It Could Mean Nothing: Absolutely

An unusual first or middle name of an ancestor could be a significant clue. Or it could be a name that your ancestor chose for their child on a complete and utter whim and one that has no bearing on the family history other than the fact it was chosen "out of thin air" as someone's name. That "error" on a death certificate could have been an inadvertent error on the part of the records clerk who got your ancestor's record mixed up with the one he had just completed.

Sometimes in our attempt to find information we assume things are more significant than they are.

FamilySearch: Milwaukee Naturalization Index 1848-1990

New or updated on FamilySearch since our last update:

Wisconsin, Milwaukee Naturalization Index, 1848-1990

Elephind Finding All that the Library of Congress Does?

On Genealogy Tip of the Day's Facebook page, we've discussed Elephind, a webiste which searches free digital newspapers at several sites at once--including the Library of Congress.

And this is where I am confused. I searched Elephind for "rampley" and the Library of Congress digital newspaper site for "rampley." The results were different as shown below with Elephind obtaining 87 hits and the Library of Congress obtaining 168. I am not certain why there is a difference, but this is somewhat frustrating as I liked Elephind's display of the text in which the reference appeared. But if the number of hits fewer than on the Library of Congress site directly, I'll have to go with the LOC site.

Suggestions for what I may be doing wrong would be appreciated-if I'm misinterpreting something I'll happily post a corrected update.

Library of Congress Newspapers and Flip-Pal Webinars Released

We are excited to announce the release of my two most recent webinars: Library of Congress Digital Newspapers and Using Your Flip-Pal. These presentations are only $5 each--we try very hard to keep our costs within as many research budgets as possible. Our webinars have no sponsors so giving them away is not always a practical option, but rest assured that we don't create content worrying about whether or not some executive or editor in an office somewhere is going to cut something because they didn't like what we said or how we said it. That doesn't happen here.

Library of Congress Digital Newspapers

The United States Library of Congress has free digital images of thousands of United States newspapers, all of which can be searched and downloaded. Researchers who have never used these papers may be missing out the wide variety of material that can be hiding in newspapers. My recent webinar "Using Digital Newspapers at the Library of Congress" was recently uploaded to our website and can be ordered for immediate download.  "Using the Digital Newspapers at the Library of Congress" is a practical hands-on presentation, focusing on search techniques and making the most of this free website. This presentation shows viewers how to search the inventory of online papers, view the newspaper's history, determine what papers are actually on the site, search actual papers, browse those newspapers for manual searches, interact with search results, and save and share located materials. This presentation is available for immediate download via this link .

Flip-Pal

I have just released my webinar on using a Flip-Pal scanner. If you've not purchased a Flip-Pal because you've never seen one in operation or just want an overview of this gadget, then this presentation will meet your needs. I demonstrate several basic scans, both using the machine right-side-up and upside-down (for larger or bound items). I also show how to adjust scanning settings and using the stitching program to stitch partial scans of larger items together. And along the way, there's a few additional tips mentioned as well. This presentation can be downloaded for only $5 via this link. Download is immediate.

Viewing is for personal use only.

Note: My Flip-Pal was purchased with my own funds and this presentation was not sponsored or supported by Flip-Pal. I am an affiliate of

Sidewalks in Rock Island

One never knows what type of information one will encounter in a newspaper. This image comes from an 1897 issue of the Rock Island Argus and was discovered while I was presenting a webinar on using the digital newspapers in the Chronicling America collection at the Library of Congress website.

Rock Island Argus., October 06, 1897, Page 2, Image 2

List of lot owners who are having sidewalks built on their property is not something a person typically encounters. The individuals of interest were the Mortiers, both of whom had lots in George L. Davenport's addition to the City of Rock Island. Armed with the description of the location, land deeds and other information could be located. The Mortier men are listed as working for the Rock Island Lumber Company who is listed as owning a lot in Stickney's Addition. The lumber company may not have been as close to the Mortiers' apparent residences as the newspaper listing may seem to imply. A map would answer that question

The item was located in the digital images of newspapers available on the Library of Congress'  Chronicling America collection. The images are fully searchable although readers are advised of the typical warnings regarding occasional difficulties in OCR in using databases of this type.

Ordering information for the webinar can be found here.

President Lincoln Has No Descendants CNN

This is part of the "From Around the Web" page that appeared on CNN at approximately 6:00 PM central time on 8 August 2013.

