Ancestral
Research Tips
Ancestral
Research Tips
Note: Nancy Bray found these and we thought they were excellent. If you have any tips or advice concerning ancestral research please submit them for this page. Thanks!
From the Pendleton County Historical and Genealogical Society
Quarterly Newsletter
8870 FORMULA
Submitted by Mrs. Alice Freed
If a tombstone reveals that the deceased died May 6, 1889 and was 71 years, 7 months and 9 days old, but gives no date of birth, you can correctly arrive at their exact birth date by using this 8870 formula, without taking the time to count backwards.
18890506 (died 1889 May 6)
-710709 (age 71 yrs. 7 mos. 9 days)
_________
18179797
-8870 (always)
_________
18170727 ( birth date 1817 September 27)
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Methods of Land Transfers
The homestead act was not enacted until 1862, and did not apply to Kentucky. Settlers could not acquire free titles to land simply by occupying and inproving it. Consequently, all land had to be conveyed by grant or purchase, generally by one of the following methods:
1. Direct grant, generally for military service or other substantial service to the government. Title was conveyed by government issued patent (deed).
2. Direct purchase, with conveyance by a Warranty Deed (a deed whereby the seller guarantees or "Warrants" clear title to the land).
3. Direct purchase financed by a mortgage. This involves three documents - a Warranty Deed, whereby the sellers conveys the land to the buyer in return for a consideration; a Mortgage Deed, whereby the buyer "sells" the property back to the seller, or to another financing party, with the provision that the deed is void if the buyer fulfills the terms of the mortgage; and a Release, whereby the seller records the fulfillment of the mortgage.
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Research Tips
Copied from "The Researchers Catalog" 1996
Learn a little history about the area to avoid needless searching. The first family to move into present day Kentucky came to Ft. Harrod in December 1775. If the 1850 census shows a person 80 years old as born in Kentucky (1770), it is wrong. Indiana claims their first birth in 1804 although we know there were the French Military at Ft. Vincennes and at Ft. Wayne who had only a few wives with them.
Find out when the county was formed. We get so many requests for records prior to 1775 in a county that wasn't formed until 1836. We get requests for Indiana and Kentucky records of the early of the early 1700's.
Immigration and naturalization:
Prior to 1776, the English kept records of who was in the colonies. There was no such matter as naturalization. Since the colonies belonged to England, most of the people who came here were already English citizens. But there was no such thing as naturalization. They did keep immigration records, beginning in 1776. The United States became an independent nation and naturalization became an issue.
Naturalization is a federal issue and those records are usually in the Federal District Courts, not the county court. But they did not even consider keeping any records of immigration until 1848, and that law was never enforced. Only in 1906 did actual registration of immigrants became a reality. So consider the time period when you seek the records. Prior to 1776, it is immigration records. 1776 to 1906 it is naturalization records. After 1906, both should be available.
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WIFE'S MAIDEN NAME
One recurring frustration that genealogists encounter is locating a wife's maiden name. This exercise is often the most difficult brick wall that a
researcher encounters in building a complete family history. Here are three suggestions that one can explore in an attempt to resolve the problem.
First, if the individuals lived during the period of a census, when names of the children were recorded with their age, one can find the census year that is prior to the date of the marriage. Select the area where the husband was living and then carefully look at other families in the area who had a daughter with the same first name as the wife. This may involve looking in other close geographical areas, in a widening circle, during the census year. Since it was common in earlier days for families to arrange and /or approve the marriage of their children, there is a high degree of probability that local girls were selected.
Second, consider that early tradition called for the father of the bride, as part of her dowry, to either cover or carry the mortgage note for the purchase of property. Thus, a search of Mortgages recorded in the local court house could contain documents of their property. The majority of the time, the mortgage holder and one to whom payments were made was the bride's father.
