[Genealogy] Can You Always Find the Reason, 1924 Purchase, Full-Text Class--don't miss--and more
Michael John Neill
mjnrootdig at gmail.com
Wed Sep 2 15:49:06 CDT 2026
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Genealogy Update 2 Sept 2026
** Can You Always Find the Reason?
** 5-Week Class on Using FamilySearch's Full-Text Search--Don't Miss It!
** That 1924 Land Purchase in Modern Terms
** Downloadable Webinars
** Upcoming Trips
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Can You Always Find the Reason?
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One clue to learning more about your ancestor is determining why he moved
from one point to another. Sometimes the reasons are clear after a little
study of local history if the reason he moved was because of the
destination–called the *pull factor*. If you don’t know where the ancestor
was from, it may be more difficult to determine the reason why he
left–called the *push factor*. It is difficult to read relevant local
histories when you are unaware of where the ancestor was from.
Reasons might not always be stated in local histories. Your ancestor might
have migrated because of family connections, the fact that a former
neighbor had settled in the area, or that there was some type of employment
that he could easily obtain. Sometimes the “connection” will be impossible
to find. Generally genealogists are advised to research associates of the
ancestor in his earlier days of residence in an area to get an idea of
individuals he might have known “back home.” Sometimes that is easier said
than done.
And if you ancestor didn’t move—there’s a reason for that as well.
If you speculate on why an ancestor moved (or didn’t) clearly indicate that
your speculation is speculation. And remember, that many of our conclusions
are speculation. Very few of our ancestors left behind detailed records
explaining why they did what they did.
Often, we look at the records they left behind, use generalities gleaned
from history, economics, and known social behavior, and weave a story.
Sometimes that story is correct, but sometimes it is not. After all,
ancestors leave behind pieces of themselves and when we use those records
to tell their story, we often weave some of ourselves into the tapestry we
create.
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5-Week Class on Using Full-Text Search--Don't Miss It!
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*5-week class on Using FamilySearch’s Full-Text Search*
With Michael John Neill
Are you getting the most from FamilySearch’s Full-Text Search? Our five
session class on FamilySearch’s full-text search will help you to get the
very most from this truly paradigm-shift way of searching. Presentation and
discussion is practical and down-to-earth. Students will receive practical
and easy-to-implement search strategies and will be encouraged to share
successes and failures with other class members via an online group and
discussion sessions.
Week 1
Overview of FamilySearch full-text search.
This session will provide an overview of full-text search methodology,
discuss how full-text search is different from typical searches, discuss
workarounds for transcription errors, searching specific sets of images,
and search organization.
Week 2
Sourcing and Determining what has been found with FamilySearch full-text
search.
This session will discuss determining what has actually been located,
downloading all information and images for a complete source citation, and
creating a completion citation.
Week 3
Common Name Searching at FamilySearch full-text search.
This session will discuss some specific strategies for searching for common
names in full-text search.
Week 4
Problem-Solving with FamilySearch full-text search.
This session will discuss search formulation, tracking, and problem-solving
when specific items have not been located.
Week 5
Wrap up
Structure
Lectures will be available for downloading the week before the discussion
session. Students will view presentation and do optional homework the week
before the discussion. Each week’s discussion will review the lecture,
discuss homework assignment, and have time for student questions and group
discussion. Homework is optional, but will help students to understand
concepts and get more from discussion sessions.
Discussion sessions will be held:
15, 22, 29 September and 6 and 13 October at 7:30 pm central time.
Class meetings will be via Zoom. Class communication will be via a Google
group. Registration for class is $70
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=BKU7EFP9P55C4>.
Purchasers of one of Michael’s previous FamilySearch’s full-text webinars
can order class for $20 less–contact Michael to request special discount
registration link.
Registration is limited and can be processed here
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=BKU7EFP9P55C4>.
Confirmation of registration will be made within 24 hours of receipt.
Contact Michael at mjnrootdig at gmail.com <mjnrootdig at gmail.comm> with
questions.
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That 1924 Purchase in Modern Terms
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I took the big financial dive and purchased a copy of *How Much Is That In
Real Money?*
<https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1929545010/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=gentipoftheda-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=dbf14007115da5c6e9df649cac39a8ab&camp=1789&creative=9325>
by
John J. McCusker and published by the American Antiquarian Society in 1992.
I’m hoping to use it to analyze some amounts from estate inventories and
deeds. I’ll do so keeping in mind that any such analysis is fraught with
complications.
One area of interest is the current value of a valued item (farm, estate
inventory item, monthly wage, rent, etc.) in today’s economic climate.
While I fully understand the concept of the time value of money, present
values of lump sums, future values of lump sums, inflation, etc., I
sometimes have difficulty with those websites that allow someone to enter
in an amount from 1850 and convert it into 2020 terms.
Using the present value/future value calculator at www.wolframalpha.com, I
came up with some values for the worth of a farm purchased by my
great-grandfather in 1924 from his father’s estate. The range of current
values ($8000-$10000 per acre) was converted to the value range in 1924
($521-$652). Great-grandfather paid $200 an acre for the property in 1924
as per the terms of his father’s will.
According to the present value, great-grandfather got a bargain as he did
not even pay half of the 1924 value of today’s value. One could even say he
got it for a song.
Not so fast.
Great-grandpa was not dropping an amount into a savings account in 1924 to
leave it hanging around for me to cash out in 2020. He was purchasing a
farm in 1924. To see if the price he paid in 1924 was low, high, or
reasonable in 1924 I need to compare the price he paid with the price paid
for similar pieces of property in 1924. To date, I’ve not done that yet,
but I have a difficult time believing that the price he paid to his
siblings was only a fraction of it’s relative value *at the time*. I need
to do that.
At this point all I have is a quote from my Grandfather when I told him
what his Dad had to pay for the farm in 1924. “That was a lot of money. No
wonder they had a hard time for quite a few years.” Granddad may be
correct–or he may not be correct. But contemporary prices of land are what
I need to make my comparison to–at least in my opinion. That’s going to
require some contemporary research.
On a side note a piece of cropland today that was owned by your relative in
1850 that’s highly valuable may be valuable partially because in 1880 a new
owner finished clearing off most of the trees and brush and because in 2016
the present landowner made a significant investment in tiling that
property. Because of those improvements that property today may be worth
more than neighboring pieces of property than it was in 1850.
Great-grandfather did not purchase that piece of property in 2020. He
purchased it in 1924. That value needs to be analyzed in that context.
Ready-to-Go Webinars–download immediate:
-
Creating Children’s Stories from Genealogy Events
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/creating-childrens-stories-from-genealogy-information/>
-
Creating Families from pre-1850 Census Records
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/creating-families-from-pre-1850-census-records/>
-
DeedMapper webinars
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/deedmapper-intro-and-more-deedmapper-webinars/>
-
Farming Ancestor webinars–landowner and non-landowner versions
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/rooting-around-for-farmers-and-tenants-and-laborers/>
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Upcoming Trips
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- Midwest Genealogy Center–October 2026.
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/mid-continent-genealogy-library-october-2025-research-trip/>
- Library of Virginia–March 2027
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2025-library-of-virginia-research-trip-richmond-virginia/>
- Allen County Public Library–June 2027
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/allen-county-library-2027-research-trip/>
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Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
PO Box 17
Henderson, IL 61439
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