Month: November 2016
Independent Creation
Just like there’s rarely actually three brothers who came as stowaways to the Americas, there’s no such thing as the “three sources” rule. There’s no magic in threes, just like there’s no magic in genealogy. It really isn’t just about how many sources you have for a specific fact about a person. It’s about how many […]
Lies, Damned Lies, and…
There’s lies, damned lies, and then there are census records. Census information is only as reliable as the informant and the reliability of the informant can vary greatly. There’s a myriad of reasons why an informant may intentionally incorrect information. intentional deception ignorance indifference inability to understand the question There’s a host of reasons why a […]
Martha, the Second Wife of Ira Sargent
My great-great-grandfather Ira Sargent’s second wife seems to have been dropped from a UFO into Adams County, Illinois, in 1886. I researched her quite a bit when Ira’s parents were unknown and I was hoping that something on her might lead to something on them. When I was able to locate Ira’s parents through other […]
Grandma Knows But She’s Not Telling
This can be a really gray area. My Grandma Neill indicated that she didn’t know much about her one grandfather. After asking several times and getting little in the way of information, I stopped questioning her as it became apparent that I was not getting information and asking about him was starting to irritate her. I […]
The Spirits Try to Find Theodore Trautvetter
Theodore Trautvetter went missing from Warsaw, Illinois in January of 1890. He was eventually found in Kansas. Many of the hard details of his disappearance are unknown. There are a few details of the search for Trautvetter that center on dreams and psychics that are known. There’s something of an irony in that. The disappearance […]
Join Me in Salt Lake in 2017
There’s no bigger genealogy library than the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Every year I take a group to the library–we have one presentation each day and the rest of each day is devoted to research. Our trip is from 31 May through 7 June 2017–we’re informal and focused on helping you […]
Nelson Sledd Elected to the Kentucky Legislature in 1859
The results were published in the Louisville Daily Courier of 6 August 1859. There had been an election in Kentucky. In addition to voting for federal offices, elections were held governor, other statewide offices, and for the Kentucky Legislature. It was the elections to the legislature that held particular interest for me. Nelson Sledd my uncle […]
An Illegal Homestead Filing: Part V
The last in the series about Cornelia Albers’ invalid homestead claim in Dawson County, Nebraska, in the 1880s and her attempt to assign that claim to her grandmother. A great deal of drama and legal wrangling took place over the Albers homestead claim. Both the Alberses and John H. Gronewold, who contested their claim hired lawyers […]
Ebay Postcard of Eight Carthage Churches
The postcard of eight Carthage, Illinois, churches that I purchased on Ebay has arrived. It was unused and is in good shape. The pictures are necessarily small, but there is a fair amount of detail in each one, especially when the size is considered. The card not being used has hindered the dating of the card itself. I’m […]