Third, locate the deed for real property purchased by the couple. Look carefully at the bottom of the document and note the names of those who signed as witnesses on the deed. The normal procedure was that the first witness was to be from the husband's side of the marriage. The name of the second witness was to be from the wife's side of the family. The purpose for having a representative of the wife's side of the family to sign the deed was to protect her dower rights under the law. Frequently, it was the bride's father or an older brother. On the basis of this you can find excellent clues as to just what the maiden name of the wife is.
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Colonial Words and Phrases:
From "The Quill" Old Edgefield District, S. C..
Many words and phrases used in colonial times had different meanings than we give them today.
A wife could be listed as a "domestic". This did not mean that she was a servant, only that she was '"at home."
In old records, "junior" and "senior" had several meanings. When two men in a community had the same name, the older one might use senior and the younger one junior, whether or not they were related. Even stranger, in the 1600's a man may have named an older son Sr." and the younger one "Jr."
"Niece" could mean any female relative, and could be a granddaughter.
"Nephew" could be an illegitimate son, but could be a grandson.
A "cousin" could turn out to be a nephew or an uncle.
A "brother" could be just that, or an in-law, a lodge brother, a church brother or even an adopted brother or a half-brother.
A "gentleman" was not necessarily well-born. The term was used for pensioner - one of independent income.
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Virginia Inheritance Laws:
Prior to 1786, a will in Virginia did not have to name the wife or the eldest son. Their inheritance of real estate was set by law; the widow receiving her one-third dower and the eldest son receiving the remaining two-thirds, unless otherwise specified in the father's will. The eldest son also received his mother's share if she died.
If the eldest son had died, the eldest grandson of the whole blood became the heir-at-law, not the second son. If a man was unmarried, his heir-at-law was his eldest brother, never his father or his uncle.
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Adoption Records
A quote from the Union Co., LA. GS periodical suggests that when you search for adoption records in a court house, never tell the clerk you are looking for adoptions. Ask to see divorce or probate files. Adoptions are often "hidden" there. Check the indexes under the letter "I" for "IN Re" (In Regard). Under the heading you may find "In Re-A petition to adopt" or "In Re-Petition to change name." etc.
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Yesterday the past
Tomorrow the future
But today is a gift
That's why it is called the Present
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The below article is posted in the archives on Genealogy.com
Impossible and Improbable by Donna Przecha
Genealogy thrives as a rewarding hobby because most people in the past lived
orderly lives. We expect them to be born, marry, have children and die, and
that there will be someone to record most of these events somewhere. Usually
this is exactly what happens. All we have to do is find out where these
events were recorded. However, occasionally we come across events that just
do not fit into the orderly scheme of things. Sometimes they seem to be
highly improbable or completely impossible.
Disowned Children
In past times marrying outside the family's religion, race, culture or social
class was considered by some to be taboo. If children violated this rule,
some families would disown them and even declare them dead. In one case the
parents not only declared the child dead but went so far as to erect a
tombstone with her name and her marriage date as the death date. People who
were mentally ill or physically deformed might be sent off to an asylum or
hospital and the family would act as if they were dead. They might be
recorded in the family Bible as having died, so when you find the individual
in a census you will be thoroughly confused! A daughter might also be
disowned if she became pregnant and was not married or a son cut out of the
family if he ended up in prison. Obituaries were generally provided by the
families, and facts and children who did not suit the image the family wished
to project could be omitted. If a child was not mentioned in the obituary in
the local hometown paper, it didn't mean the child didn't exist or was
deceased.
Finding disowned children can be very difficult because they often moved a
long way from their original home to a completely different environment.
Someone from Connecticut might move to Idaho or Texas for no apparent reason.
With more national indexes becoming available, it is easier to locate these
people. Since most census indexes are still on a state-by-state basis, you
almost have to check each state as there is no predicting where they might
have gone.
The names of disowned children might turn up in a will or probate. In a will
the parent might want to mention the child just to be sure he or she is cut
out of the inheritance. If there was no will, all living children would need
to be named in legal documents relating to an inheritance.
