Getting better at genealogical research involves many different skills. One important skill is learning how to find relationships when no document states the relationship. Cluster Research is a research technique that can overcome this problem. The early years of research are filled with the “low hanging” fruit of easily found census and other online records. […]
You are browsing archives for
Category: Evaluating Evidence
I Found You, Mary Neal: Analysis Uncover...
We all have those lines that seem to withstand all of our greatest efforts to uncover. My maternal g-grandfather Walter Springer’s line is the one for me. I know the names of his parents: Lou (or Ludi) and George Springer. But I have only ever found Lou Springer, widowed, on the 1900 census. That is […]
Marriage Records: Look Out for Multiple ...
Marriage records are a foundational record for genealogists. I have discussed many times how finding a female ancestor’s new married name led to breakthroughs. Most of us automatically think of that when we suddenly “lose” woman. What hasn’t come naturally for me yet is anticipating multiple marriages. Maybe two marriages is the maximum my mind […]
Is The Wife Really The Mother Of All Tho...
I once heard a lecturer say that up to 60% of the time, people are researching the wrong woman as mother of the children. This example shows the need to prove the father’s relationship to a child separately from the mother’s relationship to the child. What does that mean? London Matthews Here’s the Freedman’s Bank […]
Why We Need To Cite Our Sources
Sometimes it can seem as if there is a civil war going on in the genealogical community. After we start researching our families, at some point we hear about the necessity of source citations. Once we figure out exactly what they are, some of us think, “That looks complicated. I don’t have time to do […]
Shaky Leaves and the Importance of Thoro...
We’ve all seen those shaky leaves on Ancestry. For a long time, I never clicked on them. But last year I found some treasures hidden within the hints, so now I periodically investigate all those shaky leaves. Earlier this week, I found a leaf for Syvoid Holt, a collateral ancestor. The leaf linked to an […]
Formulating Research Questions
Following a repeatable process to guide our genealogy research can make all the difference in how successful our we are. The always-waiting alternative is burial among all the papers and files that accumulate over the years.Nobody wants that. There are so many things I wish I could whisper to my 1997 self when I first set out on this […]
Analyzing and Correlating Records
We have to continue pushing ourselves to improve our research skills. As beginners, we often look up our family names in search boxes and indexes. We quickly find the “low-hanging” fruit. It’s what the Genealogy Gods use to suck you into this hobby;) The tough stuff comes when the records relevant to your family have […]
The 1880 Donut Hole
I call the twenty-year gulf between the 1880 census and the 1900 census “the donut hole.” I’m not the first and sure won’t be the last to lose relatives on either side of it. A disastrous fire destroyed a large percentage of the 1890 census. People don’t often realize that portions of that 1890 census […]
Do You Have an Artificial Brick Wall?
My friend Aaron calls them artificial brick walls. They can also be called self-imposed brick walls. We say this to mean we have labelled something a brick wall that really isn’t a brick wall. We call them that even though we haven’t done our due diligence in terms of careful research. Consider these examples: Insufficient Research We […]