Week of January 14-20, 2010
The WAR OF 1812 was fought between the U.S. and Great Britain from June 1812 to spring 1815. This conflict involved about 60,000 U.S. Army forces and 470,000 militia and volunteer troops. Amazingly, only 2,000 of them were killed. “War Hawks” came mostly from the Western and Southern states, while New England generally opposed going to war.
If your ancestor was born between 1762-1799, search indexed and microfilmed military service files at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) site (http://www.archives.gov/). FamilySearch.org has a microfilmed index plus records for Mississippi. Ancestry.com offers a service records database that’s essentially an index listing just the soldier’s name, company and rank. Pension applications are available only from NARA. If your ancestor served in the multiple Indian wars from 1815-1858, check the microfilmed indexes to these records at NARA where actual records are on microfilm. Other resources:
- www.militaryheritage.com/1812.htm
- www.galafilm.com/1812
- http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/mil/usa/1812/
- http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/military/1812/soldiers-by-unit.html (soldiers listed by unit)
If your ancestor was born between 1796-1831, search indexed and microfilmed military service files at NARA and FamilySearch.org. The actual compiled service records are microfilmed only for Arkansas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas, plus a special Mormon Battalion.
Congress didn’t authorize pensions for Mexican War veterans until 1887, but these application files include some genealogical treasures: Applicants had to supply wife’s maiden name, names of any former wives (with death or divorce data) and names/birth dates of living children. The applications, which were accepted until 1926, are indexed on microfilm at NARA where you’ll have to go to request actual files. Other resources:
- www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar
- http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/mil/usa/mex.shtml
- http://www.dmwv.org/mwvets/vgindex.htm (click “Online Rosters” for soldier lists)
If records you need aren’t online or microfilmed, search for paper records and request copies through NARA’s Order Online System (this service is NOT free). Here’s how:
1. Go to https://eservices.archives.gov/orderonline/start.swe?SWECmd=Start&SWEHo=eservices.archives.gov. Log in or click “New User” to register. Then go back to the home page and click “Order Reproductions”.
2. Under Record Reproductions select “Military Service & Pension Records”.
3. From the list of records select the record you want.
4. Note the estimated fee and wait time. For more information or (free) sample records, click the items under “Item Details”. Then select “Add to Cart”.
5. Fill in what you know about your ancestor. (If you let the system idle too long, you’ll get kicked out. If you must pause, click “Save and Finish Later”.) Click “Continue to Pay and Ship” (at the bottom) to enter your address and credit card information.
Perfect practice makes perfect: For best results at NARA, gather as much information as you can about your soldier before going online: Full name (including middle name, alternate spellings, etc.), year of birth/death, place of birth/death, war he served in and state from which he served.
Week of February 18-24, 2010
If your ancestor was born between 1811-1848, look for records from the Civil War (1861-1865). While Union soldiers left more extensive records, having fought on the winning side, what you’ll find about Confederate soldiers may surprise you. Confederate service records that were captured/surrendered ended up in Washington where the War Department eventually compiled files similar to those on Union troops.
LESSON 9.3: ARM YOURSELF AT THESE CIVIL WAR ARSENALS
Whether your ancestor served in blue or gray, use these resources to search for records:
- The Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System (CWSS) should be your first stop. Click on “Soldiers” and fill in as many blanks as you can. Key data you’ll learn will include your ancestor’s unit/state, side served, initial/final rank and regiment/company. (Note: Those who served in different units are listed more than once.
- Every soldier had a Compiled Military Service Record (CMSR). The CMSR, with contents compiled from original muster rolls and other records, contains cards recording whether the soldier was present during a period of time, facts of enlistment/discharge and any wounds/hospitalization. Place of birth may be noted, though only the country is listed for foreign-born men. May also include an internal jacket of “personal papers” such as enlistment documents and any POW records.
- If your ancestor fought for the Union it’s likely he, his widow or minor children applied for a pension. Pension files often contain richer data than the CMSR, including a medical history if he lived for a number of years after the war. Widows had to supply evidence of marriage and applicants on behalf of minor children had to prove their birth and the soldier’s marriage. Union pension records are indexed on NARAs General Index to Pension Files (microfilm roll T288). Search the index at http://www.ancestry.com/ or use or visit your library where the Library Edition is available for free. Actual pension files can be requested from NARAs Order Online Service or by mail using NATF Form 85. Ask for copies of all documents in the file or you’ll get only selected pages. If you order online, you can choose the Pension Documents Packet or the Complete File. The former Confederate states also granted pensions for their veterans, but application records aren’t centralized. Look for online indexes at state archive web sites.
