As we learned in my last post on bastardy bonds, parishes in England did not want to be financially liable for the support of individuals or families settling within their boundaries who could not provide for themselves. In England, the Poor Relief Act of 1662, also known as the Settlement and Removal Act came into … Continue reading In the Parish Chest: Settlement Examinations, Settlement Certificates, Removal Orders
Category: How To
Does it make sense?
We’ve all seen them. Family trees with children born to a mother who died before their birth, or three children born in the same year and linked to the same parents (and they are not triplets). People marrying at age 10, and women having babies in their 70s. As we research, it is essential to … Continue reading Does it make sense?
Four Generations in Close Up
Four generations of women in my family in South Africa. There is something about taking these close up photographs and placing them next to each other that reinforces for me the familial bonds that tie generations together. Not to mention, seeing how much they resemble each other! Christina Elizabeth McIntosh was of Scottish descent, born … Continue reading Four Generations in Close Up
Tax Records: An often overlooked source
Tax records are a valuable but often overlooked source: They can help to fill in the decade between census enumerations and before the first federal census of 1790. In burned counties tax records are often the only information you may find on your ancestor. Tax records sometimes contain specific residence information, giving an exact physical … Continue reading Tax Records: An often overlooked source
‘Where there’s a (contested) will …Thomas Lantry of St. Lawrence Co., New York
Well known as one of the first settlers in Massena, St. Lawrence county, New York, Thomas Lantry died at the age of 98 in August 1887. 1 He left an estate of some $35 000.00, equivalent to approximately $890 000.00 today. For the thirty years previous to Thomas’ death, he had been living with his … Continue reading ‘Where there’s a (contested) will …Thomas Lantry of St. Lawrence Co., New York
Silence and her granddaughter, Experience.
Silence and her granddaughter, Experience. We probably all have them in our family trees. Those Puritan virtue names popular in the 17th century. Mercy, Thankful, Liberty, Faith, Prudence, and in my case …. Silence, and her granddaughter, Experience. Silence Potter was born in Exeter, Washington county, Rhode Island on 22 January 1753 1. Her parents … Continue reading Silence and her granddaughter, Experience.
Understanding what the Census Enumerator was meant to write (and how that helps you understand your ancestor).
In the Census: Understanding what the census enumerator was instructed to write. The census is one of the first places we go to when researching our ancestors. We pour over those images, trying to interpret what is on the page in front of us. For the 1880 U.S. census, the Superintendent of the Census offered … Continue reading Understanding what the Census Enumerator was meant to write (and how that helps you understand your ancestor).
Is it really a brick wall?
Recently, I’ve noticed quite a few posts in various genealogy groups where people are asking for help. That’s not new, of course. What seems to be new, or perhaps I’ve just noticed it more, is that the request for help is preceded by a sentence like this, “I’ve hit a brick wall! I’ve been looking … Continue reading Is it really a brick wall?
Discover … Internet Archive
Internet Archive: Described as ‘a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.’[1] Internet Archive is a great site to search for just about anything. The “Wayback Machine” allows the archives of the web to be searched. Users are then able to view archived web pages even for web sites … Continue reading Discover … Internet Archive
Discover … Fulton History
Fulton History is a historical newspaper site containing over 37 million newspaper pages (as of December 2016)[1] from the USA and Canada, as well as a few other locations. Even more remarkable is that the site is run by one person, Tom Tryniski, of Fulton, New York. Besides access to millions of newspaper pages, there … Continue reading Discover … Fulton History
KindredPast 