The link actually goes to a blog post from Ancestry.com that discusses how George Clooney is related to President Lincoln--the article never says that Clooney is descended from Lincoln. President Lincoln has no living descendants.

I'm not certain who wrote the headline in the link above but it's misleading and actually, incorrect.

Ancestry.com's Take on the Naturalization Process

The image above is a screen shot of a post that ran across my Facebook newsfeed on 7 August 2013 from Ancestry.com. I don't know who wrote it, but I do know one thing: I didn't write it.

The first step in the naturalization process is filing a declaration of intention. The naturalization petition (to which the post refers) is filed at the end of the process usually right before the individual is naturalized. The declaration of intent is sometimes referred to as the "first papers." The naturalization petition (particularly before 1906) usually provides sketchy information, although sometimes researchers get lucky and more detail is included. The declaration of intention (if still extant) is usually the document that is more likely to provide the detailed information referred to in the Ancestry.com post.

Genealogy is about details, accurate details.  Errors in Ancestry.com user-submitted trees are one things--user-submitted material is going to contain errors. This is different.

And the word "naturalization" in the last sentence does not need to be in capitalized. But that's a separate issue.

Arkansas First Draft Registration Cards 1940-1945 Update

Updated on FamilySearch since our last update:

Arkansas, First Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945

Evidently What I Found Was Not Proof But There's Evidence I Found It

When I locate a pension application for a widow where she states her maiden name, that's evidence of her maiden name--not proof. One document making a statement is not proof of that statement.

When I group the pension application where she states her maiden name, along with the church record that gives a slightly different variant of that name, along with her father's will that names her as his daughter, and every other record that provides a statement of evidence about her maiden name and I discuss those records, analyze them, and write up an analysis-that's proof.

Proof is the summarizing and analyzing of evidence (statements) about a person, event, or relationship and stating the conclusion based upon that evidence. It doesn't have to be difficult or overly verbose, particularly if records are easily located and consistent with each other. It when they difficult to locate or inconsistent that writing up the proof is more difficult because there's not always much evidence upon which to base our proof.

Evidence we find. Proof we write up.

The only way to "find proof" is to discover that someone else has done the complete exhaustive research and written it up. Otherwise what we find is evidence.

This post is:
http://rootdig.blogspot.com/2013/08/evidently-what-i-found-was-not-proof.html

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Read Evidence Explained to learn more about evidence and proof.

Certification Responses and Comments

Quite a few readers emailed me privately in response to my post about starting my portfolio for BCG certification, so I've decided to occasionally mention various aspects of that process as there is apparently more interest in it that I thought. So from time to time, I'll mention various aspects of my portfolio preparation, but I won't bore readers with too much minutia.

The certification process is heavy on writing, which as regular readers know is one of my favorite analytical tools. Finding a family that I've not used too much in my own writing and blogging is difficult. I've written about many of my families regularly for Casefile Clues and other publications so there's no family that's "fresh," but I think I have found a good one to use.

I have received my document to transcribe, but so far it is sitting on my desk. I'm already a month into the process and it's time to get cracking.

1940 Family Educational Levels

Have you looked at the amount of schooling your relatives had in the 1940 census? Just to see if my thoughts were correct, I looked up the claimed educational level of all my living ancestors at the time of the 1940 census. Anna Habben's 4th grade education coincides closely with the family's immigration to the United States from Germany.

• Charles Neill (great-grandfather-St. Albans Twp.)--8th grade.
• Fannie Neill  (great-grandmother-St. Albans Twp.)--8th grade.
• Fred Ufkes (great-grandfather-Bear Creek Twp.)-8th grade.
• Tena Ufkes (great-grandmother-Bear Creek Twp.)-6th grade.
• John Ufkes (grandfather-Bear Creek Twp.)-4 years of high school.
• Mimka Habben (great-grandfather, Prairie Twp.)-8th grade.
• Tjode Habben (great-grandmother, Prairie Twp.)-8th grade.
• Dorothy Habben (grandmother, Prairie Twp.) 3 years of high school (she graduated the 4th year the next year).
• Cecil Neill (grandfather, Prairie Twp.)-8th grade.
• Ida Neill (grandmother, Prairie Twp.)-8th grade.
• Anna Habben (great-great-grandmother, village of Elvaston, Prairie Twp)-4th grade

Texas County Tax Rolls Updated on FamilySearch

Updated on FamilySearch since our last update:

Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1846-1910

A Church in the Distance

How closely do you look for clues in the backgrounds of pictures?

