Keep in mind that your ancestor may have moved back and forth. Not everyone followed a general path in just one direction. I’m working on a person now who was in Iowa in 1856, Missouri in 1860, Iowa in 1870-1895, Missouri in 1900, Wyoming in 1910 and in Missouri in 1912. Oh, and she was born in either New York state or Canada. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
My latest “Casefile Clues” column was posted Sunday. It discussed a preemption claim in Missouri in the 1850s. Readers who aren’t subscribers can subscribe and get this issue sent to them upon subscription even though their subscription will start on 23 August. Just mention when you subscribe that you are a Genealogy Tip of the Day reader. More tips are coming. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
This free online index is just to some Missouri newspapers, but it might help those with ancestors in the “Show-Me” state.http://shs.umsystem.edu/newspaperindex/ Copies can be ordered for $1.50 a page. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Have you searched for EVERY appropriate person in the SSDI? Are there people in your database who might be in there and for whom you have not searched? Might be worth your while to check it out. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
When was the last time you visited the USGenWeb pages for your counties of interest? It has been at least several years since I visited the page for Chariton County, Missouri, where my wife has ancestors. Upon visiting it today, I realized they had quite a bit of new information from the last time I looked. Point your browser to http://www.usgenweb.org and take a look at your states and counties today. There may be something new there. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Do you know the Soundex codes for your last names?Visit http://resources.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/soundexconverter to get the codes. Knowing which variant spellings are soundex equivalents will save you search time. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Sometimes the brick wall is created when an ancestor’s mother marries after the death of her husband. The problem is that if you do not know the names of the parents, it can be difficult to locate a marriage record. If you do know the names and a family disappears, consider the possibility that the father died and the mother remarried and the family is “hidden” under this new last name–whether or not the father adopted the children officially. Many didn’t. I have several families in my own research where the remarriage of the mother complicated the research. Some will be featured in upcoming columns of “Casefile Clues.“ ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
A poster to a list indicated that her European ancestor’s first name was changed from Andreas to Andrew when he immigrated to the United States. Two things come to mind. His name really wasn’t “changed.” It was translated. Andreas is Latin and Andrew is English. The second is that if his name changed, it likely was when he naturalized, not when he landed. Changings at landings were rare–your paperwork had to match or there could be issues, especially in the mid-19th century and after. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
My second “Casefile Clues” column went out to subscribers this weekend. It discusses a passport application that was located on Ancestry.com (Footnote also has it as does the National Archives). The images can be seen on our site.If “Tip of the Day Readers” subscribe in the next 24 hours, I’ll send this past weekend’s article to them. Simply mention that you are a “tip of the day reader” when you subscribe or mention it in an email to me. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
We don’t normally include websites at “Genealogy tip of the Day,” but this one is free and really too good for the genealogist to pass up. The American Memory Collection at the Library of Congress (http://memory.loc.gov) has scans of maps, religious petitions, early eighteenth century books on immigration, and much much more. Take a look for yourself. And if you didn’t see any railroad maps on the site, there are here: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/rrhtml/rrhome.html ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
My grandma Neill told me she remembered her baptism. I was skeptical as the denomination of which her parents were members practiced infant baptism. Grandma had to be wrong. Actually she was correct. For reasons that are not clear, Grandma was baptized at the age of five along with several of her siblings. Sure enough she was right. I’ll think twice before assuming (without evidence) that she was wrong. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Does that ancestral signature on a document match the handwriting of the document itself? Don’t conclude your ancestor wrote the record. Most likely what you are looking at is a transcription of the record made by the clerk. The clerk likely copied your ancestor’s signature as well. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Are you working on the same family day after day after day? Consider taking a few days off and avoid making genealogy “your job.” Coming back later with a fresh perspective might be just what you need to get going again. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Keep in mind that a minor could have had several guardians in their life if one of more of their parents were deceased. Guardian of the person–watched over the child and the child typically lived with them.Guardian of the estate–watched over the child’s inheritance. Guardian ad litem–a guardian appointed who was usually a lawyer to represent a child who was somehow involved in court action. A guardian ad litem was actually serving as the child’s “lawyer” and was not a guardian of the child’s person or estate. The first two could be the persons or maybe not. Much depends upon the situation. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I’ve been working on my wife’s English ancestors the last few times I have been at the Family History Library. One frustration has been that the civil records have not been microfilmed–and yet the index of Civil Registrations is online at http://freebmd.rootsweb.com. Before I get too irritated, I have to remember that the church records generally have been microfilmed. I use the online index to give me an idea of dates of death and probable parishes where the information should be recorded. Of course, I should still search the parish records page by page for all family members but sometimes there just simply is not time. Remember there may be more than one way to get at the information you need. Keep your eyes and ears open and […]
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