Lately, I seem to read about someone's genealogical "brick wall" on every post I read on various genealogy sites. Are these truly all brick walls? I don't think so. A brick wall to me means a problem that you have been working on for a long time with little success. I've seen posts where people … Continue reading Solve Your Genealogy Brick Wall
Category: Research Tips
Context is Key: Know the Law!
At the time our ancestors lived, there were laws that came into being and which affected the way our ancestors lived and the documents they created. In last week’s post, we learned how important it is to understand the collection our record is in. It is perhaps even more important to understand the laws at … Continue reading Context is Key: Know the Law!
Context is Key: Understanding the Record within the Record Collection
Records don’t exist in a vacuum. (For the purposes of this post, I am referring to microfilmed images of records we have located online). It’s important to understand the record in terms of the collection it's found in. Once we’ve located a record, we need to ask ourselves questions about the record and the collection. … Continue reading Context is Key: Understanding the Record within the Record Collection
Locating Original Records for ‘Text Only’ Indexes on Ancestry
We’ve all seen them. Those Ancestry search results that pop up with a few details but without an image attached. They provide tantalizing bits of information but thorough researchers know that they need to find the original record, if at all possible. These 'Text-only' collections can often be used as a finding aid to the … Continue reading Locating Original Records for ‘Text Only’ Indexes on Ancestry
Trails to Roads: Down the Atlantic Seaboard
As colonists began settling along the eastern seaboard in the late 1660s and early 1700s, they realized the need for accessible routes between those settlements. Trails used by the local Indian tribes were the first means of getting from one place to another. These trails often followed the natural landscape, moving through the region’s river … Continue reading Trails to Roads: Down the Atlantic Seaboard
Desperately Seeking: Locating Lost Family in Newspaper Advertisements
In the 19th and early 20th centuries the mass migration of people meant that many families were divided, with some members moving, often thousands of miles away to foreign shores, and some members left behind in the home country. The unpredictable and slow-moving postage system meant that extended family members could go months and years … Continue reading Desperately Seeking: Locating Lost Family in Newspaper Advertisements
“Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death”
When we look at the factors that caused our ancestors to migrate from one place to another, specifically within the United States, do we consider the effect that climate disasters may have had? Most of us are familiar with the Dust Bowl, which forced thousands of families in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, to abandon their … Continue reading “Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death”
Seaman’s Protection Certificates – An Unusual Source
In an earlier post I compared Ancestry’s then new “U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939” to draft registrations to answer the question of whether someone who registered for the draft actually went on to serve. I used as an example, the five Zimmerman brothers, who all registered for the draft but didn’t all end up … Continue reading Seaman’s Protection Certificates – An Unusual Source
In the Parish Chest: Churchwarden & Poor Rate Records
In the Parish Chest – Churchwarden and Poor Rate Records is the fourth and final post of the In the Parish Chest series. The other posts discussed Bastardy Bonds, Settlement Certificates, Examinations and Removal Orders and Apprenticeship records. As early as 1572, Overseers of the Poor were appointed in each parish in England. Their job … Continue reading In the Parish Chest: Churchwarden & Poor Rate Records
In the Parish Chest: Apprenticeship Records
This is the third post in my In the Parish Chest series. You can learn about bastardy bonds here and Settlement Examinations & Removal Orders here. Was your English ancestor an apprentice? Apprenticeships date back to as early as the 16th century when young boys were formally bound to a master, usually a craftsman, who … Continue reading In the Parish Chest: Apprenticeship Records
KindredPast 