Michael John Neill's Genealogy Website
I’m looking forward to returning to Southern California for the Southern California Genealogical Society’s Genealogy Jamboree. I’ll be giving three lectures at this annual genealogy extravaganza: Reconstructing Families in pre-1850 Census Records Abraham’s Not There in 1840. How Ohio Land Records Explained a Missing Census Enumeration Restacking the Blocks: Organizing Your Information If you’ll be at Jamboree, […]
A few thoughts on missing female ancestors. These are not comprehensive and may apply to difficult male ancestors as well. Never assume your female ancestor did not marry again after her husband died. The less well-set and younger your female ancestor was when her husband died, the more likely she was to marry again. It’s […]
The spelling of names and the name to use for an ancestor can be a confusing business. People whose names were from a foreign language, who used variant spellings, or who used diminutives based upon their name compound the issue. It is even worse when an individual does all three. I was told by another researcher […]
I’ve redacted the identifying information from this “facts” posting in a tree at Ancestry.com. The frustrating thing is that there are errors in this tree. Not just dates or locations slightly off, but a child the person did not have. There is also a place of birth on the wrong side of the ocean, a marriage and […]
A question about “leaps of genealogical faith” was posted by a colleague on their Facebook wall, so I thought I’d post my expanded comment here. I’m not one to take leaps of faith in general, so I’m approaching this question from that perspective. I’m not even exactly certain what “leaps of genealogical faith” means, although I […]