- Not all Union soldiers were volunteers. In 1863 Congress enacted the nation’s first military draft. Draft records, which are not microfilmed, are in NARA Record Group 110. Consolidated lists show each man’s name, residence, age, occupation, marital status, place of birth and any previous military service.
- Part of the 1890 Census of Union Veterans and Widows survived the fire that destroyed the rest of the 1890 enumeration. If your ancestor lived in DC or one of the states alphabetically from Kentucky-Wyoming, you’re in luck. The 1910 Census also asked whether a person was a survivor of the Union Army (UA)/Navy (UN) or Confederate Army (CA)/Navy (CN).
- After the war, many Union veterans joined organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). Union officers formed the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Union hereditary groups include the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Confederate veterans established the United Confederate Veterans. Confederate hereditary groups include Sons of Confederate Veterans and United Daughters of the Confederacy.
- If you think your Civil War ancestor is buried in a government cemetery, search at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Gravesite Locator. This site indexes burial locations of veterans and their families in VA national cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries and other military Department of Interior cemeteries.
Week of March 18-24, 2010
The enslavement of Africans in the Americas grew from a demand for labor, driven by consumers of plantation produce and precious metals. Because Amerindians died in large numbers, and insufficient numbers of Europeans were prepared to cross the Atlantic, the form this demand took was shaped by conceptions of social identity on four continents, which ensured the labor would comprise mainly slaves from Africa.
The central question of which peoples from Africa went to a given region of the Americas cannot be answered without an understanding of the wind and ocean currents of the Atlantic Ocean. This topic, and others related to the trans-Atlantic slave trade between the 16th and 17th centuries, can be researched at http://www.slavevoyages.org/, where you’ll also find a database identifying over 67,000 Africans aboard slave ships.
LESSON 10: START YOUR RESEARCH WHEN SLAVERY ENDED
You will follow the same steps as any research project with this difference: you’ll need to study both the slave and owner families because they were bound together as a community and family unit: their children played together, black women cared for white children and the owners and slaves sometimes worked side by side.
More importantly, as a valued asset, slaves could be bequeathed to a family member, loaned out, given away as gifts to children or sold to liquidate an estate. Hence, it may be possible to trace a particular slave through wills, probate files, inventories, account books, deeds, tax records and manumission papers which documented a slave’s freedom when it was granted or bought. Most property-related records are in county courthouses, local libraries, historical societies and state archives.
Start your research by tracing your ancestor back to 1865 when slavery ended. Try to learn his name and where he settled at that time. You may already know slaves didn’t have last names: While taking the master’s surname was common, and is a good place to start (especially if it was unusual), don’t assume this was true in all cases.
Examine white families living in the same enumeration district as your ancestor. Ask yourself these questions:
- Did they live near your ancestor?
- Can you find them in the 1860 census? 1850?
- Are they listed as slave owners on the 1850 or 1860 Supplemental Slave Schedules?
Perfect practice makes perfect: Researching slave ancestors presents special challenges because their names are not recorded in prominent places. You will often need to make “educated” guesses that lead to dead ends, so it’s important to keep track of your sources for times when you must retrace your steps.
Week of April 22-28, 2010
Signed into law by President Lincoln in May 1862, the Homestead Act has been called the most important act for the welfare of the people ever passed in the U.S. It encouraged western migration by providing that any citizen or intended citizen, 21 years of age, could have 160 acres of surveyed government land by paying $18.00 in fees and living on the land for 5 years.
Settlers from all walks of life came to meet the requirements. Anyone who had never taken up arms against the U.S. government ... including single women, freed slaves and immigrants … could file an application.
People interested in homesteading filed their intentions at the nearest Land Office and, after a check for any ownership claims, paid a filing fee of $10.00 to claim the land temporarily plus a $2.00 commission to the land agent. They were also required to live on the land, build a home, make improvements and farm the land for 5 years before they could own it outright. Alternatively, an impatient homesteader could purchase the land for $1.25/acre after having lived on the land for six months.
When all requirements were completed, and the homesteader was ready the take legal possession, he found two people willing to vouch for the truthfulness of his statements regarding land improvements and signed the "proof" document. After completing this form and paying $6.00, the homesteader received the patent for the land, signed by the current President. This paper was often proudly displayed on a wall and represented the culmination of hard work and determination!
