Rolf Habben was an uncle of my great-great-grandfather Johann Ufkes. Rolf Habben was also a brother-in-law of Johann Ufkes. I was confused. Rolf Habben was born in 1815 in Wiesens, Ostfriesland, Germany. He was married twice: in 1840 to Hille Eilts Post (born 1807 in Wiesens-died in Wiesens in 1853). in 1857 to Christena Hinrichs […]

For years the main indexes genealogists used were census indexes. We were glad to have them. In the old days…. Pre-1850 US census indexes were head of household indexes only–for reasons that should be pretty obvious. Census indexes for 1850 censuses and after usually only included the head of household and anyone within the household […]

This session will focuses on the free aspects of DNA Painter at http://www.dnapainter.com. We will discuss downloading matching data from DNA sites, painting your DNA matches, finding match data, labeling, grouping, overlapping segments, and more as time allows. Our concentration is on getting you started with DNAPainter in a way that will help you make […]

I’ve been painting my DNA matches in DNAPainter. It’s fun, but it’s not really about the fun. In looking at shared matches on one of my chromosomes, I was reminded of a key concept that can be easy to forget in our attempts to “figure out as much as we can as fast as we […]

Any item taken from a record out of context has the potential to confuse other researchers or to result in statements that are simply false. This image from an estate settlement in Mercer County, Illinois, in the 1880s makes the point perfectly well. If the researcher takes just a key phrase out of this record, […]

The 1880 enumerator in Floyd County, Georgia, encountered a Wilkins family headed by Anonymous. There was also a child in the household named Anonymous as well. Sometimes those names we think are incorrect are actually right. This individual appears to really have been named Anonymous based upon other records in the same location. It is […]

We’re excited to offer this new session on 13 November 2018! Check out the details on our announcement page.

I have three people I cannot find in the 1870 census. One I think must have simply been overlooked. She should have been living in southwestern Hancock County, Illinois, in Walker, Rocky Run, or perhaps Warsaw Townships. Sophia Trautvetter was born in 1808 in Germany and was Rocky Run in 1860 with her family in […]

To be honest, I never gave it much thought. The probate settlement of John J. Trautvetter mentions a receipt for $22.06 for “Social Securities compensation.” This appears to have been paid out to his mother, based on the fact that it was the same amount, $22.06, where it was listed as “Social Security benefits.” I’m […]