[Genealogy] Every Little Detail and More
Michael John Neill
mjnrootdig at gmail.com
Fri Dec 26 09:11:06 CST 2025
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In today's issue:
*Every Little Detail
*Upcoming Events
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Every Little Detail
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They say “the devil is in the details.”While I’m never certain who this
mysterious “they” is, one thing is for certain: The details can create
headaches or opportunities, depending upon whether they are noticed and how
they are interpreted.
*Those Short Phrases*
Three or four words “squeezed” in at the very bottom of a document may be
the largest clue of all, even if the handwriting is microscopic. Mrs.
Barbara Pickert marries in Hancock County, Illinois, in 1859. A slip of
paper included in with the marriage indicates in tiny script at the very
bottom of the page that Mrs. Pickert “has no lawful husband living.”I
almost ignored the reference. Barbara’s first husband Peter Bieger (or
Pickert) was known to have been dead by late 1855. It was initially thought
that the reference was to him. The longer I thought the more odd it seemed
that the phrase “no lawful husband living” was used when the shorter term
of “widow” would have sufficed. Later research revealed that Barbara was
apparently married for a short time in 1856 to a George Fennan who
abandoned her–hence the phrase “no *lawful *husband living.”
*How Long Have I Known You?*
There may be references in a record or document that have no bearing on the
case, but that do have bearing on the family being researched. Court
testimony from an 1877 court case indicated that Christian Williams had
known my ancestor Mimke Habben for at least twenty years. Mimke immigrated
to the United States in the 1860s. If I had not known where Mimke was from
in Germany, my research should have concentrated on Christian. Since
Christian had known my ancestor since at least 1857, they had known each
other in Germany. Court testimony and military pension papers are great
sources for finding references to individuals who have known your ancestor
for a specified period of time.
*What Does It Mean?*
In a guardianship record from Kentucky in 1814, my ancestor is referred to
as an infant. In 1815 she marries. Before anyone draws any inappropriate
conclusions, it should be noted that the guardianship record is using the
legal definition of infant. Consequently the 1814 reference to Melinda
Sledd as an infant only indicates she is under the legal age of majority,
not that she is a newborn. Viewed in this light her 1815 marriage to
Augusta Newman is no longer viewed as suspect.
*Are They Sharing Luggage?*
When one of my ancestral families immigrated in 1853, the passenger
manifest indicated that they and another couple were sharing a set of
luggage. The clue was not obvious–just a bracket on the far right-hand side
of the manifest indicating that three bags belonged to the families of
George Trautvetter and George Mathis. I kept the Mathis family in mind as I
researched and eventually discovered that George Mathis’ wife was George
Trautvetter’s niece.
*How Does One Notice These Clues?*
Sometimes it can be difficult to pick up on subtle references or turns of a
phrase. The way to avoid overlooking these clues is to make certain that:
- You know the definitions of all words in the document.
- You determine if any words have specific legal definitions different
from the way the word is used outside the legal system.
There are additional things that can be done.
*Obtain the Original Document*
Transcriptions may occasionally leave out pertinent details. The
Trautvetter and Mathis families located on the passenger lists were
originally located in the series *Germans to America.* This finding aid,
while a great help, did not include the notation that the two families were
sharing luggage. Of course, this was a significant clue only discovered by
viewing the actual manifest.
*Type the Document*
Transcribing a document, forces the transcriptionist (you) to look at every
word more closely. It is easy to overlook clues when you are reading
silently. I know of one genealogist who received a transcription of a
document that had an error. She could not determine what the error was.
When typing up the transcription as part of a report on the entire family,
she realized how the likely error occurred and was able to make additional
headway with her research. Reading the document over and over did not bring
about the revelation.
*Read the Document Out Loud*
While this may not make you immediately popular with others in your
household, it can make it easier to notice details based upon the way words
could have sounded to your ancestor. Sometimes when we read something aloud
or hear it read something “clicks” that did not click before.