LESSON 11: WESTWARD HO!
- An estimated 2 million homestead case files are located in the National Archives & Records Administration (NARA) in Washington. This amounts to about 30 million pieces of paper ranging from the original claim, to various documents that demonstrated the improvements, to the final decree. The files are rich in historical, social, demographic, agricultural and genealogical information … a gold mine for genealogists.
- In an effort to preserve and provide wider access to the information in the records, Homestead National Monument of America (in Beatrice, NB) and University of Nebraska–Lincoln, contracted with NARA to microfilm the Broken Bow Land Office records (1890-1908) and created an online index to their records. Search the index at http://cdrh.unl.edu/homestead/.
- Record indexes for most of public land states east of the Mississippi are available on CD. In addition to the particulars of each claim, the CDs contain the necessary reference numbers you can use to get copies of the actual records. For further information, contact: Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States, Attn: Public Services Section, 7450 Boston Blvd., Springfield VA 22153.
- An excellent list of resource sites for Land Records, Homesteads, Deeds, etc. can be found at www.cyndislist.com/land.
- The Homestead Act shouldn’t be confused with “land rushes”, where previously-restricted land was opened for homesteading on a first-arrival basis. There were 7 land rushes in Oklahoma between 1889-1895 … the most well-known being the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889 (depicted in the movie “Far and Away”).
Week of May 13-19, 2010
More than 4 million people claimed Native American ancestry in the 2000 census. However, not everyone with Indian heritage has enough “Indian blood” for tribal membership and not all tribal members live on reservations. This makes for a challenging search.
Fortunately, there are many resources at your disposal. But unless you have a large collection of facts on your Indian ancestor, including names, dates and tribe, it is usually not helpful to begin your search in Indian records. First learn everything you can about your parents, grandparents and more distant ancestors including ancestral names, dates of birth/marriages/death and the places where your ancestors were born/married/died.
Your next goal is to establish and document the relationships of Indian ancestors and to identify the tribe with which they may have been affiliated. If you're having trouble finding your ancestor's tribal affiliation, study the localities where they were born and lived. Comparing this with tribes that historically resided in those areas may help you narrow down the possibilities. Federally-recognized Indian tribes are listed at www.indians.org/Resource/FedTribes99/fedtribes99.html.
LESSON 12: SEARCHING TRIBAL RECORDS
- 1818 Chickasaw Census – The first known attempt at a complete census of the Chickasaw Nation.
- 1830 Armstrong Rolls – The location of Reservations under The Choctaw Treaty of the 27th of September, 1830.
- 1832 Creek Indian Census
- 1851 Old Settlers Roll – Lists Cherokees who moved to Indian Territory in Oklahoma prior to December 1835. Covers about 1/3 of the Cherokee present in the area in 1851.
- 1860 Census of Indian Lands West of Arkansas – Index to the 1860 census covering the Indian Lands west of Arkansas (now in Oklahoma).
- 1860-1890 Censuses – Identified Indians who didn’t live in reservations with an “I” or “IN” in the color column. Read more at www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2006/summer/indian-census.html.
- 1867 Kern-Clifton Roll of Cherokee Freedman
- 1880 Cherokee Census
- 1890 Wallace Roll of Cherokee Freedmen in Indian Territory
- 1896 Citizenship Applications – People who applied for enrollment in the Five Civilized Tribes under the Act of 1896.
- 1898-1914 Dawes Commission Rolls – Listed over 101,000 members of the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole).
- 1900 & 1910 Censuses – Included special schedules of Indians on reservations, called “Inquiries Relating to Indians”, with spaces for recording tribal affiliation, degree of Indian blood and more.
- 1906 Guion Miller Roll Index – Included persons applying for compensation arising from the judgment of the U.S. Court of Claims for the Eastern Cherokee tribe.
- 1908 Durant Roll – Counted the Chippewa and Ottawa tribes of Michigan
- 1910-1939 Indian School Censuses – Included names of children aged 6-18, sex, tribe, degree of Indian blood and parent/guardian (often including mother’s maiden name).
- 1924 Baker Roll – Final roll of the Eastern Cherokee, prepared pursuant to an act of the 68th Congress on June 4, 1924.
- 1954 Proposed Ute Rolls – Full and mixed blood rolls of the Ute Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah.
