Striiiiiike 1--Abner Doubleday in 1850

Abner Doubleday's 1850 census entry is one of those where you've got to read the entries above it for just about everything except his name and age. Ditto marks come in real handy when everyone has the same job and was born in the same place. Hint: his occupation in 1850 had nothing to do with baseball.

Those with an Ancestry.com subscription can search the 1850 Census--everyname index for their own relatives--who may or may not have been striking out.
Those who don't have a subscription can read our free-trial suggestions here.

1930 Census--Shirley Temple

It is difficult to read, but the last name in this image is Shirley Temple--child star. Imagine trying to find that if you did not already have a good idea of where she was living. The rest of the entry indicates where the family was living in California and the father's occupation.

You can search of the 1930 census at Ancestry.com and see what your relatives are up to.
If you don't have a subscription, you can read our suggestions for a 14 day free trial here.

1930 President

Not many individuals have their "industry" in the 1930 census listed as "United States" and even fewer list their occupation as president. The entire image can be seen here for those who are not aware of who was president in 1930.

You can search of the 1930 census at Ancestry.com and see what your relatives occupations are---doubtful if they are president. If you don't have a subscription, you can read our suggestions for a 14 day free trial here.

Peter Graves and James Arness in 1930 Census

Peter Graves and James Arness are enumerated with the last name Aurness in the 1930 census in Minnesota. The brothers were small children at the time of this enumeration and their father worked as a salesman.

You can search of the 1930 census at Ancestry.com and see what your relatives are up to.

If you don't have a subscription, you can read our suggestions for a 14 day free trial here.

Friends on the Farm

My great-aunt has written a small book, Friends on the Farm, about growing up in rural west-central Illinois (Hancock County) in the 1930s and 1940s. I haven't read it yet (my Mom is waiting til Aunt Ruth visits to have her sign our copies); however I did read snippets of it that last time I was down to visit my parents. I have learned that my mother was a "neat litle kid" and that my great-grandfather, much to the chagrin of his fellow German neighbors voted for Roosevelt during the Depression (I bet THAT went over really well...). We'll post more about the book later after I've had a chance to read it.

A A Milne in the Census

He didn't have a Pooh Bear of his own, but 9 year old A A Milne is shown here in this census enumeration with his parents. The complete image can be seen here.

J. R. R. Tolkien alive in 1901

Didn't know people living in 1901 could still have new books published in 2007, did you? J. R. R. Tolkien has a new book coming out according to several sources and yet he was already a small child in 1901 when he was enumerated with his widowed mother in the United Kingdom census. Fans of the book may be glad this unfinshed book is finally being published. I'm not a big fan, so I can't speak to that. I can only help wondering...if Tolkien had been a Chicago resident would he still be voting?

Virginia Beach Seminar--this weekend 31 March 2007

I'll be presenting 4 lectures at the annual Virginia Beach Genealogical Society Seminar this weekend on March 31 at the Virginia Beach Public Library.

The day's schedule:

8:30 - 8:55 Registration
9:00 - 9:15 Welcome/announcements and introduction of speaker
9:15 - 10:15 "Online Genealogy Research: what to do, how to do it and how to keep organized"
10:15 - 10:55 Break/Door Prizes/Lobby Time
11:00 - 12:00 "Online Genealogy Research" continued
12:00 - 1:10 Lunch Break - Lunch provided for pre-registrants. (see form)
1:15 - 1:30 Welcome Back/ Door Prizes
1:30 - 2:30 "Effective Internet Searching - Get the most out of that website"
2:30 - 2:55 Break/Door Prizes
3:00 - 4:00 "Beginning Your German Research"
4:15 - 4:30 Closing

More information is on the Society's website.
If anyone is wanting to attend at the "last minute" the society's website has contact information for society officers.

Courthouse Suggestions

The county courthouse is one of my favorite places to research--remember that many of these records are not available online or on microfilm. A few years ago, we posted an article about visiting the courthouse--suggestions that are still valid today.

Courthouse Lessons Learned

Where Did the $$ Go?

Tracking your ancestor's money after his or her death can provide signficant genealogical clues. There are many sources of this information, not just limited to the will. An older article on our site discusses ways to locate this information and provides some clues for interpreting this information.

Where Did the Money Go?

Google Ads At Ancestry

Am I bothered by the Google ads at Ancestry.com? Not really.
I pay to watch a movie in a theatre, but there are ads before the movie. And in some movies if I watch closely, the people all drink one brand of pop. Any vending machines that happen to be shown in the background are for that same brand. That's not an accident either.
Frankly, the ads are just about like my "gmail" page where I pretty much ignore those as well.

Photographer Ansel Adams in 1910

I doubt if took any pictures when Albert DeGuerre came knocking to take the census, but he certainly was enumerated in 1910. Photographer Ansel Adams was only 8 in 1910 and is enumerated with his parents in San Francisco, California in 1910. His father, Charles Adams, is listed as being in the lumber business.

You can search the 1910 United States Federal Census for your own relatives at Ancestry.com. If you don't have a subscription, you can read our suggestions for a 14 day free trial here.

Women's Rights Advocate Elizabeth Cady Stanton-1870

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one of the leaders of the women's rights movement is listed as "keeping house" in 1870 as shown in the image in this post.

The family was living in Hackensack, New Jersey and their household included four servants.

You can search for your relative in the 1870 census, but chances are if your female relative was "keeping house" she didn't have four servants to help. Those who don't have a subscription can read our free-trial suggestions here.