*Read the Document Backwards*
Again this forces the reader to look at every word. While the document
probably won’t make too much sense this way, it may cause you to notice a
word or phrase that you had previously overlooked. And that is the entire
point.
*Create a One-Page Summary of Your Problem*
Those who go with me on my research trips are encouraged to submit a
one-page problem for me to review. While the limitation to one page makes
for less to read, it forces the genealogist to narrow their problem and
determine what details are important. While there are situations where one
page is not sufficient, the hope here is to make the person look at all the
details and decide which details are crucial to the problem.
The mark, the twist of phrase, the scribbled reference at the bottom of the
page–it may be meaningless, but maybe not. But if you never notice it and
analyze it, you will never know!
-----------------------------
Revised Full-Text Searching Webinar for 2026
-----------------------------
We’re excited to offer this revised presentation on the full-text searching
at *FamilySearch*--reflecting changes made to the site since this was
recorded in August 2025. We’ve redesigned our presentation as this
functionality continues to change. And…we have an extensive handout
complete with forms to help you find more people. Available for download by
5 January 2026. Order now for $25
<https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/67D7Z5H4ZQHJA>.
If you have purchased an earlier version of this presentation--email me at
mjnrootdig at gmail.com for the code to order this revision for $10.
Fully Utilizing Full-Text Search: Revised for January 2026
Your purchase includes:
- *A 90 minute (or more presentation)* you can view as often as you want.
- *Detailed handout* with charts and forms to help organize your
searches. Charts and forms sent as separate files you can edit and
customize and not as a locked PDF you have to re-create yourself as a new
document.
We’ll be including and discussing:
*Determining what is in Full-Text Search—*what you can access at home and
what you will have to be in a FamilySearch facility or affiliate to access.
*Seeing How AI Transcriptions are different*—they aren’t like the
transcriptions made by humans. That can change your approach.
*Remembering that Full-Text means every word*—approaches need to differ as
we aren’t looking up a name in an index any more.
*Asking Who* is in the record? We aren’t just searching for the main person
like we did with traditional indexes. We’ll discuss how to determine who
could be mentioned in a record.
*Determining How to search?* There are a variety of ways to search and
filter results. We’ll see how each one works to help determine the best
strategy.
*Creating search strategies*—how full-text search changes your approach and
why just dumping terms in search boxes is not always effective.
*Determining what you found* The interface does not always make this clear.
We will show you how to get beyond the confusion and help you get enough
detail for a citation.
*Creating effective problem-solving approaches*—what to do when you cannot
find something you want.
*Demonstrating practical examples*—completely new people and families from
our previous presentations.
Available 5 January 2026. Order now for $25
<https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/67D7Z5H4ZQHJA>.
----------------------------
Join me on a Research Trip
----------------------------
- Midwest Genealogy Center-Independence, Missouri, May 2026
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/mid-continent-genealogy-library-october-2025-research-trip/>
- Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, March 2026
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2025-library-of-virginia-research-trip-richmond-virginia/>
- FamilySearch Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, 12-19 August 2026–details
just announced
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2022-family-history-library-salt-lake-city-trip/>
- Allen County Public Library, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, September 2026
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/acpl2022/>
---------------
----------------------------------
Using the FamilySearch Catalog
-----------------------------------
Delivery date of 11 January 2026
Pre-order at $20.00 <https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/WAF85QETY39FW>.
Normal price is $28.00
Confused about what is on FamilySearch? Having difficulty knowing what is
online there and how to access it? This presentation will lead you out of
the confusion.
Contents will include:
Various ways the catalog can be searched–the six verbal ways (location,
title, keyword, surname, author, subject) and the two more numeric ways
(call number and film/image group number). We will see how to:
-
effectively navigate the catalog search results,
-
determine how catalog materials can be accessed,
-
be aware of all geographic levels for a specific location,
-
determine what indexes and finding aids are available
-
see ways to avoid searching the same set of records multiple times
accidentally,
-
see how common record types are frequently cataloged,
Preorder today and save $8.
<https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/WAF85QETY39FW>
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--
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Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
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