Free Genealogy Resources

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What Locking Myself In Taught Me About Genealogy

This morning I did one of those things that are frustrating at the time, but funny in hindsight. I went in to straighten up my daughter's room and shut the door to keep our dogs out, completely forgetting the door has a malfunctioning doorknob. From the outside of the room, the knob works correctly. From the inside of the room, the knob turns but doesn't release the latch. Needless to say, since I was inside the room when I shut the door, I was stuck.

To make things even worse, my husband is out of town working right now. So it wasn't like I could call him to come home and let me out. Of course, I called him anyway, not because I wanted him to spend the day driving back to rescue me, but because I thought he might have an idea. Climbing out the window wasn't really an option because it's a pretty good drop to the ground and I'd then have to deal with being locked out of the house.

His solution: pop the lock with a screwdriver or butter knife. On the surface, this sounds simple, but there was a problem. Did you see it? I was locked in our five year old daughter's bedroom. I don't know about you, but I personally don't store items like that in my child's room. A screwdriver in my bedroom, sure, but not in hers.

While he was ~~pouting about my veto of his idea~~ thinking up another idea, I was searching the bedroom in the hopes of finding something I could use. In the top of the closet, I found her microscope case so I decided to check it to see if it had anything I could use. I found a small plastic spatula.

It was thin enough to do the job, but I was concerned about it breaking in the process because it was pretty flimsy. Since I was stuck in a room with no food or drink and a rapidly dwindling cell phone battery, I gave it a shot. About the time my husband came up with an alternate idea (having a neighbor pass me a screwdriver through the window), the lock popped open and I was free.

So what does all this have to do with genealogy?

As family historians, sometimes the tool we need to get information just isn't there. Registration of vital records may not have been implemented yet. The record may have been lost to fire, natural disaster or time. The records may be hidden away in a closet just waiting for someone to find them.

Just because the record you need isn't available doesn't mean all is lost. You have to look to alternate sources. Just like the flimsy plastic spatula worked in place of a screwdriver, you may be able to use another record source to get the information you seek. It may not be as strong in terms of evidence, but it can work in a pinch.

I've listed some suggested alternate sources below.

Births
Birth announcement
Obituary

Family Bible
Draft record
Pension record
Headstone
Baptism/christening record
Marriage record
Death record
Social Security Death Index

Marriages
Marriage announcement
Obituary

Family Bible
Headstone
Pension record

Deaths
Obituary
Spouse's obituary
Family Bible
Headstone
Cemetery/funeral home record
Pension record
Military record
Will/probate record
Social Security Death Index

Parents' Names
Records for younger siblings
Marriage record
Death record
Obituary
Social security card application
Headstone

Maiden Names
Vital records for children
Marriage announcement
Death record
Obituary
Social security card application
Headstone

Are you stuck because you're only looking for the record that traditionally has the information? What other alternate sources have you used for your genealogy research?

Gearing Up for the 1940 Census

In just a few more months, the 1940 census will released. It won't be indexed, although I'm sure several genealogy websites will begin immediately. Unless you're satisfied waiting until indexing is complete, it's time to start preparing so you can extend your lines.

Make a list of individuals you wish to find in the 1940 census. This should include people that you found in the 1930 census that should still be living as well as anyone born between 1930 and 1940. Don't forget to include female children from the 1930 census who may now be married. If you haven't check to see if they're married yet, now is the time to do it..

Determine a probable location. In families that tended to stay in the same place, this will be easier than with families or individuals that frequently moved. For frequent movers, check city directories, WWII Draft Records, and records of vital records or immigration that occurred close to 1940. This can help narrow down possible locations to search.

Find the enumeration district. If the person appeared in the 1930 census and you're relatively sure they didn't move by 1940, you can use Steve Morse's Census ED Converter. If you have an exact address from another source (aren't you lucky?), you can use the ED Finder or ED Definition tool at the top of that page.

Make your list. Put it in whatever format you prefer-a handwritten list, a Word document or a spreadsheet. I would suggest grouping individuals by location to make your search a little easier when the census is released. It's more efficient to locate all wanted individuals in a single area rather than jumping back and forth.

A final note. If you haven't yet volunteered in the genealogy community, this is your chance to give back in a big way. FamilySearch is seeking volunteers to index the census.

7 Mistakes that Are Holding Your Genealogy Back

Genealogy is much like a Rubix cube.You search through endless combinations before you hit on the right one that will enable you to complete the puzzle. A mistake in making a move can set you back, causing frustration and lost time while you struggle to get back on the right track. Are you making mistakes that are holding your genealogy back?

Mistake #1-Not Citing Your Sources

There's a reason professional genealogists cite every source of information they use in their research. While it lends authenticity to your work, there's another more important reason to cite. It leaves a trail for you to backtrack through if you hit a wall.

If you've been researching merrily along and suddenly hit a solid brick wall, one of the first steps to try is retracing your steps. This helps you to find details you may have overlooked at first glance. It can also show you where you may have made a mistake.

