[Genealogy] Clues from Christianna, Where Did They Get That? US Land Deeds Presentation and Discussion

Thu Oct 22 07:44:21 CDT 2026

Genealogy Update
22 October 2026--(c) 2026 Michael John Neill

** Clues from Christianna
** Extended Classes on Notebook for Genealogsts and Full-Text Search
** Where Did They Get That?
** US Land Deeds--lecture and discussion
** Keep Getting the Update
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Clues from Christianna

Christianna (DeMoss) Rampley was born in the later 1770s, probably in what
is now Harford County, Maryland. She married Thomas Johnson Rampley in 1800
and died after 1830, probably in Coshocton County, Ohio. Some things I’ve
learned from researching Christianna:

   - *the importance of somewhat unusual names*. While Christianna is not
   the most unusual name, it was also noticed in a family whose last name was
   the same as one of Christianna’s grandmothers. Further research into this
   family resulted in a possible connection to Christianna herself.
   - *sometimes widows have to buy their deceased husband’s property from
   the estate*. Christianna purchased some of her family’s household goods
   at auction from her husband’s estate.
   - *sometimes you will not find a death date*. Based upon census records,
   Christianna probably died in the 1830s. Given the time period, the
   location, her relative financial condition, and all the materials that have
   been referenced, it is unlikely that a death date will be discovered for
   her (unless a diary, Bible, or family letters turn up). Sometimes precise
   dates cannot be determined.

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An overview of NoteookLM

NotebookLM (often simply Notebook) is Google’s suite of AI-driven tools to
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Notebook uses sources of your choosing, not what it found online. You
upload your own materials—including PDF files, text files, Google Docs,
slides, or web links—and the AI creates a private workspace built
exclusively around that data. You can upload any genealogy information to
it tht you wish , but it is recommended that only deceased people be
included and that you not upload DNA information on living people.

Capabilities

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   Answers with Citations: When you ask questions or search your uploaded
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Course Prerequisites & Required Materials You should have digital records
for one ancestor or a father-mother-children family, including every extant
record available.

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Where Did They Get That?
-------------------------------

*note–this originally ran in 2004–making the 1900 census reference a little
dated. *

Confusion is often in the mind of the beholder. The ongoing release of the
every name 1
<http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=5647408&siteid=38391251&bfpid=D7602&bfmtype=database>900
census index at Ancestry.com has caused me to revisit some relatives in
this census. When I viewed one entry, I remembered how confused I was when
I first saw it. Like many genealogical records, the enumeration contained
an error. And like many errors, the incorrect statement was a clue. In this
case it was a clue that I failed to notice.

In 1900, John M. Trautvetter is a 60ish widower, living with his four
youngest children on a farm in rural Hancock County, Illinois. The bulk of
the census entry is consistent with other records, including John’s age,
place of birth, year of immigration, and citizenship status. What confused
me was the place of birth listed for the children’s mother–Ohio. No other
record ever listed that state.

John’s wife, Frances, was the mother of all his children (there was not a
second wife, although different places of births for the mother can
sometimes indicate this), and she died in 1888 well
before the 1900 enumeration. Every document indicated she was born in
Illinois in 1851 with no hint to another possible state of birth. While I
had no direct evidence of her birth date and place, Frances’ parents were
known to have resided in Illinois as early as November 1850, and Frances’
guardianship records (created when she was five years old) clearly state
she had been born in January 1851. There was no evidence that her parents
lived anywhere except Illinois after November 1850. But still, in the 1900
census, entries for four of her children indicate she had an Ohio place of
birth.

Frances’ three oldest children were out of the house by the 1900
enumeration, and their entries were also located. These children indicated
their mother was born in Illinois. While this was not consistent with the
Ohio birthplace listed by the other children, at least it was consistent
with what I already knew about Frances.

*So Where Did Ohio Come From?*

I do not know who provided the information for the Trautvetter household in
1900. But now I do know that the informant was not entirely confused when
they indicated that the mother of the children in the household was born in
Ohio.

It was years after I first discovered that 1900 census entry that I learned
that Frances’ parents were German immigrants who married in Cincinnati,
Ohio, in 1849. Their stay in Ohio was short, but it was where they were
married and where the husband was naturalized. I wish I had considered the
Ohio reference as a clue from the start instead of simply ignoring it as
some off-the-wall mistake. Whoever told the enumerator the children’s
mother was born in Ohio must have known that her family had some connection
to that state.

