In Ancestry.com‘s “Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011,” the Social Security numbers have been “removed” from the images of the death certificates. I’m not certain this really helps cut down on fraud, but that’s a topic for another post. What is irritating is that in some cases the “removal” makes the remaining information difficult to see. The […]

We’ve converted my AncestryDNA class into a series of presentations–no “online attendance.” Download and view at your convenience. More details on our announcement page–take advantage of our introductory rate.

I struggle with terms and definitions. In this blog post, I muse on “statements.” This is not meant to be an edict, but rather an attempt on my part to work through terminology and definitions in order to make my work as accurate, clear, and consistent, as possible. I’ve only reviewed this blog post twice–so […]

I’ve written about this trunk before and have actually had it for over ten years. It’s not a new acquisition, but I decided to revisit it after Genealogy Tip of the Day readers suggested it. The trunk belonged to Altje Goldenstein and is likely the trunk she had with her when she immigrated to the United States […]

While working on something totally unrelated, I realized that I did not have the 1880 agricultural census schedule for my ancestor, John H. Ufkes, on his farm in Hancock County, Illinois.The farm is still owned by a relative and is farmed by my father and brother and I was interested in seeing what was said […]

We’re excited to offer this new session on 6 November 2018! Check out the details on our announcement page.

Homestead records can contain many clues. Like most records, the “best clues” are often the ones that are not blatantly stated. Such is the case with the homestead application for Harm A. Fecht. In his “Final Proof” made out on 19 January 1895, Harm A. Fecht stated that he lived on his homestead with his […]

An earlier post (“Aunt Caty Warned Out of Addison in 1814“) mentioned a “warning out” a relative received in Addison, Vermont, in 1814. Like many records, there’s a little more here than just what is on the surface. The “warning out” didn’t mean that Aunt Caty was drug out of town in January of 1814 […]

In February of 1814, Caty Roe was “warned out of Addison, Vermont, and told to “Depart Said Town.” The order to ask her to leave was dated 14 January 1814 and signed by Addison’s selectmen Gideon Spencer, Levi Hanks, and William Picket. William Whitford, Constable, attempted to serve notice on Caty. Except she wasn’t home […]

Sometimes there simply are no contemporary records of an event. A researcher can cry, whine, beg on the internet for “help” to the end of time and it simply won’t matter. Some locations have no civil records during the time period of interest. Some people leave behind no probate record which can be used to […]