Mistake #2-Relying Only on Online Sources

It has been said that only a tiny percentage of existing genealogical material is online. If you're relying only on what you can find at your seat behind the keyboard, you may be missing out on valuable clues to your ancestors' lives.

When a brick wall pops up, the answer to solving it may be hiding away in a courthouse basement. Take some time to go back through your research. If the only sources you have are ones available from your computer, it's time to step back from the keyboard and seek out other record sources.

Mistake #3-But Grandma Said...

While it's good to talk to family members for clues on your ancestry, it's important to verify everything you hear through other records. Information can be wrong for a variety of reasons-a fading memory, hiding less savory aspects of family history, wishful thinking or an informant not having the correct information to start with. Even if the informant doesn't intend to give you misleading information, it can and does happen.

This also applies to published genealogies or online family trees. The person researching for the book or tree may have gotten bad information at some point and unknowingly passed it on. If you're taking their word without looking for yourself, you will be passing it on yourself.

Mistake #4-Not Looking at Less Reliable Sources

A core element of the Genealogical Proof Standard is a reasonably exhaustive search. While this is generally assumed to mean reliable sources, to exhaust all possible sources means you need to look at the less reliable ones as well. Just like a broken clock is right twice a day, unsourced trees and books can hold kernels of truth.

When exploring an undocumented tree online, take a minute to send a polite message asking where the tree's creator got their information from. You may be surprised. The creator may have something that you don't such as a family Bible or other record.

Mistake #5-Disorganization

If you find yourself constantly hunting for where you filed a document, whether in paper or digital form, it's holding you back. Wouldn't that time be better spent on actual research?

Take some time to research organization systems and commit to one. There are a variety of systems available, all good in their own way, but the best is the one that works for you. After a few years of trial and error, I've settled on a combination of systems, modified to fit my needs.

Mistake #6-Needing Concrete Evidence

Genealogy is much like a police investigation. Except in rare cases, police generally don't see a crime in progress. They have to gather the evidence, analyze it and piece together who did it based on what they have. Sometimes in genealogy there is no concrete evidence of a relationship. If vital records weren't recorded in your ancestor's state until 1900, it's a waste of time and energy searching for a birth certificate for an ancestor born in 1800.

Look for clues in other areas. Have you researched siblings? The name of your ancestor's parents may be on a younger sibling's death certificate. Have you looked at wills from the area for people with the same surname? It might list your ancestor as a child of the deceased.

Mistake #7-Not Resolving Conflicts

Going back to the Genealogical Proof Standard, another core element is resolving conflicting evidence. When there is conflicting evidence, it's generally a sign that something isn't right and you need to take a closer look at the evidence.

If you've run across conflicting evidence in your research, take the time to see if you determine why there is a conflict. Is there a reasonable explanation for the variation? A woman may have claimed to be older so she could get married without parental consent. Are you positive you're tracing the right person? It's not unusual to find people with the same or similar names in an area.

Links to Help with the Genealogy Research Process

Most of the posts here at Free Genealogy Resources show you where to find data on your ancestors. However, we haven't talked much about how to go about finding the information you seek or how to deal with it. The other day, I came across a blog post at Susan's Genealogy Blog that gives a great step by step guide to research from starting with your objective all the way to filing your results.

While the guide is geared towards genealogists researching at libraries and archives, it still has some good information that even the at-home budget genealogist can do.

If you need help developing a research plan, check out Ancestry's Learning Center article, Plan Your Attack.
The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) has an excellent article by Elizabeth Shown Mills in their skill building section under Analyzing and Reviewing Published Sources that will help you perform a thorough analysis of your findings.

If you haven't yet implemented a filing system for your genealogical data, there's plenty to choose from. DearMyrtle has an excellent series on organization. Legacy Family Tree Webinars has a webinar by Karen Clifford on Organizing for Success (about halfway down the page at the time of this post. Kimberly Powell, the About.com guide for Genealogy has written a good article on Organizing Digital Genealogy Files.

Planning a Genealogy Research Trip

Many genealogists, at some point or another in their research, make the decision to travel to the area where their ancestors lived their lives. For some, this is to gain access to records that are only available in that area. For others, it's an effort to better understand their ancestors. Whatever the reason, if you decide to take a genealogy research trip, preparation is key to having a successful trip.

Tip 1-Research the places you want to visit

These days, most places have information available online. Be sure to check the days and hours places are open. With frequent budget cuts, many libraries and archives have limited hours that they are open. You don't want to arrive ready to research only to find out a particular repository isn't open when you visit.

If information is available on the holdings of a particular place, be sure to research that as well. Make a list of books, record groups, etc that you want to look at. This will help cut down on unnecessary and often fruitless searches.

Take some time to see if the information you seek is available closer to home. Your local Family History Center may have the information on microfilm. If you can get it at home, you free up time on your trip for things that aren't so easily accessible.

