An Attempt at Well-Written Queries

[reprinted from our oldĀ Rootdig.com blog on 8 November 2014]

As a followup to “Before You Post that Genealogy Query,” I’ve posted some sample queries that may not be great are a good start to getting the answers you want.

Note: Queries with the last name of Smith are fiction. The others are not. Never hurts to get the word out on my own problems (grin!).

—————————————————

Elizabeth Chaney was born in 1804 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, probably in Southampton Township. Her father was Thomas Chaney who settled in Bedford County in the late 1700s and died there in the early 1850s, probably in Southampton Township. Elizabeth married James Rampley in Coshocton County, Ohio, in 1830 and died in Hancock County, Illinois, in 1883 where her family settled in the 1840s. Looking for the name of her mother. Death records in Illinois provide no further information. Thanks.

—————————————————

Looking for the ship manifest entry for Altje Goldenstein who was born in Germany in 1848 and married in Adams County, Illinois, to Hinrich Schuster on 28 August 1870. Her date of immigration is unknown, but in the 1900 census she and Henry both indicated they arrived in 1870. I have searched on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch for every port they have records for, but may have overlooked an alternate spelling. Thanks.

—————————————————

Looking for a newspaper obituary for a John Smith who died in Minooka, Illinois, on 4 April 1932. I am unfamiliar with the area and need suggestions for what newspapers may have been likely to run an obituary for someone who died in this location. Any help appreciated.

—————————————————

Looking for the burial place of Thomas Smith who died in Smith County, Indiana, in the 1870s. He was living with an address of Milltown, Indiana, as of 1868. I have personally visited the Presbyterian Cemetery, Mill Road Cemetery, and Township Cemetery. Are there other cemeteries in the area that I should search or have someone search for me? Thanks.

—————————————————

Trying to find the place of birth for Annie (Murphy) Neill who died in 1895 in St. Albans Township, Hancock County, Illinois. She and husband Samuel Neill are buried in the West Point Cemetery. Annie’s death certificte and obituary only indicate she was born in Ireland. She married Samuel Neill in St. John, New Brunswick Canada in 1864. Samuel’s Irish origins are known and Annie does not appear on the same ship manifest as Samuel and it is believed that she and Samuel arrived in Canada separately. Annie does not appear to have been related to any of the other Murphy families that were living in St. Albans Township where the Neills settled. Any help appreciated.
—————————————————

Feel free to post your own well-written queries in our comments….

Share

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.