In past times marrying outside the family's religion, race, culture or
social class was considered by some to be taboo. If children violated this
rule, some families would disown them and even declare them dead.
Bigamy
Even in this day of instant communication with cell phones, pagers and the
Internet, you can still pick up the paper and read about a man who was
married to different women and had two different families, each of which was
unknown to the other. (Why a man would want the responsibilities of two
families and keeping them secret is beyond me!) In the past it was so much
easier to acquire two wives, although it was more often serial rather than
concurrent. If a man from Virginia went to California to look for gold, he
might decide after a couple of fruitless years that he didn't want to go home
and face the ridicule of his family and neighbors. He might decide to just
settle down in California, perhaps open a store or take up farming and marry
a girl he met there. Since he may have stopped writing to his family in
Virginia months ago, he would hardly feel it was necessary to go to all the
trouble and agony of trying to get a divorce. He might even send back an
announcement of his death just to close that chapter of his life.
Even in this day of instant communication, you can still pick up the paper
and read about a man who was married to different women and had two different
families, each of which was unknown to the other.
When a husband disappears, the wife usually goes through the legal process to
have him declared dead after a certain period of time. You might encounter
the family with the husband in one census and in the next find the wife
listed as a widow. This would lead you to believe he died in the meantime and
you would look for cemetery records, obituaries, wills and death records. If
he simply disappeared, you will not find any of these and may need to explore
court records for a legal document declaring him dead. Of course, he may not
really be dead at all.
Name Changes
Many men, especially new immigrants, found it too overwhelming to try to
support a family and just walked off and were never heard from again. They
might even change their names, settle down in a new area and get married
again. This is very difficult to track and document, but one place where this
could come out is in military pension records. If a man was in the Civil War,
his first wife would know he was entitled to a pension and would apply for
one when it became obvious he was never coming back, and could be presumed
dead. If he remarried under another name, he might feel enough loyalty to his
second wife to disclose his military service and the name under which he
enlisted. Once he died and the second wife applied for her pension, both
applications would end up with the same service record.
If you suspect a possible name change, be sure to consult as many legal or
official documents as possible.
If you suspect a possible name change, be sure to consult as many legal or
official documents as possible, such as pension papers, wills, naturalization
papers or land deeds. Even if a man changed names he might think he had to
include his "also known as" (AKA) name to be sure the transaction was valid,
fearing the original name might come out at some point and nullify the action.
A woman could create genealogical confusion by not changing her name. If a
woman had a child out of wedlock, she might move to another town, keep her
maiden name but call herself Mrs., claiming she was a widow. Even if people
knew she had never married, a mother would be called Mrs. as a courtesy
because it would be embarrassing to all concerned to suggest that an
unmarried woman had a child.
In African-American research, many people assume that a freed slave would
take the family name of the person who had owned him before emancipation. In
fact, the freed slaves could take any name they liked and many experimented
with several names before settling on one. Siblings might choose different
surnames so it is not obvious to a researcher that they are related. A parent
might have lived on a different plantation and select a different name from
the child. Many chose names of famous people or people they admired, so the
surname may or may not be significant for the researcher.
Freed slaves could take any name they liked, so the surname may or may not
be significant for the researcher.
Duplicate Names
Sometimes a researcher looking through baptism records will find a couple who
gave the same name to two different children. A look at the burials usually
reveals that the first child with that name died before the second one was
born. In some cases no such death is found. In fact, both children seem to
live, grow up and produce their own records. This can cause the researcher a
bit of confusion and reexamination of the records. For some reason — perhaps
a lack of imagination? — parents will give children almost identical names.
In one family there was a John and a Jonathan, and both lived to adulthood.
Mary and Maria are also possibilities.