When the below was enlarged, there was a faint shadow as shown in the oval:

photo of Frederick Ufkes (1893-1960), taken near Basco, Illinois; digital image (c) 2013 Michael John Neill

Had I not known where the photograph was taken, the church would have been a clue. It is the Immanuel Lutheran Church east of Basco in Hancock County, Illinois. The church is in close proximity to the farm on which Fred spent his entire life.

Are there clues lingering in the background of your pictures?
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Reminder: Copying and publishing or posting pictures from the websites of others is not only considered bad form, it's also unethical, illegal, and an indication that the copier was too lazy to bother and ask if they could use the image.

Exhausting Those Homesteaders Who Regularly Attend Church in Nebraska

Genealogists talk about "exhaustive search" and what it entails. Generally speaking, it means look at all material that could reasonably answer the question at hand. I understand the concept of "exhaustive search," it does serve a purpose. And I do "get" why it is important--largely because there are people who only research one or two documents and declare themselves done.

Not me. 

I prefer to use "brute force" research. Get everything you can. Everything. And then keep looking and realize that there may always be something you have yet to uncover. But really, you never know what a record will say until you have seen it. Records that contain affidavits are particularly rich in "who knows what they'll put in there."  Such is the case with the homestead application of Jurgen Ehmen in Dawson County, Nebraska.

Renke Kaiser is one of the witnesses in Ehmen's claim from the 1880s.

Where We've Lived Before

Kaiser documents in his affidavit where Ehmen lived before settling in Nebraska, beginning with Ehmen living in Illinois in the 1860s. Kaiser states that he has known Ehmen for over twenty years, apparently since they were living in Illinois.  One of the neighbors mentioned in Kaiser's statement is Focke Goldenstein--actually a relative of Ehmen and the great-grandfather of yours truly.

Testimony of Renke Kaiser, 23 November 1887, Completed Homestead application of Jurgen  Ehmen, Dawson County, Nebraska, Township 11 North-24 West, section 18; digital image,  Fold3.com.

Kaiser indicates the Illinois counties in which Ehmen lived. This was a significant clue as the ethnic group (Ostfriesen) of which all these men were members settled heavily in Adams County, Illinois, and Dawson County, Nebraska. But Knox County, Illinois? That was an unusual place for an Ostfriesen to live and a place that warrants research as to why Ehmen was there (supposition is that he worked for the railroad).

Going to Church

Kaiser even states that he seens Ehmen regularly at church on Sunday and that the church was "near there."  One doesn't always think of homestead records as providing clues as to church attendance. But there it was.

Testimony of Renke Kaiser, 23 November 1887, Completed Homestead application of Jurgen  Ehmen, Dawson County, Nebraska, Township 11 North-24 West, section 18; digital image,  Fold3.com

Ehmen's other witness Eime Friesenborg also indicates in a statement from the same date as Kaiser's that he also sees Ehmen at church every Sunday. His statement includes similar statements about Ehmen's residences before he lived in Nebraska and that he had known Ehmen for twenty years.

Of course, Goldenstein probably attended the same church as the other men. And the reason why Goldenstein did not testify in Ehmens claim: relatives were not supposed to appear as witnesses in these claims.

Brute force with some finesse and some time spent reading. It may be just what your research needs.

That Photo With the Vague Back

This is the front of the photograph whose back we posted a few days ago. Fortunately I knew one of the individuals in the picture without the identification on the back.

This is the reverse side of the photograph as published in an earlier blog post:

I'm not exactly certain who wrote on the photo, but here is what the back says, along with some annotations.

Geos' Tena
Freds Tena Nov 1986 di
Bert's Margaurite
Tena myself & Tena 3
Ufkes inlaws left.
1982

The photograph was apparently taken in 1982 and is of Tena (Janssen) Ufkes, Tena (Bruns) Ufkes and Margaurite (Wetterich) Ufkes. The three were sisters-in-law and were married to brothers George Ufkes, Fred Ufkes, and Bertus Ufkes--hence the phrase "Geos' Tena" and "Freds Tena."

The "Nov 1986 di" reference after "Freds Tena" is an apparent reference to her date of death of November of 1986.

I'm not certain where the photograph was taken, but if I had to bet, it was probably in July of 1982 at the Ufkes reunion.

