Due to a scheduling conflict, we’ve moved our Beginning Irish research webinar to 30 October at 2:00 pm central. Registration details are in our original post.

Ancestry’s “California, Death Index, 1940-1997” is one of those databases that contains data elements that are not indicated in the search screen. The query box for this database includes: First, middle, and last names Date and place of birth (location based on Ancestry’s “geographic drop down list”) Date and place of death (location based on […]

Jurgen Goldenstein died in Hawthorne, California, in 1972. His estate was probated in Los Angeles County and his siblings and their descendants were determined to be his heirs. Since I only obtained selected documents from the estate file, I have no way of knowing who provided the information on Jurgen’s family. It is possible that […]

The 1925 Carthage College yearbook’s reference to Clara Engelhardt indicated that “this year her thoughts wander to Philadelphia.” There’s no mention why the student at the Illinois college was thinking of Pennsylvania. On the surface, it is difficult to determine just what is causing Clara to think of Philadelphia. Yearbook comments are not always based […]

There was some time when I believed that William C. Rhodes (born in 1831 and lived for some time in Macon County, Missouri, where he married Lucretia Matilda Jones) was the son of Levi M. Rhodes. After looking into Levi a little further I became less convinced. This post is not about that research. It […]

We are excited to offer new and updated sessions of these two popular presentations. If you pre-ordered a copy, email me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com if you did not get your copy. Introduction to US Probate Records This session will provide attendees with an overview the US probate process and how records created fit into that entire […]

Widow’s pension applications are full of statements by neighbors, associates, and relatives testifying to the marriage of the widow, her residence in a specific area, her not remarrying again, the veteran’s military service, etc. Usually specific relationships by biology or marriage are not stated in these affidavits as documenting the relationship is not the purpose […]

Readers know that I hate genealogy “games.” I think most of them are time wasters and I cannot see any real purpose in completing them just to say that I completed a challenge in some made contest. However as something of a more practical challenge, I decided to see how many other descendants of my […]

FamilySearch has had the Bureau of Land Management Tract Books (titled: United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1820-1908) on their website. Using the books takes a little bit of patience and a little bit of knowledge, but it’s not impossible. William Newman purchased property in Tipton County, Indiana, in the 1850s. Locating that […]

There is something gratifying about finding your ancestor’s name in a record, particularly one that is not indexed. This image is part of the entry for Thomas J. Rampley from the Bureau of Land Management Tract books for Ohio. And while these books are not indexed by name, there is organization. It is just that […]