Michael John Neill's Genealogy Website
My attempts to locate Sophia (Derle) Trautvetter in the 1870 census have brought unexpected results: the location of the tombstone of her only daughter, Elizabeth. An entry for her burial was located on FindAGrave and the image of her tombstone used in this has been done so with the permission of the photographer. The cemetery in which […]
When conducting genealogical research, it can be difficult to balance: staying focused on specific goals performing an exhaustive search (if that’s your prime directive) searching everything you can get your hands on that has more than a 0% chance of answering you question or providing suggestive information money time Concepts one and two usually go […]
Obituaries are one of those genealogical sources that are chock-full of statements. The accuracy of those statements range from “true” to “false” and all shades of veracity in between. Those statements often from a variety of “places,” from individuals with varying ideas of what is correct. This post includes a copy of my Mother’s obituary […]
Ancestry.com recently announced an “update” for the 1870 census and it got me to thinking about one of the people that I cannot find in 1870: Sophia Elizabeth (Derle) Trautvetter. My other two “missing” direct ancestors in 1870 are single, relatively young men who were living in rural parts of the United States. While I would like […]
Some census takers followed instructions to the letter. Others did not–sometimes because the census taker had a mind of their own and other times because the respondent failed to answer the question in a standard way. That’s probably what happened with “Belarn Janson” of Adams County, Illinois’ Houston Township in 1880. It’s more likely that […]
“Daddy hated chicken because he ate so much of it when he was a kid.” I had almost forgotten Mom mentioning Granddad Ufkes’ dislike for chicken until I read several 1920-era references to his parents in the Hancock County [Illinois] Farm Bureau Bulletin in GoogleBooks. Granddad’s parents, Fred and Tena Ufkes, have several notices where they are selling […]
I gave in and purchased an original 1868 land deed on Ebay. It was not for a relative, but it was for a land transaction in Hancock County, Illinois. I decided it would be interesting to compare the original deed with the record copy at the local courthouse. The original deed is the original deed and […]
I’ve revisited my “when could they vote chart” which I’ve mentioned here before. It really is not a bad activity as it gets one thinking about a variety of things. For me, the following things had to be considered: naturalization law age at which one could vote passage of 19th amendment chronology I’ve only listed my […]