Sometimes, especially in German names, the first name would be the same for
all children of the same sex, but the second name would be different. A
family might consist of Johann Georg, Johann Wilhelm, Johann Josef, Anna
Barbara, Anna Maria and Anna Theresa. Needless to say, the children usually
went by their middle names and the children might be known as Georg, Johann,
Josef, Barbara, Anna and Theresa. In later records, they might reverse the
name since the middle name was the one usually used. This means you almost
have to follow the lives of all the brothers to be sure who was really
Johann. Just to confuse matters, Georg and Josef might use their official
first name, Johann, on a record.
Sometimes, especially in German names, the first name would be the same
for all children of the same sex, but the second name would be different.
Informal Adoptions
Very often in the past, adoptions were very informally arranged. A woman
might have a child that she really couldn't care for, because of health or
financial reasons, while her sister might have wanted a child but was unable
to have one. It might be agreed between the two families that the child would
be given to the other to raise. No papers were signed or legal documents
filed. Similarly, a foundling might be taken in by a family and simply raised
as their own.
Wrong Sex
We have all encountered a person being classified as a male in one census and
a female in another. This frequently happens with unusual names, or names
that can be either sex, and usually it is just an error on the part of the
census taker. However, there have been cases where children have been raised
as if they were the opposite sex. Boys were dressed like girls when they were
small and a mother who wanted a girl and was unable to have any more children
might well continue that deception until the child revolted. Sex change
operations were not possible 100 years ago but people could live as if they
were the opposite sex. A woman might be especially tempted to masquerade as a
man if she wished to be a soldier or a cowboy or follow some equally
masculine occupation. Very recently a well-known band leader died and it was
found that he, even though he was married, was actually a woman and no one
knew.
We have all encountered a person being classified as a male in one census
and a female in another. This is usually just an error on the part of the
census taker, but alternate explanations are sometimes possible.
Race Change
While following a family back through the census you might find a person who
had always been classified as white, listed as mulatto, meaning a mixture of
white and African ancestry. While we know the census taker often made
mistakes, this might mean there is African-American ancestry in that line.
Appearance played a big part in racial designation and when possible, many
people of mixed ancestry would "pass" for white when they could. The children
of Sally Hemings are a good example. (Whether or not you believe Thomas
Jefferson was the father, it is generally accepted that the father of the
Hemings children was white.)
Sally herself was 1/4 black, as her father and maternal grandfather were both
white. Her children were only 1/8 black. They all drifted off, with or
without permission, and settled elsewhere. Eston at first settled in Ohio and
in 1852 moved to Wisconsin where he changed his name from Hemings to
Jefferson and his race to white. Eston's descendants did not even know of
their black ancestry. Beverly (a son) and Harriet apparently disappeared into
white society. Thomas became a minister in the African Methodist church and
Madison stayed in the black community.
Many people, especially in the south, have both white and black ancestry.
Given the conditions and disadvantages under which blacks, even free ones,
had to live, it made sense to be classified as white if at all possible. It
made their lives and the lives of their families much easier.
Many people, especially in the south, have both white and black ancestry.
Given the conditions and disadvantages under which blacks, even free ones,
had to live, many people of mixed ancestry would "pass" for white when they
could.
Facing the Impossible
I would not encourage anyone to look for any of these extreme situations in
his or her own family research, but if the impossible or the improbable
appears, keep an open mind. If you come across one of these situations, this
line may be truncated. Even if you do manage to work around it, it will take
much research and documentation to gather enough evidence to prove what
really happened. However, if you do manage to piece the whole story together,
it will probably be the highlight of your family history!
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The following was sent to Nancy from her
cousin Ron Brennan
This is excellent information!
SOLVING SOME GENEALOGICAL PROBLEMS
Ron's Note:
You all know this stuff but it doesn't hurt to be reminded. I'm printing this
out for my own use. My rememberer isn't want it used to be. <G>
Good Rules to Remember:
1. A man who receives by a will cannot be a witness to it.
2. A nun-cupative will can dispose only of personal property.
3. A married woman could not make a will without her husband's consent and
even so, could dispose only of personal property unless there had been a
pre-nuptial agreement.