In this case, the error was a lead as to the family’s origins. Some
discrepancies in records are clues as to other locations where the family
lived. Unfortunately, not all inconsistencies can be understood as easily
as this one. However our point is that apparent errors should not
immediately be tossed aside.

*Many Errors in Records*

There are many errors in genealogical records. If all records were
completely consistent, genealogy research would not be nearly as difficult
(or as interesting) as it is. And some of us become skeptical when all the
records completely agree. And while an error is still an error, there are
times when the error is a clue. The error can result from many scenarios,
but it is worth remembering that we were not present when the information
on the record was obtained. We do not know who answered the questions and
what distractions might have been in the respondent’s mind. All we have is
what is written on the document.

Did our ancestor think the clerk meant, “Where is your mother from?”
instead of “Where was your mother born?” Where a person is “from” is not
necessarily the same place as where they were born. In the case of Frances,
the children still living in the household in 1900 were relatively young
when she died in 1888. Their memories of their mother may be very dim, and
their only knowledge of her and her origins may come from their father–who
might not necessarily know where she was born either.

*Other Types of Errors*

– Hearing and Speech Problems

Your ancestor’s ability to speak the language of the country in which he or
she lived can easily impact how the name is written in various records.
Combine that with regional dialects, hearing problems, and inattentive
clerks and the problem can be greatly compounded. This topic was discussed
in this column some time ago in an article titled “Do You Ear What I Ear?
<https://rootdig.genealogytipoftheday.com/?p=3969>”

– Bald-faced lie.

Was your ancestor hiding from his or her past? Was he or she lying to get
out of something? Was he or she lying to be able to do something? If your
ancestor lied on a document, there is usually a reason. The difficulty lies
in determining what that reason was. If your ancestor made up several lies,
the problem can be even worse.

– They were not there.

Many documents that genealogist use reference events that took place long
before the document was created and, perhaps, even before the informant was
born. The amount of time that has elapsed, combined with the fact that a
story may have passed through several individuals, can
cause facts to be reported incorrectly. And the mistake may be an honest
one, particularly if the informant on a document is an in-law.

– A little detail they did not know.

My parents have lived in the same county their entire lives. And yet they
were born in a different state because the nearest hospital was across the
state line. I can remember that when I gave the clerk in the marriage
records office the birthplaces of my parents, my soon-to-be wife looked at
me when I indicted my parents were born in Iowa –and yet they were.

– Sometimes there’s no telling what they were thinking.

One relative of mine said her father was born in Canada, the United States,
Iowa, or Kentucky. It all depends upon what census enumeration you believe.
This is a case where I just wonder exactly went on when the census taker
knocked on the door. (To read our fictionalized view of the census taker
read “The Census Taker Cometh
<https://rootdig.genealogytipoftheday.com/?p=3074>.”)

*Consider the Errors*

Some errors are errors. Some errors are clues. It is the job of the
genealogist to determine the difference as best they can. Your ancestor
might have been giving you the biggest clue when they gave the wrong answer.

Note: This article originally ran in the *Ancestry Daily News* on 20 Oct
2004.

Requests to repost or reprint can be sent to Michael at mjnrootdig at gmail.com

*Land records have you confused? We have the answer. *

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and answer session.*

Reading the Deed Books: US Local Land Records for Genealogists

There are a lot of records your ancestor may have avoided being listed in.
But if he bought or sold land, there was a record created to document that
transfer and a copy of that record was probably made at the local court
house. Even if your ancestor never bought or sold the land he owned, he may
appear in local land records.  Deeds are some of the most reliable records
we have, and genealogists overlook them all the time.

This presentation covers the land records kept at the county and town level
in the United States and the general structure and form of a deed itself
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parent county formed fifty years earlier. Local land records are not just
deeds, we'll look at mortgages, releases, powers of attorney, and the land
divisions that followed a death.

We'll also spend time on what a deed can tell you beyond the sale itself.
The legal phrasing often hides useful clues, and the details people skim
past, like witnesses, neighbors, or a wife releasing her dower, can point
to relatives and connections you didn't know about. We will look at
examples from a variety of US locations.

Searching these records can always be done onsite, but we will also talk
about accessing them where possible via FamilySearch (including manual
browsing and using full-text search where applicable).

You should be comfortable with basic research before signing up.

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Michael John Neill has actively researched his genealogy forever forty
years, descends from generations of land-owning farmers, and has utilized
land records in his own research extensively during that time. He is a
former community college math instructor with a master’s degree in
mathematics.
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