do not get put back in the correct numerical order. Case numbers get written incorrectly in indexes. Page numbers get transcribed as they are typed or entered into an index. It will happen. Think about how something could get misfiled when you cannot find it in the place where it is “supposed” to be. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Do not correct documents when transcribing them. Copy them verbatim.If you must make comments, do so within brackets [] or use an asterisk and include your comment at the end. Don’t correct an 18th century document when transcribing it. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If your ancestor’s church disbanded, there are several places the records might have gone: the local dump the family of the last minister a local church of the same denomination a regional or national church organization, synod, assembly, diocese, etc. Contact local historical or genealogical societies, local churches of the same denomination, and regional and national archives (or governing bodies) of the denomination and see if they know what might have happened to the records. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
My ancestors on my mother’s side of the family have been members of the same denomination since the Reformation. I was floored when I read the obituary for two of my great-great-grandparents and it said the funeral was at the local Presbyterian church. The small town they were in only had two churches. Neither was of the desired denomination. The Presbyterian church was “closest,” so that was it. It is possible that necessity caused your ancestor to attend (and leave records at) a church other than the one you think he always attended? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When I got married, one of the questions on the license was mother’s maiden name. I knew I was going to have to spell it, after all, I wasn’t getting married in the small town where I grew up. I had to spell it three times before he understood–and it was only five letters–Ufkes. Chances are your ancestor was not asked to spell the information he provided on a record. And if you think he did spell it to the clerk, how can you really be certain? After all, you weren’t there when the clerk ask great-great-grandfather for the information on his marriage. And if you were there—there were a lot of questions that I bet you wish you asked 😉 ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip […]
Did Grandma give the “wrong” date or place of birth for herself? Did she possibly do it because she actually thought that is where or when she was born? Keep in mind that on many records where our ancestors provided information on themselves that they were not actually asked for proof. The clerk just wrote down what they gave. My own Grandma, who would have been 99 today, always gave the same place as her place of birth. Problem is, her birth certificate and other contemporary records give a different location. Grandma just had a misconception about where she was born. Sometimes errors are actually mistakes, not intentional lies. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
We are not talking about the high school prom. If you have a date of birth, death, or marriage for an ancestor, you had to get it from somewhere. Sources should be cited. If the date is an approximation from an age at death, state so. If birth date is an approximation based on the marriage date, indicate that. Just don’t drop dates in willy-nilly without a source. And if you don’t know where you got your prom date, well that’s another story entirely. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I will admit it. Even after 25 years of research, occasionally a microfilm machine will confuse me. Sometimes I hesitate to ask for help. After all, I should know how to use one. And then I remember, waiting only wastes time. If there is something at a library or archives that confuses you or you do not understand, ask. Staff can usually help you operate the equipment. If it is a record or document they cannot help you with, it might be because it is unusual and something with which they are unfamiliar. In that case, consider asking the question on a genealogy mailing list or at your local genealogical society meeting. Someone there probably can help you or point you to someone who can. ———————————— Check out […]
Make certain you are getting the entire record. I was using marriage records for Champaign County, Illinois, recently. They were on microfilm at the Champaign County Archives in the Urbana Free Library. For the time period I was looking for there were actually two series of marriage information. One was the marriage applications and the other was the actual license. If I had been in too much of a hurry, I might have easily overlooked one of the records. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Do you have maps of all your ancestral locations at a time contemporary to your ancestors? It might not be possible to get maps for every ancestor you have, but review what maps you have and ask yourself,” is it possible there are more maps” or” is not having a map hindering my research?” ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Does your local library have access to databases not specifically genealogy that might help you in your research? Libraries that have Proquest may have access to digitized newspapers, fire insurance maps and more. Ask your local librarian what databases they subscribe to. If you have any academic libraries nearby, ask them the same thing. Or check out their webpages. You may have access to more information than you think. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
A death certificate for a potential relative indicated he died in “tumway, Iowa.” I had no idea where that was. I didn’t try the United States Geological Survey Geographic Names Information Site it, but it wouldn’t have made any difference anyway. Googling “tumway iowa” told me that it wasn’t probably “tumway” at all. A search for “tumway iowa” resulted in references to Ottumwa, Iowa. I should have thought of that. If the gazeteers don’t bring the desired results, try Google. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Remember that using the 1880 census is free at Ancestry.com and at Family Search. The images are not free, but the data is. Ancestry.com’s data came from FamilySearch with corrections, etc. entered by users–there is a difference, but not a “complete” difference. And the search interfaces are not the same either. If you cannot find them in one, try the other. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Keep track of the individuals that you have eliminated as being your ancestor, his parents, his brother, etc. That way you do not research them again. And that way you have the information if it turns out your initial conclusion was wrong. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I almost overlooked the death certificate of her husband. The lady I was researching died in 1914 and was listed as a widow. I didn’t look at the death certificate for a man with the same last name who also died in 1914, thinking it could not be her husband. Turns out is was. They died 4 days apart. Don’t assume anything. Being listed as a widow only means her husband died before her. It could have been 2 days or 20 years. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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