Month: November 2017

Record Pitfalls: Witnesses

Witnesses to a document can confuse some genealogists. Witnesses are simply saying that they saw the individual who was actually signing (and executing) the document sign the document and that the person signing the document was the person they were purporting to be and that they were able to execute such a document. Witnesses usually […]

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Record Pitfalls: Wills

This will be the first in a series of relatively short posts on pitfalls and things to watch for in specific types of records. Remember that any record can contain an error anywhere due to oversight, human error, or individuals who give “creative answers.”  These comments are suggestive–not exhaustive. Ancestral wills, while a valuable source, […]

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That Chance We Share No DNA

[note: this post has been corrected on 22 November 2017] DNA analysis is often about the numbers. When I reviewed my DNA matches one of the first surprises I made was another descendant of Erasmus and Anna Catharina (Groß) Trautvetter. These are not a set of recent ancestors. Erasmus and Anna Catharina were married in […]

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A Grave Citation Mistake

I believe in citation of sources. But there’s a problem with the citation that is currently being auto-generated by Find A Grave. It’s not in the format, the syntax, or the grammar. It’s in what is “cited.” The cemetery is being cited in the auto-generated Find A Grave citation as having the “original” (after the Memorial number […]

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GedMatch Tier 1 Webinar Regstrations Ending on 17 November

GedMatch is a great site to get more from your DNA test results. Registrations and pre-orders of downloads are ending on 17 November for our upcoming GedMatch Tier webinar on 19 November. Our announcement page has more details on this upcoming presentation and our already recorded GedMatch webinar which can be ordered for immediate download.

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My First Genealogy Confusion

I’m helping a cousin with her Daughters of the American Revolution application for our mutual ancestor. This cousin and I have a lot of mutual ancestors who came from the eastern United States and Germany to settle in Hancock County, Illinois. That’s where both of us were born and raised. I don’t remember this cousin […]

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