Month: May 2019

Estimating A Year of Birth

Just a few thoughts on inferences, consistency….not an official “edict,” but an out loud commentary more to keep me thinking than anything else. No sources are cited in this post, but that’s really not the point in this case. I’ve worked on the approximate date of birth for Sarah/Sally Tinsley, probably a native of Amherst […]

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Thirty Three Acres Confirmed by the Virginia Legislature: Part I

The deed was located easily in the Bedford County Virginia land records (Deed Book 18, page 100–digital image made from FamilySearch). On 17 January 1823, Harrison and Sally Ramsey (of Bedford County, Virginia) sold to Nathaniel Strange (of the same place) thirty-three acres in Bedford County for $33. Their thirty-three “parcel” wasn’t technically a tract […]

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Section 11 of an SS-5 Form

A while back I wondered what the stamp meant in area 11 of this application for a Social Security number from 1963. I found several webpages on the Social Security Administration website that gave me some perspective–and more information that I really thought I would ever need. Operations in the Candler Building 1936-1960http://www.ssa.gov/history/candlerops2.html HISTORICAL INTERVIEW […]

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Searching for War of 1812 Veterans Who Got Land Patents in the 1850s

Many War of 1812 veterans, their widows, or their heirs received military bounty land warrants through Congressional Acts of the 1850s. Those land warrants were used to acquire land in the federal domain. The warrants were surrendered in order to obtain a patent that actual transferred title in real property from the federal government to […]

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An Unexact Verikios Does Not Mean Verikos at FamilySearch–Apparently

Searches are always conducted more effectively when the user knows how all search parameters and options work. That knowledge allows searches to be conducted in ways that best fit the varying spellings and rendering of the name. The search interface at FamilySearch allows user to check an exact box to search for the spelling exactly […]

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Are Directories Hiding Deaths For You?

City directories can tell researchers several things, usually related to name, residence, occupation and proximity of neighbors. Urban researchers are usually well-served by researching all extant directories for their people of interest. In some unusual circumstances directories can tell researchers even more. Noticing these items requires the researcher to search for the people of interest […]

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Susannah Rucker (wife of John) of Orange and Amherst Counties, Virginia was not a Phillips

I’m not yet prepared to say what her maiden name was. I may never know her maiden name. However, her maiden name was not Phillips. Susannah Rucker, wife of John Rucker who died in the early 1740s in Orange County, Virginia, did not have the maiden name of Phillips. Period.The source of this statement is […]

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