I’ve discussed deeds in this blog before and why they should be a cornerstone record in researching the lives of your ancestors. In this post, I show how using deeds connected a family from the 1850s through the mid-twentieth century. Levin Waters Levin Waters and other ancestors lived in Somerset County, Maryland in a little community called […]
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Category: Posts 2014-2019
The Ku Klux Klan Hearings
In 1871, the U.S. Government held hearings on the rampant violence in the South by the Ku Klux Klan and other white terrorist organizations. The official name of these records is the “Report of the Joint Select Committee Appointed to Inquire Into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States.” However, they are often referred […]
Thomas S. Sudler Account Book
I’ve written before about the information that can be found in what I call Community Papers. These Papers include account books, diaries, ledgers, loose papers, family records, etc. These are the papers of (usually) prominent men and families. They might be large slaveholders, doctors, merchants or lawyers. Almost every library and archives has these kinds of […]
Perry Simpson Found in Freedmen’s Bureau
I found the proverbial needle in a haystack when I found my 4th great-grandfather, Perry Simpson, in Freedmen’s Bureau records. I have searched in thousands of pages of these records through the years and that is no exaggeration. Perry Simpson’s Complaint I found his name in a Register of Letters Received in the Field Office […]
DNA Bombshell: John Smith Origins Uncove...
This story is several months old. I had to let the emotions subside to think clearly enough for a post. I was aware of the amazing discoveries some people made through DNA testing in recent years. Last summer, my AAHGS chapter (shout-out to Central Maryland) had a series of introductory sessions on the topic. I’d […]
The “Lost Friends” Slavery Database
I’ve just discovered the wonderful “Lost Friends” database. It contains ads of former slaves searching for their loved ones after emancipation. Sold away or otherwise taken away by slaveholders, enslaved people often never saw their loved ones again. I posted a few months ago about these ads. Ads here are from the Southwestern Christian Advocate […]
How Were Slaves Sold?
It is a well-known fact when researching African-American enslaved ancestors that slaves were frequently sold. In fact, many enslaved people had a personal experience of their own sale or that of another family member. It’s recounted in numerous slave narratives, such as this excerpt from Leonard Black’s narrative: “As near as I can remember, my […]
Who’s Your Daddy? Bastardy Records
One of the hidden gems inside court records are the aptly named “Bastardy Bonds.” These records, like much in genealogy, are another reminder that human behavior hasn’t changed much. Anything that happens now also happened in the past. Children born out of wedlock, like today, was a common occurrence. People also had kids with other people while […]
Follow the Witness: They May Have the An...
Many of our artificial brick walls are caused by our inability to extract every clue from each source. One of my favorite suggestions is to tell people to Follow the Witness. Many of the most common sources we use, such as deed records, probate records and marriage records, are legal documents that in many cases needed […]
Are Your Assumptions Leading You Astray?
It’s fine to make assumptions during your genealogical research. In fact, we all do it whether we think we do or not. However, as we review our sources and uncover evidence, we have to remember our assumptions. We must be willing to let them go in light of new information. We need to follow where the evidence […]