I’m editing the last batch of Genealogy Tip of the Day for the follow-up book. One thing I’m realizing while reviewing these items is the number of leads I discovered that, for one reason or another, I never pursued any further. When reading the older tips, I realized that they served as a journal of sorts for my research. I tend to write tips when I’m working on actual research as ideas enter my head–I can see that when I’m reading them in chronological order. For that reason, it seems like keeping a research journal of what I have discovered with brief thoughts on the item might not be a bad idea. I could periodically review it and “mark off” things that have been pursued further or more […]
Some genealogists are great at searching newspapers and digital images of books for names of relatives, but remember that they can help you with other aspects of your family history research as well. For some of these items, searches will need to be restricted to specific newspapers or geographic regions to keep the number of search results manageable. Here is a short list of ideas to help get your creative energy flowing: items from an estate inventory that can be read but which you do not understand, names of businesses in an estate inventory whose business you do not understand, names of military units, names of ministers, names of churches, street names (perhaps with house number), name of school (perhaps restricted by graduation year if known), telephone numbers, […]
Sometimes I hate the phrase “maiden name.” I know what it means, but there are times that, for one reason or another, trying to determine a female relative’s maiden name can be problematic. That “last name at first marriage,” which is how maiden name is defined most of the time can be difficult to determine in some families. There is usually not a problem if the woman’s parents were married before her birth, remained living and married to each other until her birth, and if the woman remained in their household until her marriage. The problem is that sometimes life intervenes. Fathers or mothers die. Parents get divorced. Some families are unable to raise all their children. The relationship that resulted in the child did not result in […]
My great-aunt Ruth remembered a cute story that took place in my Mother’s grandparents’ home when my Mother was a small child. It involved Mom walking around the house and mentioned the northeast bedroom. The northeast bedroom? As I read it, I scrunched my nose and made that face when I am certain that something is wrong. My own grandparents had lived in the same home for thirty years. I had been in it often. There was no northeast bedroom. The entire north side of the house was the living room. Then I remembered. My Grandparents, not needing the downstairs bedrooms, had taken down a wall and enlarged the living room. The seeming error in my great-aunt’s story was not an error at all. My personal memory was […]
Just like any online record, online obituaries on funeral home websites can disappear. Funeral homes go out of business, merge with other facilities, change their entire website design, etc. Any of these situations can cause obituaries that were once online to go away forever. Newspaper obituaries may hang around for a longer amount of time, but they may be shorter than the notice published on the funeral home’s website. My mother’s obituary on the funeral home website contains the names of some survivors and pre-deceased family members that we felt were important to include, but were “too distant” to meet the newspaper’s publication standards. That’s another reason to get as many obituary copies as you can. But those funeral home website obituaries–save them when you see them. Tomorrow […]
No one website will have digital images of every newspaper you need and whether a specific site is helpful depends upon your personal research interests. Our suggestions here are meant to get you started. I’m not intending to provide a comprehensive list, but the sites listed, along with the suggestions, will get you on your way to locating digital images of newspapers you need–if they are online. Some websites with links to specific newspapers: Wikipedia list of online newspaper archives Newspaper links from the Ancestor Hunt Library of Congress’ Chronicling America newspaper images Old Fulton New York Postcards To see what might have been published try: Library of Congress’ Newspaper Directory searching the card catalog at WorldCat–use city/town as part of your search term Reach out to locals. […]
When you find someone in the census, do you look at the nativity of others on the same or adjacent census pages? How common or unusual was your relative’s place of birth compared to their neighbors? Were they living in a neighborhood where they were in the majority or the minority in terms of place of birth? Was there even a majority in terms of place of birth? If the census asked the question, were most people homeowners or renters? How does your relative’s occupation compare to that of his neighbors? Sometimes the biggest clues about a relative in his census enumeration aren’t on the line that contains his name. This tip originally ran in March 2019.
The blog of the National Archivist of the United States contained a post about the 1 April 2022 release of the 1950 United States population census schedules. Their post talked about their preparation for the release of the digital images. Questions about the rollout should be directed to the National Archives, not to me. For the genealogist wanting to prepare for the release, think about which of your relatives would be alive in 1950. Think about where they would be living in 1950. For individuals living in rural areas of the United States, the township, election district, town, or village name may be sufficient–depending upon how populated those areas are. In many rural areas of the United States, specific street addresses may be difficult if not impossible to […]
A female relative seems to just appear in an Indiana county in the early 1830s in time to marry her husband. There are apparently no records in the county of any of her other family members. There are many possibilities, but some of the more plausible ones are: Her family only lived in the area for a short time–just long enough for her to meet her husband and marry. She stayed the rest of them moved one and she was the only one to marry while the family lived in the area. She had no other full siblings, her father had died young, and her mother is “hiding” under her second husband’s name which is where all the relative’s half-siblings are showing up as well. Her family was […]
Our “Naturalization: An Un-Natural Process” webinar was released and is available for order and immediate download. The presentation focuses on American records. More information can be found on our website.
Not every immigrant naturalized. Many did, particularly if they wanted to vote. But before the early part of the 20th century a significant portion of immigrants to the United States did not bother with becoming citizens. Your ancestor may have been one of them. Just remember though that just because you cannot find a naturalization record for your ancestor, it does not mean he did not naturalize. You just may not be able to find it.
17th and 18th century documents are full of dating that may appear to be “off.” This document was dated Stow, Mass., 23 January 1746: 7. It’s 1747 in our modern style where the “new year” started on January 1. It’s 1746 in the old style where the new year started in in March. It’s not some other parenthetical notation, an abbreviation, or a stray mark or error.
Your relative died in 1850, but records indicate that his estate was not settled up and the farm sold or transferred to someone else until 1869. Don’t conclude that there had to be “drama” or some court action that you cannot find. It could be as simple as the family waiting until the widow had died or the youngest child reached the age of majority. Mother may have put her foot down and issued an edict that she was living on the farm until she died. The children could have decided to let mother have control and the money from the farm until she died. The heirs could have decided it was easier (and cheaper) to wait to “settle up” until all the heirs were of age and […]
We’ve said it before, but there are websites other than Ancestry.com and not every record is online. Doesn’t matter how easy the ads imply that research is or how complete they say their databases are. Don’t limit yourself to just Ancestry.com (or any other site–free or not). No one has everything. Get more tips in Genealogy Tip of the Day, the book.
Don’t forget to save those old envelopes. Sometimes the addresses can be just as helpful as anything else. This is especially true if the letter does not contain any addresses or does not include complete names. There may also be notes or other relevant information written by the recipient on the envelope itself. Remember that any piece of paper may contain a clue–and keep the envelope and the letter that was inside it together if at all possible.
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