We need to make assumptions in our genealogy research. Many times assumptions are necessary in order to get our work off the ground. But after a point, it may be that the assumption is hindering our work or that we have forgotten that an assumption was made. If you are guessing that the parents were married near where the first child was born, that is a good start. But somewhere in your notes, indicate why you believe where they were married and that you have no proof. If research does not validate your assumption, it may be that your assumption was incorrect. And if you enter your assumption in your genealogical database as fact, it can be very difficult for that information to go back to being an […]
In a 1900 census enumeration, several of my great-grandmother’s children indicated that their mother was born in Ohio. This seemed completely off the wall to me. All extant records provided Illinois as her place of birth and that place of birth was consistent with when her parents arrived in Illinois. No other record provided a place of birth of Ohio. I almost wrote off “Ohio” as a census taker’s goof. It wasn’t quite that. Further research located information that the parents of the ancestor had immigrated from Germany, but actually met and married in Ohio before settling in Illinois. The daughter was born in Illinois, but her parents had lived in Ohio for approximately six months after their marriage and the ancestor was their firstborn child. Perhaps this […]
Family historians need to remember that for many censuses, we do not really know who answered the census questions. Was it the wife who never knew her husband’s parents and yet had to answer questions about where they were born? Was it a child who had no idea when her father immigrated to the United States or when he became a citizen? Most of us weren’t there when the censustaker came to our ancestor’s door. As a result, we just don’t know who really gave the answers to specific questions. If the answers vary from census year to census year, it may be because the individual answering the questions varied from census year to census year. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
Looking at things when they are out of order only adds to the chaos. One good data organizational technique is to list every event in your ancestor’s life from their birth through their death. Viewing the chronology gives the researcher a nice overview of an individual’s life. This also makes it possible to see unaccounted time gaps and possible oversights in your research. A chronology is also an excellent framework from which to write an ancestral biography. This is especially true for those who would like to create a biography, but don’t think they are really “writers.” A chronology puts everything in sequence and sometimes can make inconsistencies a little easier to spot. Be certain to put the source for every item in your chronology. ———————————— Check out […]
It took me forever to find Ulfert Behrens in the 1860 and 1870 census. The problem was partially solved when I learned how he likely pronounced his name. This low-German native probably said his name something like “barns.” Here I was thinking it would have been pronounced “Bear unds” (rhyming with roughly with “errands”). Once I started looking for names that sounded like “barns” I found references I had previously overlooked. Find out how your ancestor likely said his name–you may get variant spellings that you never thought to look for. ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
This is my newest blog, where every day a new genealogy tip will be posted. Tips will start appearing tomorrow. Feel free to share our site with others. Readers can contact me at michael.john.neill@gmail.com Stay Tuned! ———————————— Check out GenealogyBank’s Offer for Tip of the Day Fans!
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