Sometimes without knowing a little bit about the family it makes it difficult to really understand what the person meant--especially when the clues on the item are a little cryptic.
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Note: Tena (Janssen) Ufkes, wife of Fred, is my great-grandmother.

Joseph Melburn Neill: Why We Get the "Original"

This birth certificate for James Melburn Neill from 1879 in Hancock County, Illinois, is an excellent example of why obtaining the original is frequently recommended. 

This birth is indexed at FamilySearch in their database of Illinois births. When the index entry there was viewed, I originally thought that the "Melburn" in James Melburn Neill was a misreading of "Murphy" and that the transcriber had simply made a mistake.  Murphy was the maiden name of Joseph's mother--Annie Murphy--and that easily could have been his middle name. I expected the original would have a difficult to read middle name that could be interpreted as "Murphy."

I was wrong.

It said "Melburn."

So much for the Murphy theory. But the original made it clear that the name was not Murphy.

The second issue with the certificate is that it appears to have been completed by two different people. The letters "S" and "M" have been marked in the digital image above (which was made from the microfilm). Whether the different handwritings are significant has not yet been determined. But researchers should always consider the possibility that a black and white microfilmed image was actually a record that had been completed by two individuals.

I'm weighing looking at the original. In this case it may not be significant--the Melburn is my concern at this point. But obtaining the image told me the middle name was correct on the transcription. And the apparently multiple handwritings would never have been noticed if I had not obtained the image.

To top if off, for years I didn't research Joseph Neill. I knew that his middle initial was "M." and had concluded incorrectly that it either stood for Murphy, his mother's maiden name, or Michael, a common Irish first name.

As usual, assumptions can limit research.

Stitching Together the Bowen Illinois High School Class of 1929

This is a scan of the graduating class from Bowen, Illinois, High School in 1929 made from an original in the possession of a daughter of one of the graduates. My grandfather's sister is on the far left in the third row from the top. The scan was done using my  Flip-Pal  scanner.

1929 High School graduating class, Bowen, Illinois.

A few comments about the original:

• There was a "spot" over the third guy in the second row down. I didn't try to clean it.
• The gray trim was missing from part of the picture.
• The black rectangles are because I inadvertently cut off part of the "white background." I didn't have time to go back and rescan.

There were originally 5 scans that were stitched together to create this image. I scanned one part "twice" because I was not certain the original scan had taken. The software was not confused by the repetitive nature of my scanning.

I only know the names of the two ladies who are identified in the picture. Additional comments about the identities of anyone else are welcome.

That Vague Photo Back

Sometimes it is all about context.

This appeared on the back of a photograph I located in my grandparents' things.  It's intended to identify the people in the photograph on the other side. But without knowing anything about the people in the picture it can be a little difficult to interpret.

Sunday we'll have an update and an explanation.

Third Parties, Aggregators, and Bigger is Better Databases

The "United States, Public Records Index" was just updated on FamilySearch. With over 70 million names, it is bound to draw attention and, like any source, it should be used responsibly and as a potential clue-not as a fact.

But how this information was obtained is a little sketchy.

This is from the description on FamilySearch:

"This collection is an index of names, birthdates, addresses, phone numbers, and possible relatives of people who resided in the five boroughs of New York City between 1970 and 2010. These records were generated from telephone directories, driver licenses, property tax assessments, credit applications, voter registration lists and other records available to the public." There are entries for outside the New York State area.

I always thought indexes lead you to another record--the original record. That's one way in which Dictionary.com defines an index. Although I see that Dictionary.com also defines index as "a sequential arrangement of material." I'm not certain that a database of this type qualifies as an index in this sense either as users never "see" the entire "index" like they would a phone book. Users query the database and see what matches their search terms.

This is the "source" information as listed on the FamilySearch site:

"United States, Public Records Index." Index. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2013. From a third party aggregator of publicly available information."

"Third party aggregator?" Sounds like data harvesting to me--which isn't bad, but "third party" sounds a little vague. "Publicly available information" seems a little broad as well--that covers a lot ground and is somewhat non-descript. Sounds like something a private investigator or bill collector might use to track someone down.

The vague nature of this database makes evaluation of perceived reliability difficult.

Some say "any data is better than no data at all."

Sometimes I wonder.

August 2013 Webinars

We have just posted our listing of August 2013 webinars.