1930 Census--June Carter Cash

It is one of our most popular "famous census" pages--June Carter Cash in 1930.

Her real name was not June; she is shown here as Valiria...for Valarie. The census also listed an occupation for her mother, along with the name of an employer--not many women in rural Virginia listed themselves as musicians.

You can search of the 1930 census at Ancestry.com and see what your ancestor listed as her occupation--if one is even listed. Those who don't have a subscription can read our free-trial suggestions here.

Remembering my flashdrive

I am as forgetful as anything.
I love my flash drive that I got for Christmas...it makes taking a great deal of files with me extremely easy--genealogy files, presentations, etc.
The problem is that I am ALWAYS afraid I'm going to leave it somewhere, especially plugged into some laptop in a cybercafe like I'm in right now in Nashville. To reduce the chance of leaving it, I have the strap around my wrist as it is plugged in and as I'm typing. The strap is a constant reminder.
Now just to find a "trick" to not leave it in a machine when I'm making a presentation where I'm not "at" the machine constantly...

Check your assumptions

My previous post indicated that my great-great-grandfather's death certificate indicated and his parents were born in Saxony. I wrote this from memory. BIG MISTAKE.

Turns out the death record was not even that specific---Germany was listed as the birthplace of John and his parents.

Be careful relying on memory and always check your assumptions. Don't add to the confusion already existing in some records.

The Importance of Siblings

Beginning genealogists may be tempted to focus only on their own direct line, ignoring records from siblings of their ancestors. This can lead to missed information. The death certificate of my great-great-grandfather, John Michael Trautvetter indicates he and his parents were born in Saxony. That is very specific and very helpful (grin). The clip on the right is from his brother George's death certificate. George's record provides exact places of birth for George and his parents.

Of course this is secondary information, but it still is a valuable clue and would have been overlooked if I had only focused on "my line."

At least we didn't get any bones

To view the death date for Lucinda Kile in the Greenmound Cemetery in Keithsburg, Mercer County, Illinois, we had to do a little digging. Fortunately the stone is in excellent shape and teh inscription is very legible.

There are a number of tombstone pictures and "how-to" articles on our site for taking pictures, making rubbings, etc. Plan before you go, don't leave a mess, and treat the cemetery and stones with respect.

Is the Original Wrong?

The accuracy of the original should never be assumed--regardless of when the record was created and who gave the information. And sometimes errors are just that--errors.

If you search the online index of World War I Draft cards at Ancestry.com for only the year 1918, you will get many hits. If the actual card image is viewed, it will be seen that the card does actually say 1918 as the year of birth. Think about it for a second, have you ever written the wrong year on a check or an application? It is very easy to do. Those who transcribed the data for the online index of World War I Draft cards at Ancestry.com were supposed to transcribe what the card said, not what they thought it should say. Of course, the transcribers were human so they may have made mistakes, but the mistake could just as easily have been on the original.

A few samples of these cards can be viewed on our site.

And if you want to play with the database and don't have a subscription, you can read our suggestions for a 14 day free trial here.

Naming Patterns...

Have you thought about where your ancestor got the first names of all their children? While some families break the rules just to confuse us, many obtained names of their children from other relatives. Keep in mind the potential that a child was named for a parent, grandparent, or ancestral sibling. Our article Named for Whom? discusses naming patterns and issues one must be aware of when using these tendencies in research. Naming patterns are clues, clues, clues, not fact, fact, fact.

1910 Census--C. W. Post

I don't eat Toasties anymore, and I certainly don't want any from 1910, but the image to the right shows the occupation listed for C. W. Post (founder of Post cereals) in 1910. The rest of the enumeration includes the rest of the family and the requisite household staff that any large food manufacturer is bound to have.

You can search the 1910 United States Federal Census for your own relatives at Ancestry.com. If you don't have a subscription, you can read our suggestions for a 14 day free trial here.

1850 Census--Nathaniel Hawthorne

We haven't searched for Hester Pyrnne (yet), but Nathaniel Hawthorne is listed as a forty-something author in the 1850 census.

He's living in Stockbridge, Mass, with his family.

Those with an Ancestry.com subscription can search the 1850 Census--everyname index.

Those who don't have a subscription can read our free-trial suggestions here.

1930 Census--no name Jackie O

Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis is enumerated in the 1930 census--well sort of. Her father is listed in in NYC's Manhattan as shown here, but his wife and young daughter are listed without names. Based upon the complete enumeration and known information about the Bouvier family, it's pretty certain this is the right family.

The reason for the unusual entry is anyone's guess, but if it can happen to a future first lady, it could happen to your less well-known ancestors as well. If you can't find someone when searching a census index, make certain you have searched for every family member.

You can search of the 1930 census at Ancestry.com and see if your ancestors show up no names---maybe they were in the witness protection program!

Believe it or Not--Robert Ripley in 1900

We've posted the 1900 census image for Robert Ripley (of "Ripley's Believe it or not" fame) to our site. His name, believe it or not, was not actually Robert, but was actually Leroy.

Believe it or not, the 1900 Census can be searched at Ancestry.com.

1910 Census--Oscar Mayer

http://www.rootdig.com/1910census/1910_oscar_mayer.html

I had to think of the television jingle to get Oscar Mayer's name spelled correctly--I guess I'm showing my age by even admitting that I remember those commercials ("I wish I were an....")

Oscar Mayer and family are listed as meatpackers in the 1910 census in Chicago.

Search the 1910 United States Federal Census for your own relatives.