We’ve located a version of the Ancestry.com ad where George Washington’s thoughts are extant. Too bad I can’t somehow locate the thoughts of  few of my actual ancestors. George does have relatives, but no living descendants. The original ad does not mention the connection between Washington and the person holding the picture.

Michael Trautvetter’s livestock cost him an extra $15 in 1886.  Apparently they got off his property and were responsible for damaging some property on his neighbor’s farm. Trautvetter’s expenses totaled more than $15. That was just how much was awarded to J. H. Ensminger for the damage to his property. There were legal fees added […]

There’s several lessons here, not all of which have to do with court records. The first image in this post was originally going to be the only one used to illustrate it. When I went to review the image to write the post I realized that there was a name missing: Barbara Bieger. It mattered […]

We’re excited to announce the release of the recorded version of  “Avoiding Fake Ancestors.” There is no way to be entirely certain a tree is one hundred percent correct. Ever. Humans will make errors. However there are some ways to reduce the number of errors in your tree, creating a more accurate tree for future […]

I understand why people want to trace their lineage as far back as they can as quickly as they can.  Skipping back as quickly as one can may hinder the development of adequate research skills. On the one hand most of my maternal ancestors were relatively easy to trace in the United States. They were […]

She was born Anna Lisa Eriksdotter in Ostergotland, Sweden, in 1829. I was fairly certain she had died in Sweden as well, but I really was not entirely certain. Some of her children immigrated to the United States and some remained in Sweden, so it was always possible that she had immigrated. To be honest, […]

It is easy to see how the the last entry on this census page was transcribed in Ancestry.com‘s “Colorado State Census, 1885” as N. L. Albers instead of U.L. Albers. Initial upper case letters in first names can be difficult enough to transcribe sometimes when the rest of the name is there to provide a context. […]

On 19 June 1891, the Illinois General Assembly gave women in Illinois the right to vote–in school elections. The 1891 act was specific in stating that women could only vote in school elections. But it was a start and does mean that women could vote in at least some elections in Illinois before the 19th […]

All of us have gaps in our knowledge, it’s a matter of realizing and admitting that we have gaps in our knowledge that can be the problem. Being willing to deal with those gaps in a constructive way helps as well. One way to discover those gaps is to read somewhat random things…and to think while […]

Recording available. More details in our announcement.