Week of June 10-16, 2010
The concept of mail-order brides was first seen on the American frontier during the mid-1800s. The huge emigration of men to the Western U.S. resulted in a disproportionate ratio of men to women in such places as Washington, Arizona and especially California during the Gold Rush. While most men found financial success out west, they missed the company of a wife.
Back east, for women who were not of the privileged classes, finding a husband could be difficult particularly after the Civil War when thousands of young men died in battle and thousands more moved west. To make ends meet, many went into domestic service or nursing at an early age and were unable to take part in the courtship rituals allowed middle and upper class. Ingenuity and perseverance were needed to find a worthy mate if the most desirable qualifications – money and social standing – were not in abundance.
LESSON 13: HERE COME THE BRIDES
It was unusual for women to travel alone, so if you find records of a female ancestor traveling east to west without a male companion around the Civil War period it could have been to meet a prospective spouse. But how did they find each other?
- Matrimonial News – Men wrote letters to churches and advertised in publications such as “San Francisco-based Matrimonial News”, a newspaper that promoted honorable matrimonial engagements and true conjugal facilities for men and women. In spite of the occasional mismatch or short-lived union, historians believe that mail-order brides produced a high percentage of permanent marriages. The reason cited is that the advertisements were candid and direct in their explanations of exactly what was wanted and expected from a prospective spouse. If requested, the parties sent accurate photos of themselves along with a page of background information. Often, when the pair met, the groom-to-be signed an agreement, witnessed by three upstanding members of the territory, not to abuse or mistreat the bride-to-be. The prospective bride then signed a paper (also witnessed) not to nag or try to change the intended! Go to: www.trailend.org/wed-expectations.htm.
- Mercer Girls – Toward the end of the Civil War, women from Massachusetts were encouraged to move west. About the same time, Asa Mercer of Seattle, WA began recruiting young women by advertising for schoolmarms (though everyone knew marriage was one of the draws due to a shortage of eligible men back east). The “Mercer Girls” paid their own passage of $250 which provided transportation and lodging. When they arrived in the territories, they were put up by families who were glad to have young women as teachers and citizens. Though few in number, the Mercer Girls are well-documented and were depicted in the TV series Here Come the Brides. Go to: http://www.mercergirls.com/.
- Busy Bee Club – Distressed by shootouts over eligible Black females, six Tucson, AZ wives formed the “Busy Bee Club” in 1885 to arrange mail-order brides for young Black miners by contacting Black churches and newspapers in the east.
- Good Reads – “Hearts West: True Stories of Mail-Order Brides on the Frontier”; “I Do! Courtship, love, and marriage on the American Frontier”; “Black Women of the Old West”.
Week of July 21-28, 2010
Many of our female ancestors played multiple roles in their families: wife, mother, financial manager, teacher, disciplinarian, even breadwinner. They also served their communities through church groups and women’s clubs. Why, then, is it so difficult to trace women in genealogical records?
Prior to the 20th century, most historical records were created for and about men. Property was usually listed under the man’s name, and men ran businesses and government. Meanwhile, a woman typically changed her name each time she married and, of course, children carried men’s surnames to the next generation.
Since no record set focuses on women, researching them in genealogical documents is more about strategy than anything else.
LESSON 14: REMEMBER THE LADIES
Study Her Name – List the full name (maiden and married) of the woman you’re seeking, noting all nicknames and variations you can think of. Pay attention to an unusual given and middle name which could indicate she was named after a forebear. Don’t be thrown off by middle initials: After marriage, women often used the first initial of their maiden name in place of their given middle name (i.e. Mary Jane Smith to Mary S. Jones).
Naming traditions also may provide clues: Some cultures name the first daughter after her mother’s mother, the second daughter after her father’s mother, and the third daughter after her mother.
Explore Records – Begin with a chronological list of life and historical events that may have generated records:
- Weddings mean license applications, marriage certificates, marriage banns and bonds in church records. Children may have birth and baptismal certificates. Death certificates and tombstones may bear maiden names. Also note social or religious groups or societies a woman might’ve belonged to.
- Old newspapers may contain obituaries or wedding announcements.
- Search every census during her lifetime. If you notice from censuses that most of her children were born in one county, start your marriage records search there. Look for relatives, as young couples sometimes lived with parents. In her later years, a woman may be living with one of her children.
