Everyone has people they cannot find in various census records. I have them as well. Ira Sargent (or William Ira Sargent) in 1870. This Canada native cannot be found in the 1870 census. He should be in the United States. Based upon what I know about him he should be in Iowa, Missouri, or Illinois. […]

It is always good to contemplate who could haves slipped through the cracks in the records that have been located and used. Henry and Barbara Trautvetter’s known children were named in a 1870-era estate settlement for Henry’s brother in Hancock County, Illinois. The brother had no children and Henry was one of his heirs under […]

In a word: no. First of all, “proof” in the genealogical sense is the coalescence of all the information relevant to the determination of an answer to a question, the analysis of that information (generally the determination of its reliability), and the synthesis of the information and analysis into a clear and coherent argument. Membership […]

After much thought, I’ve requested removal of my DNA test kit from the FamilyTreeDNA site. The lack of transparency on the part of FamilyTreeDNA has weighed heavy in my decision. As Bennett Greenspan (President of FamilyTreeDNA) indicated in his statement, the Terms of Service of FamilyTreeDNA in regards to law enforcement were changed in December […]

This started out in an attempt to find Minerva Strobel in the 1870 census. It is worth noting that Gwendolyn provided the information for the Oliphant household and that Harry is listed as absent (the “ab” to the right of his name). At this point, I was not certain why Minerva was living with the […]