NSGS AncestreeNebraska State Genealogical Society Journals
Volume One, no 4, pp 175-176
Spring 1979
A-Submitted by G. N. Simpson, North Platte Ne
PEDIGREE ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH PROCEDURE The following steps should prove helpful in analyzing the problems on your pedigree and in solving the problems or objective selected for further study and search. These will apply equally to research on collateral lines. Be sure that steps one through 13 have been fully completed before proceeding further.
1.
Search home sources such as family Bibles, family sketches, church certificates, obituaries, etc.
2.
Have church membership records been checked?
3.
Have relatives and close friends of the family been contacted? Is there a family organization? Is the genealogist active?
4.
Have the L. D. S. (Latter Day Saints) church records archives been checked for what others have done?
5.
Define on your pedigree all objectives, i. e. ancestors on that chart requiring genealogical attention. Reduce your pedigree to a number of working parts.
6.
Select a specific object for further search. Consider what additional details are needed:
a.
When and where was the ancestor born?
b.
When, where and to whom was the ancestor married?
c.
When and where did the ancestor die?
d.
If a female, what was her maiden name?
e.
What was the name of the parents?
f.
Are answers to more than one of these questions needed?
7.
Calculate periods to be searched for the needed information.
8.
Using the surname target as a guide, determine what names should be checked in locating helpful printed histories or genealogies.
9.
Are there variations of the spelling of the names under consideration?
10.
Pinpoint the geographical location of the problem on the map.
11.
If locality information on the problem is lacking or inadequate, consider tax lists, indexed census records, or a more careful search of family records and traditions. Has the correct spelling been used for the town? Is the town in the right county or state? Has the name of the town been changed?
12.
Using the locality target, determine what locality records should be considered (town or parish, county, district or area, state or nation). What records are kept on each level for the time and place in question?
13.
What is the geographical and historical background of the place in question?
a.
What changes have been made in the civil and ecclesiastical divisions of the locality? When were the boundary changes made?
b.
What historical events including wars, affected this area?
c.
When was this locality settled? By whom? What later migrations took place?
d.
What were the major occupations, customs, and religious trends?
e.
What topographical features, geographical relationships and travel facilities characterize the locality?
f.
Do local archives or libraries exist?
14.
If an immigrant ancestor, have all available immigration records been checked?
15.
What was his religion? Have church records been checked for births, christenings, marriages, burials and miscellaneous entries?
16.
Are there tombstone inscriptions or sexton's records that would help?
17.
Have local histories, compiled genealogies and miscellaneous records in local libraries, been checked?
18.
What was his occupation? What records would be unique to his occupation?
19.
Did he own land? Is there a deed recorded? Did he take up a homestead?
20.
Did he have military service? Which war? Check service records.
21.
Was he or his widow eligible to receive a pension as a result of his service?
22.
Did he live at a time and place that a census record would help?
23.
Have vital records kept on a parish, city, county or state basis been checked?
24.
Did he leave a will? Did he receive a bequest from a close relative? Have other probate records been checked?
25.
Have you tried correspondence? Write to distant relatives or others known to be interested in your line. Write to persons of similar surname. Write to church record keepers, public officials, historical societies and professional research seachers and genealogists. Insert an ad in a newspaper, genealogical periodicals or place a query. Contact professional genealogists or record searchers to make searches in records not easily available to you.
Production note: page break occurs between lines 17 and 18. Original text was not completely in outline form.
Ancestree, Vol 1, no 4, page 176
Submitted by Mrs. Velma Cooper, Decatur NeSHARING YOUR ANCESTOR'S DAYS, ONE LINE AT A TIME Are you one of those very fortunate people who have a diary kept by one of your ancestors? First, share it with other relatives by having copies made. Today we are so fortunate in having good copying machines available. In our family, we have very clear copies of a diary written in pencil over a hundred years ago. A person feels free to read and study such a copy, because it is not in the fragile condition of the original diary.
That diary of your ancestor's can give you precious insights into the personality of that person as you read through the year's doings, sharing the daily work of the writer, the visits with others, the changes of season, and the vicissitudes of weather. You may chuckle over an occasional whimsical sentence which reveals a sense of humor. Or you may discover a bit of philosophy which helps you understand how your ancestor managed to cope with problems. You may share worries about an illness or the pain of aching teeth. Birth or death may be a part of the chronicle.
The diary may include a few back pages for keeping an account of income and expenses. Read those items on the account pages - they tell a great deal about the life of those times.
If your ancestor spelled phonetically, you will find that you can reconstruct his manner of speech quite well. We know that we had a great-grandfather who said "Willers," "Carpender," "dipthery," to "grinden," "culdivate," and "Visitin," because he spelled those words just as he pronounced them. We admire him for his consistent and regular use of an old style nib pen and bottle of ink to record his daily work, the weather, and his business transactions. We also admire him for his effort in applying phonies to assist him in his spellings.
My family history begins with me, but yours ends with you. Iphicrates 419/348 B. C.
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