Topics include:

• Using Google Books
• Using Your FlipPal
• Library of Congress Online Newspapers
• Analyzing Land Records
• Federal Land Strategies
• Finding and Using City Directories

To view more details, time schedule, or to register, visit our announcement page:

http://www.casefileclues.com/webinars_neill.htm

BCG Certification: "On the Clock"

For a variety of personal and professional reasons, I've decided to seek certification from the Board for Certification of Genealogists and am "on the clock." Occasional posts here may mention this process, but this blog will not turn into a certification diary in any way.

Boston Passenger Lists 1820-1891 Updated on FamilySearch

New or updated on FamilySearch since our last update:

Massachusetts, Boston Passenger Lists, 1820-1891

Dead In A Shed- A Backyard Death in Rock Island

Life was not always easy for some immigrants to the United States. Some were not as fortunate as others and did not find success and prosperity in the new world.

Such was the case of Alphons Poper.

The article on Poper was of interest because it contained references to to the actual subject, August Mortier. Little is known about Mortier's life in Rock Island and it was hoped that a search of digital newspapers would provide some clues on his life. The Belgian immigrant arrived with his young family in 1880 and immediately settled in the Quad City area where, like many he left a small scattering of records documenting his existence, his wife and children, and where he lived--but not much more.

Apparently in 1895, he was running a boarding house at his home on 5 and a Half Avenue. The residence was already known, but I was unaware he ran a boarding house at that time. Poper had fallen down on his luck and Mortier had apparently taken some pity on him in early July of 1895, feeding him and giving him something to drink later in the day.

Not wanting the disheveled man  to sleep in the barn on his property, Mortier went to arouse him that evening and found him dead in the barn.

Rock Island Argus, 8 July 1895, p. 5; digital image, Library of Congress

One never knows what one will find when searching in the newspaper. There were not a lot of clues about August here, but I did learn that he did take some pity on a fellow Belgian who was down on his luck. Sometimes those are things we don't discover in court and other records--and this family is not one that left diaries, letters, and other materials.

It Was Yoe and Not FamilySearch-Why Line Numbers Are Good to Include in 1920 Census Citations

It's easy to assume that the transcriber is wrong and there has been a mistake made on the part of the human who copied the record. That's not always true.

This is the entry on FamilySearch in their 1920 census for my Neill great-grandparents and their children. For some apparent reason, they have been "lumped" in with the adjacent Young family as shown in this screen shot. On the surface, it's tempting to think that FamilySearch has it wrong and that two households have been "merged."

Why are they lumped together? Who has it wrong? It's not the fault of FamilySearch. It is the fault of Adelbert Yoe, the enumerator.

Yoe apparently got off on his numbers.  The entry above linked me to an image of the 1920 census which I had actually already located (1920 U. S. Census, Hancock County, Illinois, St. Albans Township, ED 25, sheet 7A, Charlie Neill, household, lines 42-47). That image of the actual census is shown below. To be honest, I had never noticed the previous household headed by Elbert Young had the same dwelling and family numbers as the household headed by Charles T. Neill.

The lumping together appears to have been a simple error on the part of the census taker. If the households had been actually living together in the same dwelling, the dwelling number would have been the same and the family numbers would have been different--and it's pretty clear that these are two separate families.

My citation for this entry includes the line numbers because the line numbers are unique to this household--the other numbers are not. My analysis of this entry should include a brief discussion of how the dwelling and household numbers are repeated for two families in a row and why I think this is an error.

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I'm a strong believer in citations and in my work (and in Casefile Clues) I cite material in the spirit of Evidence Explained. Here on the Rootdig blog, I have a different philosophy. Posts made here have enough information that the reader could locate where the material was obtained.

FamilySearch-20th Century US Military Indexes

The following are showing as new on FamilySearch since our last update:

United States, American Prisoners of War During the Korean War, 1950-1953

United States, Casualties of Army Personnel, Dependents and Civilian Employees, 1961-1981

United States, Casualties of the Vietnam War, 1956-1998

United States, Index to the Gorgas Hospital Mortuary Registers, 1906-1991

United States, Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II, 1942-1946

United States, Korean War Battle Deaths, 1950-1957

United States, Korean War Dead and Army Wounded, 1950-1953

United States, Korean War Repatriated Prisoners of War, 1950-1954

United States, Military Personnel who Died During the Vietnam War, 1956-2003

United States, World War II Prisoners of War of the Japanese, 1941-1945