Most of us probably don't check the weather before we take off on a trip, but it's a good idea. You don't want to drive a long distance only to find that you can't do cemetery visits because of the rain or a snow storm has closed down all government offices and libraries.

Tip 2-Make an itinerary

By making an itinerary, you have a basic framework for your trip. It also helps reduce the likelihood of getting home and realizing you've missed out on visiting somewhere that was high on your list.

Be sure to schedule some free time in your itinerary. You never know when you might hear about a resource you weren't aware of. Searching records may take longer than you thought it would. By scheduling free time into your itinerary, you have leeway to continue your genealogy research without missing out on something else you had planned.

Tip 3-Gather your supplies

If taking a digital camera, make sure you have your memory card and a way to power it. Depending on how much you plan to use your camera, it might also be a good idea to bring spare batteries or a charger, and possibly another memory card.

Put together a folder with information on the individual(s) you plan to research. This can include pedigree charts, a family group sheet or a research checklist. That way if you need to doublecheck a fact to make sure you have the right person, it's easily at hand.

If you plan to save or copy books or documents you find, come prepared. Pack a mobile scanner, thumb drive and/or change so you have these when you need them. Keep in mind that policies can vary widely between places. While one place may allow you to scan, others may only allow photocopies due to policy and, in some cases, capabilities.

For travel in foreign locales, if you're not familiar with the language, be sure to pack a language dictionary or translation device. It might also be a good idea to visit FamilySearch to print out a genealogical word list. Even if you have a basic understanding of the language, it doesn't hurt to have these in reserve in case you come across a word you're not familiar with or need to say something that wasn't covered in your high school language class.

Tip 4-Talk to the locals

Locals are an invaluable resource in a number of ways. They can offer directions to places not found on modern day maps. They can tell you about local resources you may not have known about. Last, but not least, they may have stories about your ancestors. Just because a story is passed down through someone else's family doesn't mean the story doesn't have clues about yours.

Don't be surprised if you find that one of the locals fits in your family tree at some point. In the years I've been researching my genealogy, I've ran across cousins I didn't even know about. I found one when I sent a lookup request to a volunteer that lived in the area my ancestors did. Another I met while visiting a cemetery where family was buried.

Tip 5-Visit the local historical society, museum or library.

In addition to giving you a better understanding of the area your ancestors lived their lives in, you may be surprised what you find. Some genealogists have found pictures of their ancestors, allowing them to put a face to the name. Others have found items that once belonged to their family.

Using Family Events for Genealogy

I recently attended the funeral of my paternal grandfather. I hadn't planned to ask any genealogy questions so I didn't take my big research book with me. Surprisingly, though, I still learned some things about my paternal side that I didn't know before.

Family get-togethers, whether holiday dinners, weddings or funerals, can be a valuable resource in your family tree. Even if you don't learn any facts to put in your tree, you can still unearth stories about the people. For me, genealogy is about more than just names, dates and locations. I want to find out about the people who preceded me-who they were, what they were like, etc.

While sitting around after the funeral, conversation turned to the loved ones that had passed before. It was then that I learned that my paternal 2nd great grandfather had a habit of going outside to sit in the swing under the trees every morning while his wife, my 2nd great grandmother, would fix breakfast. One September morning in 1974, he didn't come when she called him to breakfast so she went out to get him. She found him still in the swing, having passed peacefully.

The next day, the stories were still flowing and I learned that my maternal grandmother and her brother had been given a cow when they were younger. When their younger sister came along, the person who had given them the cow didn't give her anything. They decided that wasn't fair so they would share the cow with her. However, it's apparent that my grandmother and great uncle had a mischievous streak since they allotted the tail end of the cow to their baby sister.

After returning home from the funeral and looking through the condolences on my grandfather's online obituary, I learned something else I didn't know. One of the people that left a condolence mentioned how many would be forever grateful for what my grandfather and another guy had did for the sport of truck/tractor pulls in central Florida.

When I mentioned it to my mom, she told me that my grandfather was one of the pioneers of the sport in Florida. While I knew he and my dad had did the tractor pulls when I was little, I never knew how important my grandfather was to the sport.

Papa and Fancy Free (the pulling truck), 1980s

Of course, whenever my dad's side of the family gets together, you hear the infamous story of my dad and the cow. One morning he set off in the field beside the house. When he came back later, he was wearing only his boots and hat. His story was that the cow had ate his clothes. Whether the cow did or didn't, the clothes were never found.

I even heard stories about when I was little. While I was old enough at the time they had happened I should have remembered them myself, I'd forgot them over the years. Hearing them again reminded me. My daughter was with me so she heard the stories as well and I hope she remembers them.

There's no place in any genealogy software or family group sheet for these stories. If they're not told, they will be lost to future generations. So the next time you're at a family event and tempted to whip out your notepad with questions for older relatives, put it away and just listen. You may be surprised what you learn.