Due to a scheduling issue, we’ve moved the FamilySearch webinar to 28 Sept. at 7:30 pm. central time. Recordings will also be available for those who cannot attend live. Details on our announcement page.
My ancestor was born in Kentucky, most likely in 1818 or 1819. I’m not certain of the year. I may never be certain of the year and there is actually little chance that I ever find a reasonably reliable record containing his precise date of birth. And that’s just fine. It’s also the reality of this time period and location. There were no civil records of births when he was born in Kentucky. No bible record has been located. He was not in the military so there’s no service record, enlistment papers, or benefit application that could be helpful either. The family was not a member of a church that kept any sort of records of dates of birth–or even ages. The ancestor died in the 1880s in […]
Getting the Most from FamilySearch 7:30 pm. central 28 Sept 2021 (note date/time change). Attend live (handout included) or pre-order recording and handout–registration information below. The FamilySearch site contains images of records from around the world—most available right from your internet connection. This presentation will focus on the actual records that are on FamilySearch and the finding aids that have been created to some of those records. We will not be discussing the online trees in this session and will concentrate on the “digital microfilm” and how that information can be navigated and used for your research. We will break the material down into two large categories: indexed and unindexed digital records. Presentation will be made by Michael John Neill and will include: Generalized search strategy. It is […]
Ancestry, FamilySearch, and other online genealogical data storehouses attempt to make it easier to “grow your tree” by allowing the user to directly import a transcription from a record into an “event” for a person in their tree. It truly makes it “point and click” easy to add events and locations to an online tree. It’s the reason why many online trees indicate my great-grandmother died in Wapello County, Iowa instead of Lee County, Iowa (because the location was transcribed incorrectly). It’s the reason why ancestor Focke Goldenstein is listed as having a variety of “first names” of which several stem from incorrect transcriptions of records (some come from his name being spelled wrong, which is a slightly different problem). Read the original record before including something from […]
Every date you enter for your ancestor’s life needs to have a source. That includes dates that are estimated. If you are using the fact that a man got married without permission on 2 June 1891 when the age for a man in that location to get married without permission was twenty-one as evidence for his date of birth, then indicate that. In this case, you should state he was born before 3 June 1870, cite the marriage record (and in your notes explain the age requirement and the fact that no permission was given–it might even be a good idea to read quite a few other records besides those of the ancestor to see if any of them do have permission notated). If you are using an […]
The DNA ethnicity results that measure your “ethnicity” do so back to a time when there are extremely few records to document the existence of most individuals. You are not going to be able to paper trace your complete genealogy back to that point in time suggested by the ethnicity results. Pedigrees the extend 2000 years aren’t generally worth the paper they are written on. Use the ethnicity results as a form of entertainment–unless they reveal something significantly different from what is expected (for example, you think you are entirely European and discover that you are 25% African or 20% Asian, etc.). Document your paper tree as best you can with as many reliable sources as you can and go from there. The part of your DNA test […]
During the time period when women had few legal rights, it’s worth remembering to look at the men who end up overseeing their affairs in one way or another. Always pay close attention to the person who was appointed to be the administrator of the estate of a man who died with a wife and young children. If the person is not clearly a relative of the deceased individual, it very likely is a biological relative of the wife–or perhaps her second husband. And if there is a will and the wife is appointed executor, look carefully at who signed her bond. Those bondsmen were often relatives of the widow.
The instructions for 1950 US census enumerators indicated that a Canadian who spoke French upon their arrival in the US should be classified as “Canada-French.” All other Canadian natives should be classified as “Canada-Other.” One might be tempted to think the “Canada-French” means Quebec and “Canada-Other” means outside of Quebec. That’s not necessarily how I would have interpreted those terms had I not read the instructions. Always read the instructions. 1950 Census instructions can be viewed online at the www.census.gov website. Learn more about getting ready for the 1950 census release by viewing my webinar on that very topic.
Generally speaking, genealogists who write and lecture extensively about genealogy research and methodology, put sources in one of three categories: Original-the first time the document was recorded. Derivative-when the document was reproduced, whether by hand or some sort of “image reproduction” Authored Narrative-usually a written compilation of original and derivative records along with analysis, interpretation and summary This classification scheme is not perfect. No scheme is perfect. This classification scheme does not comment on the accuracy of the record. That’s the job of the researcher as some original sources are virtually worthless and some derivative sources are excellent. For more about record classification and analysis, consult Evidence Explained.
I realize the errors and limitations of online trees. I never just “copy and paste” that information into my own tree. Some trees are more than riddled with errors. But if that tree has a totally new to you date and place for an event in your ancestor’s life–an ancestor for whom you’ve never found anything regarding that event in their life. Do not just copy the information to your tree. One option would be to put the information (and source) in the notes for that ancestor. Then ask yourself “if the date and place were correct what reliable records with reliable information” could have provided that information? A date and place of death may be mentioned in an obituary, a church record, or a death record. The […]
Records are recorded by local officials in the order in which they are brought to the courthouse. Generally speaking this is relatively close to when the even took place–people generally have vital events recorded quickly. The record where it is most likely to be a problem is with land deeds. For a variety of reasons, some deeds are not recorded promptly. People forget, things get temporarily lost, etc. Often the failure to record a deed is not realized until the purchaser dies and the family wants to sell the property and realizes the deed of purchase was never recorded. Consequently it is imperative to search deeds for sometime after the transaction took place. It is not unheard of for a deed from the 1840s to be recorded in the […]
All download links for this presentation (recording and handout) have been sent. Discount rate extended through today if you missed it. Contact me if your order was not received.
When a person is referred to as a “relict” on a tombstone or document it usually means that they were a widow–eg. Susannah, relict of James Tinsley.
A decedent is someone who is dead. The descendants of someone are their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on. A decedent can have descendants. A decedent’s estate may descend to their descendants. But “my ancestor’s decedents” is not correct. It’s “my ancestor’s descendants.”
My 1950 census webinar has been released for purchase and immediate download. More details on our announcement page.
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