Michael John Neill's Genealogy Website
An earlier post discussed some websites where a short-term subscription may be a viable option, particularly if there is a database of images that may significantly help your research. A month-long subscription may be cheaper than ordering microfilm or actual record copies. Here are a few additional things to consider before getting that one-month subscription. […]
Those of us with rural American ancestors don’t find directories with any regularity. While cities and urban areas generally had annual directories by the mid of the 19th century, rural area had sporadic directories–if they had them at all. Researchers with farming ancestors in the United States expect to find periodic plat books. Directories are not […]
Most city directories that are easily available online are usually ones whose original copyright has expired. Fold3 and Ancestry.com do have digital images of city directories as a part of their services, but Fold3‘s collection tends to concentrate on urban areas before the early 1920s and Ancestry.com‘s collection includes some post-1920 era directories, but the content is spotty and […]
The following databases are showing as new/updated since our last posting: South Dakota, School Records, 1879-1970 Massachusetts, Boston Passenger Lists Index, 1899-1940 Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings, 1895-1924 United States Public Records, 1970-2009 United States Index to Service Records, War with Spain, 1898 Most of these appear to be updates and not “new” databases.
Names that get spelled numerous ways create research challenges. Desmarais is one of those names. There are times where it is simply easier to manually search a record instead of performing a seemingly infinite variety of wildcard searches. Manual searches of a long list of variants are somewhat easier when the item being searched is […]
[this posting originally went live on 16 September 2012] I’ve blogged about this discrepancy chart before, but I realized I never bothered to update it with “new” information on Ira. Regular readers know that I’m a big fans of charts and tables for organization. Here’s part of the original post (and the discrepancy chart): Based […]
I’ve released the recorded version of my “Courthouse Basics” webinar. This session will provide an overview of the records to expect at the typical United States county courthouse–focusing on local vital, court, probate, and property records. It will provide a general overview of the general types of records to expect, how to organize your searches […]
The third image from Thomas Frame’s Pullman Car Company file includes hiring and “dropped” dates between 1906 and 1910. His rates of pay are also included. I’m not certain if the “A” and “S” on the far right hand side stand for “Absent” or “Sick.” At the very least, this confirms what dates he was […]
The following databases are showing as new/updated on FamilySearch: Utah, Uintah County Naturalization and Citizenship Records, 1888-1929 Utah, Uintah County Marriage Records, 1888-2015 Michigan Obituaries, 1820-2006 South Dakota, School Records, 1879-1970 Massachusetts, Boston Passenger Lists Index, 1899-1940 Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings, 1895-1924 Most of these are updated as I recognize the titles from […]
