Month: November 2019

Do You Mention It?

Let’s just say this insanity record comes from the record on a relative in Illinois. It was located in the local county court records. “On the 6th of June she developed a sever[sic] attack of delusional insanity with homicidal tendancy, which has continued up to the present time.”This document was dated June 14. It is […]

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Flip It Over

Undated newspaper clippings and other paper materials are frustrating for the genealogist. It always pays to flip the clipping over. Sometimes there are “between the lines” clues that give an idea of when the clipping was actually published.And then there is this one. This clipping was found amongst my Grandmother’s papers. The other side indicates […]

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Direct or Indirect?

What is the difference between indirect evidence and direct evidence? One good example is a voter’s list. Since a person has to be a citizen to vote, your ancestor’s name appearing on a voter’s list is indirect evidence that your foreign-born ancestor naturalized (assuming that the guy on the voter’s list really is your ancestor and not another […]

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An 1806 Promise to Pay in Whiskey: Part I

On 24 November 1806, James Tinsley and another man signed a note that they promised to pay on the “first day of March next” to Oba and Henry Timberlake eight pounds, three shillings, and three pence. The payment was to be in “good and merchantable” whiskey in good tight barrels. Tinsley and his associate were […]

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The Birth “Date” of Sarah/Sally Tinsley of Amherst County, Virginia

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 before on an approximate date of birth for Sarah/Sally Tinsley, probably a native of […]

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