I was reminded this morning of the importance of having your paper genealogy tree as complete as possible when analyzing your DNA matches. I know that completing your tree is why many of us do DNA analysis, but it still helps to have that tree as complete as you can. Discovered today that my great-grandmother was related to another of her husband’s spouses–as a second cousin. That’s close enough–both families come from a set of my 4th great-grandparents–that it could impact my own DNA match analysis. This means that siblings of my great-grandmother’s husband married the following relatives of my great-grandmother: Great-grandpa sibling A married one of my great-grandma’s siblings. Great-grandpa sibling B married one of my great-grandma’s paternal first cousins. Great-grandpa sibling C married one of my […]
From 2021: A close relative dies. There is an obituary on the funeral home website that contains information on the date and place of death. Several relatives communicate with you to let you know the family member has passed away as well. You learn of the funeral date and time. You know who this person’s parents are and where they were born. There’s little doubt of when and where they died. Do you need their death certificate? Probably not. There are other good sources to document the date and place of death. The only reason you would likely need the death certificate of a recently deceased person is if you were involved with the settlement of their estate. Of relatives who have passed away during the last fifteen […]
If your ancestor or relative was given to criminal acts, consider searching for them a reasonable distance from their home. One relative who was prone to occasional crimes in the early 20th century, typically did so out of his immediate area of residence. Newspapers in his home county, for one reason or another, didn’t always mention the activities, and he does not appear in his “home county” court records because of where the crimes were committed. Location matters.
Found a reference to a cousin in the obituary of her father. The notice gave her name and residence at the time of her father’s death. I thought finding her would be easy after that. It was not. Turned out that the marriage was a short-term one and that immediately afterwards she moved several states away and took back a previous last name. Obituaries on other family members suggested a different last name for the cousin and it took some time to figure out what happened after her father died. Remember that an obituary, like most records, is a snapshot taken at one point in time. Some of the details of the person’s life may have changed shortly after the record was created.
A relative died in the 1950s with no children or descendants. The relative had no siblings so their only heirs were the descendants of their maternal and paternal grandparents. A grandchild of the paternal grandparents was the administrator of the estate. The list of heirs failed to list those who descended from the paternal grandfather’s second marriage. That second marriage resulted in a half-sister (called A) for the decedent’s mother–a half-sister who left children of her own. A married at 14 years of age, moved away shortly after that marriage and likely interacted little, if at all with her two older half-sisters. There’s anecdotal evidence that those two older half-sisters were estranged from their father and his second wife. The children of A should have been included in […]
In many locations, minors who 14 years of age and over and needed a legal guardian could nominate one to the court. The nomination would have to be approved by the court and contemporary state statue would have dictated the legal requirements for being a guardian–generally that’s someone of the age of majority at the time, of sound mind, and generally perceived to be responsible by the court. Contemporary state statute would also dictate the age at which someone was a legal adult–for much of US history that’s been 18 for a female and 21 for a male. Many state statutes are available digitally online and a search for them can be started in this list of links at the Advancing Genealogist. Do not assume both parents were […]
A relatively new DNA match, we will call him Alfred, has three shared matches with me: David Ronald Thomas David and Thomas are known descendants of my Trautvetter 3rd great-grandparents via their paper genealogy. The shared matches I have with David and Thomas are not all identified, but for each of them over two-third of the shared matches are also know members of the Trautvetter family. Their Trautvetter connection is pretty solid. My Trautvetter connection is on my paternal side of the family. Then there is Ronald. Ronald has an unusual last name that is actually common in the area of Germany where my maternal ancestors are all from (Ostfriesland). Ronald has numerous shared matches. The closest 25 matches I have to Ronald are all known descendants of […]
Despite what some advertisements may say, it’s not always possible to come to a complete resolution on which document or conclusion is 100% correct. That’s because some documents are not 100% correct and it’s not always possible to determine which of several conflicting documents is wrong. There are times where it’s possible to determine which record is least likely to be right or where an obvious error has been made. The key in resolving genealogical conflicts is not to always get to the answer you think is 100% right, but to transcribe the records you have that address the question, cite those records, analyze those records, and write up your conclusion based those on those records and why you believe that conclusion to be correct.
Today a person typically spells their name the same way their entire life or at least changes that spelling infrequently. A person that has the same last name as their parent typically spells that last name the way their parent does. There was a time in many cultures and language groups when names were spelled a variety of ways for the same person throughout their life time–a time when there was no conventional orthography of names. That can apply to first names or to last names and can be a difficult concept to understand for those who are used to standardized spellings for names that are used as first and last names. When writing about family members during time periods of no fixed orthography, consider choosing the one […]
Always make certain you read every reference to the bride on a marriage record. That “Mrs.” can be a big clue.
If the dates allow, always consider that both members of a couple may have had a prior marriage that resulted in one or more children. That could explain why certain children are left out of a parent’s or grandparent’s estate, why it looks like the first child was born before the marriage, or people are marrying individuals who appear to be relatives (but are actually step-siblings).
If your relative indicated they were divorced, make certain that you have searched for: Records of all local courts that may have heard a divorce case. Look for a separate maintenance case as well–there might have been no legal divorce, just a separation. Look for land records on the couple for any property they owned. Look for any property settlements (even of personal or chattel property) in the local land records. Consider the fact that the couple was not legally divorced.
From a while back: This Albemarle County, Virginia, deed appears to have had a “correction” written in the deed book after the deed was transcribed and before the microfilming was done. It would be less consequential if it were not the name of the grantor. The “correction” appears to have been written in a different hand by a different writing utensil. My transcription of this document should indicate that: “…Between [illegible word with the word “Peter” written over it in an apparently different handwriting] Rucker (Son…”
The estate of Edward Tinsley in Amherst County, Virginia, was settled up amongst the heirs in 1783. The only daughter mentioned by name was Elizabeth Pendleton. The others were not mentioned outright–but their husbands were. It is frustrating to not have the other daughters named specifically. This was common for the time period. The advantage in this case is that I know who the spouses of the daughters were by name. Other records provide the first names of the daughters. Marriage records are not always available during the time period so the husbands’ names are helpful. Always look through the disbursements of the final money in an estate. The list can suggest relationships, tell you who was alive at the time the money was paid out, and potentially […]
Don’t assume because that ancestor disappears from the records that he was dead. It’s also possible that he simply pulled up stakes and left the area and his family. It is possible that there may be a reference to his disappearance in the local newspaper. It’s also possible that the family knew the person willingly left their family and did not want to draw attention to it. The person may be mentioned in court records or potentially a probate file for a deceased relative of whom they were an heir-at-law. If the disappearing ancestor had real property find out how that title was transferred to the subsequent owners. Depending upon the time period and the location there may be no record of what happened to the person. Sometimes […]
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