There is no doubt that digital images of out of copyright books can be a great way to immediately access those items. But there are materials that are not digitized, are not out of copyright, or are otherwise not available online immediately. WorldCat is a global online library card catalog. It includes traditional print materials and archival materials in special collections. Some materials may not be available for interlibrary loan or subject to other access restrictions. But WorldCat is a great way to learn about these materials. Links to a few sample searches (of subject headings); Plat books for Harford County, Maryland Histories of Coshocton County, Ohio Immigration into Illinois The Advanced Search page on WorldCat can also be a great place to do some experimentation.
During that time period when travel was difficult for most people, the location of where a marriage took place matters–not just because it is where the record of that marriage would have been recorded (if records were kept). That place matters because, again during that time when most travel was on foot, the place of marriage was often near where the couple met or where the bride was from (sometimes both). While it was not always the case and there are always exceptions, if you know the place of marriage for a couple in 1820 in Kentucky, chances are there are relatives of the bride, groom, or both nearby. There is still a chance in 1920, but the probability is not as great as it was in 1820. […]
The handout was not linked for those attending this session on 4 March 2022 at Rootstech. The PDF can be downloaded here. Video is viewable here.
The 1930s era estate settlement of a paternal great-grandfather’s unmarried female first cousin indicated she held a mortgage on property owned by a maternal great-great-grandfather’s brother. They did live in the same county, but they were not neighbors, did not attend the same church, had different ethnic backgrounds, etc. I could assume that they “had to have” some connection with each other, but was at a loss for what it was. It was not until I saw an advertisement placed by a county seat attorney who was also working as a loan broker that the connection dawned on me. What they most likely had in common was the loan broker. His ad indicated he had “money to lend.” As an attorney in the county seat, he would have […]
If your ancestors moved or immigrated with their children, is it possible that an older child stayed behind without making the journey with his or her parents? The oldest child in a family may have been married or gainfully employed when his or her parents decided to move. Sometimes these children would eventually settle where their parents did, but often they did not. One relative and his three youngest children moved from upstate New York to Chicago in the very early 1900s. His two oldest daughters remained in New York. Don’t assume the entire family moved together.
This post on my other blog, “What I Know I Know” has some thoughts on some facts that I know that happened before my time. Some food for thought when we see a county biography or genealogy published in 1880 that references things that happened 100 years before the book was published.
This is your periodic reminder to check those images when you have the item in front of you. I found two photographs in an envelope on which my great-grandmother had written the identification. I took an overview shot of the envelope and the pictures and then took enlargements of the two photographs. The items were in my storage unit and I put them back and left the unit before I returned home. It was when reviewing the photographs that I discovered when I moved to get an enlargement of the photo in front of the Shangri-La that I moved and the resulting glare from a light caused me to lose whatever was on the door. In this case, I will simply have to go back and get a […]
Are you only using certain records in your search? Are there souces you do not use because you think they are too difficult to use or because you are unfamiliar with them? If so, you may be limiting the amount of information you find and leaving a significant part of your ancestor’s story untold. Ignoring deeds if your ancestors were farmers is a mistake, land records may provide migration and other clues not evidenced in other records. Even city dwellers might have owned a small city lot and how that lot was dealt with after the owner’s death could provide you with good information. And assuming your ancestors weren’t the kind of people to end up in court records is a bad one to make. Over half of […]
It’s possible that your relative got married in a church other than the one they attended. Couples who “run away to get married,” may get married in a church of the same denomination miles from home. They may also get married by a preacher of a denomination whose practices are close to their own. Even couples who don’t run away to get married may not be married by someone of their denomination. Keep in mind that “wrong” church may have been a church attended by a family member and you just are unaware of the connection. In some families, getting married in the “right church” or the “right denomination” matters, in others it does not. Don’t assume your immediate family’s practices are what your great-grandparents or other relatives […]
I had researched the late 19th and very early 20th century birth ledgers of my home county for several years before I realized what they were: transcriptions of the original birth certificates submitted by the attending physical, midwife, or occasionally parents. What was contained in those early ledgers was a handwritten copy of the certificate. I also discovered that in the early days of recording births in my county, the certificates were mailed or taken to the courthouse where they were retained and the information written in the ledger. This meant that technically during this time period, the ledger was a derivative source–because it was derived from the original certificate. That does not mean there were incorrect transcriptions in the ledger, but just the potential. In some cases, […]
Some online databases like to tease users with titles that indicate the database is more encompassing than it actually is. Make certain you know what a database contains before searching it. The title may indicate that the marriage records are from 1800-1920, but there may be a twenty year gap of missing records in the mid-1800s. Of course, that will be the twenty year time span you actually need. Check out my 1950 census preparation webinar-1 April is coming up!
Just because you see a “fact” written in 1,000 places does not mean that it is true. Genealogical analysis can’t be covered in a short tip and we’re not going to try, but remember: Different records that say the same thing may have had the same original “source” if Grandma Barbara was the one who always gave the information. Just because she repeated it over and over does not make it true. 1,000 online trees that agree does not mean they are correct. It just means that they probably have the same original “source,” right or wrong. Whether a written reference to a “fact” is “wrong or right,” depends upon our perceived reliability of the record and the informant. Check out my 1950 census preparation webinar-1 April is […]
If you are fortunate enough to find a biography of an ancestor, consider creating a chronology from the events and dates it contains. This can be an excellent organizational tool as biographies do not always list events in chronological order and thinking about how every event in the biography fits into a larger timeline can be helpful. Be certain to include all events–ones stated directly and ones stated indirectly. The same approach can be used with obituaries. Check out my 1950 census preparation webinar-1 April is coming up!
Geography always matters in genealogical research. It is even more imperative that the researcher contemplate the distances between places during that time period when travel was more difficult and a ten mile trip would have been on foot or horeseback. Sometimes with a map, it can be difficult for some to really get a feel for how far apart two places are. One way is to compare the distance between two places to the distance between your home and a local place with which you are familiar. The best way is to see the actual geographic area, but most of us are not able to travel to every ancestral location. When I see that two towns are ten miles apart, I think of several places that are that […]
My grandmother’ sister died in 1990. She had obituaries in the local papers where she had lived most of her life. Those obituaries mentioned that she had taught school in Illinois and Utah–no further details were provided. A search of Newspapers.com located a obituary in a newspaper from Burley, Idaho. That obituary provided the name of the Idaho town where my aunt had taught school. The obituary was similar to the one in the Illinois newspapers with a few exceptions. In addition to naming the town in Idaho where she taught school the date and time of her graveside service in Idaho was mentioned along with the fact that she was survived by friends and family (relatives of her late husband) in the Malta, Idaho, area. Don’t neglect […]
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