There are days when I’m out of town that I am in a library all day, largely because I don’t live near a large genealogical library and I have to make the best possible use of my time. Consequently I do not want to be running to another area to have phone conversations when not necessary. Instead of using the cellphone for the occasional “emergency” back home, we text instead. Texting allows us to communicate with each other as necessary without me disturbing others in the library. And if a phone call is needed while I’m in the library, I get a text indicating that. This allows me to communicate with home with as few phone disturbances as possible. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the […]
Remember that at the library there are other researchers. Be considerate of them. I’m fairly patient, but here are a few things that have given me cause for frustration lately: A gentleman having a cell phone conversation in the library about going fishing. He was yelling into his phone. It was all I could do to concentrate. Two researchers lamenting the destruction of tombstones in an Alabama town. While I understood his frustration, his twenty minute diatribe about the injustice of it all was highly distracting. I was at the library to actually do research. They could have easily taken their conversation to another area. Be considerate of your fellow researchers. You may one day be at the library trying to read illegible script when someone sitting next […]
If you do not know when civil registration starts in the jurisdictions in which you are researching, find out. And if you don’t know what civil registration is, then there’s even more work for you to do. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Keep in mind that paying property tax only indicates an individual owned property in a location. It does not mean that he necessarily lived there. Paying a personal property tax usually indicates residence in the area in which the tax was paid. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Before 1922, most women derived citizenship from their husband or their father. Before women had the right to vote, citizenship was not as critical as one may think. Women in many states could own property whether or not they were a citizen. Few women before 1922 bothered to naturalize. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Never assume a record set won’t hold the answer to any of your genealogical problems unless you have learned about those records, know what information they contain, and know what types of individuals are likely to be in those records. And then you still may want to search them anyway. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Many genealogists are not familiar with the word, but they should be familiar with the concept. Endogamy is the practice of marrying within the social group. Greek immigrants to Chicago tend to marry other Greek immigrants (or children of Greek immigrants). Missouri settlers from Tennessee tend to have children who marry into other nearby families of settlers from Tennessee. While individuals can easily marry “outside” the group, a shared heritage (be it from across the “big pond” or across the creek) can be big factor in the eventual choice of a marriage partner. It explains why half my own ancestors are Ostfriesen even though my families had all lived in the United States for nearly 100 years before I was born. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip […]
Different records for the same event may provide different information. While it is not always possible to “doublecheck” everything try and obtain multiple sources for events and “proofs” whenever you can. One record can easily be incorrect. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you do not know a maiden name or a first name of an individual, leave it blank. In your notes and or sources, indicate how you know the individual exists and any relevant explanations. When in doubt, leave it out. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Purists would tell you that you should use whatever is on a birth certificate as an individuals “given name” in your genealogy database. Sometimes I think some discretion should be used. My great-grandmother’s birth certificate lists her as Francis Rampley. However, every document she signed from her marriage document through records settling her husband’s estate lists her as Fannie Neill (her married name). Her tombstone even has Fannie Neill listed. Consequently in my database her name is listed as Fannie as apparently that is what she wanted to be called. In my notes there is information about her birth certificate and the name it actually lists. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you find an ancestor’s deed in a land record book, check the pages before and after. It was not uncommon for individuals to record documents in “groups” and more than one record may have been filed at the same time. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
I’ve been working on my wife’s English lines lately. Some have been fairly easy to research and I have been accumulating quite a bit of information, digital copies, etc. There comes a time when one has to stop and really put together and organize what one has. I have many copies and notes, but I have not put the information into my database where I can see what families I have information on, etc. Not to mention it is all starting to run together. The research is fun, but every so often you need to stop gathering and start organizing. If for no other reason than to not completely confuse yourself. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Do you really know how your ancestors pronounced their last name? Taliaferro and variants are often pronounced to sound like “toliver” Beauchamp may have been pronounced to sound like “beecham” Have you considered pronunciation variants on your last name? ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
If you can’t find your ancestor in the 1840 census and you think he really should be there, look for his 1830 neighbors in 1840 or try looking for his 1850 neighbors in 1840. No guarantees, but worth a shot. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
It is relatively easy to find the names of those who were godparents for your ancestor’s children. Those names are big clues. However, when the records are unindexed, finding the names of children for whom your ancestor was a godparent is not as easy. It requires manual searching of each entry. But it may be worth it, because the parents of that child could be relatives of your ancestor and provide significant clues to your research. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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