4. Title to land could be conveyed either by inheritance or deed or
marriage.
5. If a man sells land and there is no record in the Deed Book that he
purchased that land, then he inherited it or his wife inherited the land
and a record of that is in the probate files. Knowing this will help
to
discover the identity of the wives.
6. A man did not have to be 21 to buy land, but he did have to be 21 to
sell it. He did not have to own property to vote, but he did have to
be a
free man. He had to be 21 to serve on a jury, but he did not have to
own
property or to be naturalized.
7. A woman was never a taxable or tithe. If her name
appears on a tax list, it is because she is a widow; she has a male of
taxable age in her household or a slave of taxable age.
8. Quakers used numerical dating and did not take oaths and were not
married in a civil service. A Quaker's last will does not begin
with: "In
the name of God, Amen," and there are no marriage bonds for Quakers.
9. There are excellent indexed records for Moravians and Quakers; many
records of both Lutheran and Reformed churches and ministers that have
been
translated.
10. All males and females enumerated in the census records prior to 1850
are not necessarily members of the immediate family; they are merely
members of the household and may not even be related.
11. "Junior" did not necessarily mean "son of," but was a
designation for
a younger man of the same name in the same area. A man could be a
"junior"
at one period and "senior" at a later period.
12. "Infant" did not mean a babe in arms but someone under legal age.
13. An "orphan" was someone under 21 who had lost his or her
father; the
mother might well be living.
14. An illegitimate child almost invariably took the surname of the mother.
15. If a man died in Rowan County, NC and devised his land in Davidson
County to his son, there will not be a record in Davidson County to show
the transmittal of that property.
16. In intestacy, the Court appointed as administrators) the widow & relict
[who may have already remarried and may have a different name] and/or
sons(s) who are of legal age. If they relinquish, the largest creditor is
appointed.
17. A posthumous child, even if not mentioned in the will, will share
equally with the other children.
18. Not just anyone can file a caveat to a will - only a person who stands
to inherit from the estate, and only then if he would receive more by the
laws of intestate succession than from the provisions of the will.
19. If no executor is named in the will, the Court appoints an
administrator "cum testamento annexo" to carry out the
provisions of the
will.
20. According to the laws of intestate succession, the widow receives 1/3rd
of all property, and the remainder goes to the children.
21. The law of primogeniture was legally abolished in 1784 and had to do
only with the estate of an intestate.
22. Normally, the widows of intestates were allotted a year's provision.
23. Until 1868, a husband had a life estate in all real property owned by
his wife at the time of their marriage; this is known as curtesy.
24. Dower rights pertained to the belonging of the husband, whether he
owned it before the marriage or acquired it afterward. Husbands did
have
identical rights to property owned by their wives, but when referring to
those rights they are called curtsy rather than dower.
25. Curtesy or Courtesy, Scotch Law. A life-rent given by law to the
surviving husband, of all his wife's heritage of which she died in feft, if
there was a child of the marriage born alive. The child born of the
marriage must be the mother's heir. If she had a child by a former
marriage, who is to succeed to her estate, the husband has no right to the
curtsy while such child is alive; so that the curtesy is due to the husband
rather as father to the heir than as husband to an heiress, comfortable to
the Roman law, which gives to the father the use of what the child succeeds
to by the mother.
26. If an estate was debt-ridden, the personal property was disposed of
first. The widow's 1/3rd was protected and usually 1/3rd for the
children
against any claims for debt.
27. An "orphan" over the age of 14 could select his own guardian [as
it is
now]; if he were younger, the Court appointed the guardian. If an orphan
were left little estate, he was often apprenticed by the Court to learn a
trade.
28. Watch for a man disposing of more land than you can find him buying.
Did land come to him by death? Did his wife inherit property that he is
selling?
29. Taxable age for white men during the colonial period was 16; during the
Revolutionary War it varied from county to county; after 1784, it was 21.