- Often a different name for a wife on census and other records will clue you in to a change in marital relations. But it also could be the same woman going by a middle name or nickname. Don’t rush to judgment!
- Until 1922 wives were sometimes listed on their husband’s naturalization records. After that, you can find separate records for married women.
- A woman could file for a military pension when her husband or unmarried son died of war-related injuries. Widows had to send marriage records to assure the government if wouldn’t end up paying more than one pension on the same man. NARA has pension records for soldiers from 1775-1916.
Good Reads – “The Hidden Half of the Family: A Sourcebook for Women’s Genealogy” and “A genealogist’s Guide to Discovering Your Female Ancestors”.
Perfect practice makes perfect: Never underestimate a visit to a library in the area where your ancestors lived to browse their genealogical resources. If you can’t go in person, but have an idea of what you’re looking for; try a search at http://www.archive.org/ or http://books.google.com/.
Week of August 26-September 1, 2010
The Coat of Arms originated as a need to distinguish participants in combat when their faces were hidden by iron and steel helmets. As its use in jousting became obsolete, arms remained popular for visually identifying a person in other ways and were first used as a hereditary device in England in the mid-twelfth century.
It’s the hereditary aspect of arms that makes them useful to the genealogist. Each one belongs to a particular family and no two families are allowed to bear the same arms. Many people, mostly Americans, wrongly believe that every family was once issued a coat of arms and then everyone born with that family name is automatically entitled to use it.
LESSON 15: IT'S TIME TO CORRECT THE MYTH!
- Coats of arms are NEVER issued to families; they are issued to individuals. Arms are granted by the King of Arms in England and Ireland, while the court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms grants that right in Scotland. They are issued by heralds and there are different heralds in each country in the United Kingdom and Europe. Granting isn’t automatic … each person must apply.
- When a man is entitled to display arms, his sons may apply for their own. Sons are usually granted arms that are very similar to their father’s but changed slightly to add some small detail showing this is the shield of their particular family branch. If a man has multiple sons, each applies for his own coat of arms with slight differences. This use of slightly modified arms is called “differenced arms”.
- When the father dies, the eldest son may apply to use the exact coat of arms that his father used. Once granted, he stops using his differenced arms. His younger brothers continue to use their differenced arms. Permission to use a deceased father’s coat of arms is not automatic.
- There have been instances where women have inherited a coat of arms. However, a woman cannot pass them along to her children unless she has no brothers. In that case, the woman is considered to be the “heraldic heiress” to the coat of arms and may pass it along to her children.
- The U.S. has never accepted the concept of nobility and has no officially-recognized heralds. Several American organizations claim to be able to issue coats of arms, but any such arms issued by an American organization have to be considered “unofficial”. Americans who wish to obtain legitimate coats of arms apply first in the name of a foreign-born ancestor with the heralds in the country where that ancestor lived. The American descendant may then apply to use the ancestor’s coat of arms as his “inherited right to arms.”
The wearing or display of arms is restricted in most countries that recognize the ownership of coats of arms. There are no such restrictions in the U.S. Thus, the sale (or use) of fraudulent family coats of arms is rarely stopped by authorities. Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraldry.
Perfect practice makes perfect: An ad for “your family’s coat of arms” is not worth the paper it’s printed on. Regardless of your last name, you should display a particular coat of arms only if: (1) you have applied to the heralds for permission to display the particular arms and (2) if such permission has been granted. Once that happens, you are the only person in the world authorized to display that coat of arms!
Week of September 16-22, 2010
If you have immigrant ancestors who didn’t become U.S. citizens before 1940, then you may find a search for Alien Registration Records worth your time. The Alien Registration Act of 1940 required all non-citizens, 14 years or older, to register at their local Post Office or INS office … now the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS).
A great deal of information of interest to genealogists was collected, including full names, date/place of birth, date/port of arrival in the U.S., whether the alien ever applied for citizenship, names of parents/spouse/children in the U.S. and much more!
Alien registration first occurred between 1917-1918, following the onset of World War I. More than 4 million alien residents were registered during the first year of the program. Unfortunately, many of these records have been destroyed over the years, but a number of scattered records are held in state archives and other repositories across the U.S.
For the WWII period 1940-1944, alien registration records were microfilmed by the USCIS for internal use. Copies can be obtained via an online request at https://genealogy.uscis.dhs.gov/. But prepared to be patient as they are currently working to fulfill requests made about four months ago.
