Anyone Do Genealogy?

[chicksgalore]

One more thing: is there any way to find out where someone resided--actual address? Thanks!

 

[Mawchickkidie]

my fil is but I think he is doing his indain ancestory.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Quote:
What is the source for your g-grandfather's date of death? Generally, when you find conflicting information, you need to use more than one source of information and also weigh the value of the sources of information to make a determination of the validity of that information.

For instance, if the source of information is a family Bible, yet you can find, say, his WWI registration and a census listing for him after that date, one can only assume that there was an error in the Bible (more likely) or that someone was impersonating him in those other records (less likely). To make a confirmation, you'd need to obtain his death record and obituary. There's always the chance that what you're finding in one or another record is someone with a similar name. Multiple sources are always better than a single source and the quality of the source is also something to look at. A death record is only a primary source for his death. Anything else contained therein could be in error - things such as his date of birth (better is a birth record), his parents names (again, birth record is better for that, parents marriage records, etc), etc.

As for Ancestry - There are two search methods. Try both of them. One is more broad and will give you more 'hits' on your search. The other is more narrow. Try both to see if it turns up anything. Print out anything you find.

The actual address will be listed in a couple of different places - some census records include that information - way over in the left column. That WWI record will also have his address. Be sure to look for him in that same city in 1920, just in case the death info you have is incorrect. If you find him in 1920, look in 1930 as well. Some larger cities can be found in the City Directory section.

Use the census records to trace backwards. If you find a 26 year old male with his wife and kids, look back and see if you can find a 16+/- 1 - 2 years, male by the same name in the same area or with matching information like place of birth/parents place of birth. You just may get lucky and find him with his parents. You might even get additionally lucky and find him with a grandparent also in the home.

Use the clues you find like immigration dates to see if you can find him coming over here. Keep in mind that Ellis Island only opened up in 1892. Anything earlier in NY might come through Castle Garden.

Try different searches - narrow it by the state he lived in. Check the newspapers for that area if you find any hits for it. Some of the best stuff I've found is in the newspaper sections. Newspapers might also give you some addresses.

Be sure to check the birth/marriage/death section to see if the state where he lived is included.

Trace absolutely everyone you can think of on the census records.

Are you finding censuses where your people are 'missing'? Try searching using different methods. Use the SOUNDEX function. If you get too many hits, another option is to use the asterisk. You must have the first 3 letters, thus, you can search for the name "Johnson" by using "Joh*". It will pull up anything that starts with those three letters. You can do the same thing with the first name. If you know which town they lived, check by last name only, in case initials were used by the enumerator or if your ancestor was using a middle or nickname.

That ought to keep you busy for a while . . . If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.