30. Be very careful about accepting any information on a death certificate
other than the date of death, as the information was given under stress by
someone who may not have a full knowledge of the facts. The same holds true
for obituary notices.
31. Phonetic spelling can be tricky. The clerk wrote down what he HEARD,
i.e., Anne Eliza or Annie Liza, Synderalugh or Cinderella.
32. Watch for occupations being Capitalized as identification following a
name, without a coma. Very few people had three names. John Williams
Carpenter in 1785 was probably John Williams, carpenter. John Henry Taylor
may well have been John Henry, tailor.
33. Many times there are no commas separating a list of names of children
in a will and you may have either ten daughters with single names or five
daughters with double names or a mixture.
34. If a man left underage children, you should expect to find a guardian
being appointed and the children being referred to as "orphans"
although
their mother may still be living and be appointed their guardian. If she
has remarried, her new husband is often appointed guardian of the minor
children.
35. Spelling can be very confusing, i.e., "hairs purchaced waggins at
Estate sail."
36. When checking an index, say the surname and envision every possible
spelling. Jo Linn eventually identified her husband's ancestor Lewis Redwine
as having been Ludwig Rheitweil
37. Some names were shortened through usage. Mr. Reed Pickler had
difficulty with his line until he realized the surname of the immigrant
ancestor was Blankenpickler.
38. In examining a Bible record, see if the handwriting is all the same.
If it is, all entries were probably made at the time of the latest entry;
if entries were made at the time the event occurred, they are more apt to
be accurate.
39. In NC, the marriage act of 1741 forbade "the abominable mixture"
between white men and women and Indians, Negroes, Mustees and Mulattoes or
any person of mixed blood.
40. Words denoting relationship, such as "in-law" and
"step," often had
different meanings from what they have today. "Nephew" sometimes
meant
grandson or grandchild, such as "to my nephew Rebecca Hayes."
"Brother"
could be also brother-in-law or brother in Christ or a minister.
41. Non-jurors or non-swearers were people who refused or failed to take
the oath of allegiance, i.e., Loyalists or Tories. Many when faced
with
the possible confiscation of their property, embraced the Revolutionary
cause, and some became super patriots.
42. Inventories and estate sales reveal much about the occupation and
status of the deceased and often suggest other records that might be
searched.
43. Analyze the naming patterns in the generations you have constructed as
a possible clue for a given name of an earlier male or the maiden name of
a
wife. For example, the widow Hartwell Drake almost certainly had a mother
whose maiden name was Hartwell.
44. Often a later child was given the same name as one who had died
earlier.
45. If there is no marriage bond for a 2nd marriage, look for an age-gap
between children to try to determine when the first wife died,
46. Livery and Seizen was a practice between the seller and buyer of a
piece of land. They met on the property and in the presence of
witnesses
declare the contents on which livery is to be made. This was a ceremonial
act by which the seller delivers (livery) a clod, or twig or some other
piece of turf or branch from some plant growing on the property and this
transfer is accompanied with words much like the following: "I
deliver
these to you in the name of seizen of all the lands and tenements
contained
in this deed." It was a formalized ritual probably called for by the
purchaser who may have had something to gain by having several witnesses
to
the event. These matters concern a vocabulary no longer used, and
made
manifest that which is now reduced to words on paper.
a couple of exceptions :
Colonial (before the Revolution) laws varied from
state to state. #24 women's rights were not protected
in PA in most areas. There are records showing a
husband squandering his wife's property and upon his
death the debts were all paid and the wife was left in
poverty. Also in PA and #34 -- it is possible for
children to be orphans with both parents living
because they are mentioned in their grandparents
wills. In these cases the parents often become the
guardians.
Number 34 is correct - at least in North Carolina. The child/children are
referred to as orphans if their father has died,
even if the mother is still living.
NOTE: If they are heirs to an estate of grandparents, a Guardian will be
appointed, but the child/children WILL NOT be referred to as "orphans"
in this case.