LESSON 16: SEARCH FOR ALIENS
WWI Alien Registration files are scattered around the U.S. Existing files can often be found in state archives and similar repositories. Records for Kansas, Phoenix, Arizona and St. Paul, MN can be searched online. Other alien registration records are available in offline repositories, such as the 1918 Minnesota Alien Registration records at the Iron Range Research Center in Chisholm, MN. Between 1917-1918 the following information was generally collected:
- Full name (including maiden name)
- Current residence/length of residence
- Place of birth
- Spouse’s name/residence
- Children’s names/sex/birthdates
- Parents’ names (including mother’s maiden), birth date/place
- Siblings birth date/place and current residence
- Whether any male relatives serving in the military for/against U.S.
- Whether registered for selective draft
- Previous military or government service
- Date of immigration, name of vessel, port of arrival
- Whether naturalized in another country
- Whether reported/registered with a consul since June 1, 1914
- Whether applied for naturalization or took out first papers; if yes, when/where
- Whether ever taken an oath of allegiance other than to U.S.
- Whether ever arrested or detained on any charge
- Whether held a permit to enter a forbidden area
- Description of registrant/Photograph/Fingerprints/Signature
- Name/Name at time of entry to U.S./Other names used
- Date/place of birth
- Gender/Race/Citizenship/Nationality
- Height/Weight/Hair & Eye Color
- Address
- Marital status
- Date/port/vessel/class of admission of last arrival in U.S.
- Date of first arrival in U.S./Number of years in U.S.
- Usual occupation/present occupation
- Name/address/business of present employer
- Membership in clubs/organizations/societies
- Dates/nature of military or naval service
- Whether citizenship papers were filed; if so date/place/court
- Number of relatives living in U.S.
- Arrest record, including date/place/disposition
- Whether/not affiliated with a foreign government
- Signature/Fingerprint
GENEALOGIST OFFERS CLUES TO TRACKING DOWN HARD-TO-FIND ANCESTORS Week of October 21-27, 2010
You probably know more about an elusive ancestor than you think. Most likely you at least know their name, and based on that, their sex. You may know to whom they’re related ... which side of your family they come from. You may also have a general idea of where they lived, based on where that side of the family originated.
Elusive ancestors tend to fall into common categories such as those listed below. When you encounter one of them, refer to this list for suggested resources.
LESSON 17: TRACING ELUSIVE KIN
Black Sheep … the relative nobody wants to talk about!
- Census (Check Occupation Column)
- Coroner & Funeral Home Records
- Census Mortality Schedules (1850-1880)
- Court Records
- FBI, Prison & Institutional Records
- Marriage & Divorce Records
- Message Boards
- Newspapers & Obituaries
- City Directories
- Census Mortality Schedules (1850-1880)
- Soundex Indexes to 1880 & Later Censuses
- State & Territorial Censuses
- Tax Lists
- Censuses (Check Birthplace Column)
- City Directories
- Deeds & Land Records
- Migration & Boundary-Change Maps
- Social Histories
- Court Records
- Convent Records
- Marriage & Divorce Records
- Military Pension Files
- Naturalization Papers
- Newspaper Society Pages
- Records of Her Husband, Children & Siblings
- Alien Registrations
- Censuses (Check Birthplace & Language Columns)
- Church Records
- Emigration Lists
- Ethnic Newspapers
- Naturalization Papers
- Newspapers’ Ship Arrival Notices
- Passenger Arrival Lists
- Amended or Delayed Birth Certificates
- Apprenticeships
- Censuses
- Family Interviews
- Guardianships & Orphan Court Records
- Message Boards & Support Groups
- Newspaper Adoption Notices
- Orphan Train Records
- Orphanage Records
Week of November 18-24, 2010
It’s fun to imagine the settings in which our ancestors lived, but in eras where photographs are scarce it can be difficult to picture. Fortunately, the internet offers a great opportunity to tour places we might otherwise never see. Perhaps their home is long gone and a mere dot on the grid. But locating that dot will give you a sense of what their surroundings were like when they lived there.
LESSON 18: ON THE STREETS WHERE THEY LIVED
Addresses can appear in any number of genealogical sources … vital records, censuses, city directories and newspapers. If you have these documents, compile a list of addresses and the dates they lived there. Then look for these records to fill in the blanks:
- Address Books – If you have family address books, scan them for your ancestors. Birthday and holiday card lists are another good source.
