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 hand in hand. If you have specific goals, it’s easier to think of what records would reasonably provide information to help you reach that specific research goal. Item three is a rabbit hole from which some researchers never leave. Four and five are usually constraints all of us have and may cause researchers to cull some items from their exhaustive search if the chance of relevant information seems slight.
I was trying to find information on Anna Elizabeth (Trautvetter) Burke Herzog (calculated birth of 4 May 1835-died on 22 January 1870 [all vital data from tombstone in Daughtery Cemetery, Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois]). Anna’s second husband, Henry Herzog, survived her by thirty years and married after Anna’s death and had several children with his second wife.
Given the time frame, I didn’t think that Henry’s will would help me in my research on Anna.
I was wrong.
Henry’s will it states in the last bequeast:
“And lastly, It is my will, and I hereby give and bequeath to my daughter, Anna Lena Gimble, daughter of my first wife Lizzy, The sum of fifty ($50.00) dollars, to be paid to her at the time of final settlement of my estate.”
There was no doubt that the Lizzy was a reference to Anna Elizabeth (Trautvetter) as Anna Lena (Herzog) Gimble was born after the Trautvetter-Herzog marriage and before Anna’s death.
I had wondered if he had also been married before he married Anna Elizabeth. The reference to her as his first wife seems to eliminate that theory. I’m now wondering though if there is any significance to “first wife” other than to clarify who Anna Lena Gimbel’s mother is.
Whether Henry’s will meets the criteria of “exhaustive search” on Elizabeth is a matter of debate. However, in my personal opinion, research on any ancestor is not complete until all their spouses have been completely researched. One never knows what might be found in the record of an individual that references a former spouse.
Henry could have had other children with Lizzy. Just because the will does not mention them does not mean that they do not exist.
The probate packet for the estate settlement of Henry should be referenced to see if a list of heirs are included.
The reference to Anna Gimble does mean that she was married as of the date Henry wrote his will: 4 December 1895, not the date his will was filed in court.
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