- Photos – Until flash bulbs became common in the 1920s, low lighting prevented most amateurs from shooting indoors. Old outdoor snapshots will often an ancestors home in the background. (Perhaps there’s something written on the back to give you a clue as to its location!) Also search web sites of local libraries, historical societies and chambers of commerce for street scenes … if you know the street where your ancestor lived, you might spot their house in the background!
- Vital Records – Birth, marriage and death records contain street addresses of parents, newlyweds and the deceased (ref. Lesson 3: How to Find Vital Records).
- Censuses – Some U.S. censuses show the street name and numbers on the left side of the page. From 1890-1930 they also reported whether a person owned his property and if it was mortgaged (ref. Lesson 4: Making Sense of the Census).
- Newspapers – Obituaries from the late 19th and 20th centuries often included the address of the deceased. In the same time frame, marriage notices reported where the newlyweds would live and where their parents resided … especially for affluent families. Newspaper real estate sections also reveal who sold what property to whom.
- Directories – Similar to telephone books, city directories were more likely to exist for urban than rural areas. Libraries and historical societies often have them in print or on microfilm. Through your local library, you might be able to borrow microfilm through inter-library loan.
- Atlases – The 19th and 20th century Beers Atlases, which generally covered the Eastern U.S. have dots signifying houses, with names beside them. Some are available in electronic format from publishers like http://www.piperpublishing.com/. Also check for printed atlases at local libraries and historical societies. Or search the internet on the place name and “historical atlas”.
Perfect practice makes perfect: If you’re having trouble locating an ancestor’s address, Paula Warren offers some solutions in her article, Why Can’t I find or Recognize My Ancestral Homes? at http://learn.ancestry.com/LearnMore/Article.aspx?id=11838. Also read Tracking Their Every Move by Laura Prescott at http://learn.ancestry.com/LearnMore/Article.aspx?id=12866. Both can be accessed for FREE.
Week of December 16~22, 2010
If you’re fairly certain that an ancestor lived in a particular area but are having no luck finding them in records, it’s time to think out of the box. Searching for alternate spellings of surnames is always important in genealogy, but you may need to go beyond looking only for the traditional alternatives.
Our immigrant ancestors often changed the spelling of their surname in an effort to “Americanize” and fit in with their new community or as the result of dealing with a new language. Simplifying a name (rather than having to constantly explain how it's spelled) was also the reason for change.
Even if you think your ancestor’s surname was always spelled a certain way, surnames were often accidentally misspelled in records: clerks and transcribers may have copied the name incorrectly from faded original documents or from handwriting too difficult to decipher.
In 1918, Robert Russell obtained a patent on a method for indexing based on the way a name was “pronounced”, rather than how it was spelled. He did this by coding 8 phonetic sound types with a few additional rules. Together with Margaret Odell, he obtained a second patent in 1922 with some variations and sold it to various commercial and governmental organizations. In the 1930s, it was taken up in a modified form by the Social Security Administration under a work creation scheme to extract certain data from the U.S. Census and to index its records. “Soundex” has also been used for immigration records and, more recently, for indexing, search engines and spell-checkers.
LESSON 19: MAKING SENSE OF SOUNDEX
A Soundex search codes together surnames that sound similar phonetically but have different spellings. For example, searching for Johnson in a database with a Soundex option will bring results that include Johnson, Johnsson, Johnsen and more.
It's not a good idea to begin a database search with a Soundex option as you will receive many more results than from a non-Soundex search. A Soundex search is best after being unsuccessful in a first search (or if you’re unsure how to spell a name). It provides a wider reach and better chance of finding an elusive ancestor.
http://www.familysearch.org/ (the FREE Mormon database) automatically does a Soundex search unless you check the "Use Exact Spelling" box. Try searching with and without the box checked to compare results.
http://www.ancestry.com/ (a paid site) also provides a Soundex option. As with most databases, you must check the Soundex box to receive a Soundex search. Again, try searching both ways.
Be creative when identifying alternate surname spelling for your family, and don’t be afraid to try the odd or unexpected. Also try pronouncing names the way your immigrant ancestors might have. The new alternate spelling you create may be the key to finding a missing person!
Go to http://resources.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/soundexconverter to generate a Soundex code and see other surnames sharing the same code.
Perfect practice makes perfect: Keep a list of where you found alternate spellings you’ve discovered throughout your research. This will help you to easily find records if you need to revisit a source.
