Genealogy Tips
These
are from various sources
When making a copy of any item that is likely to "bleed thru," use a
red or black paper behind it. Newspapers, older legal documents, and
any other
paper that readily lets light through is a candidate. I usually carry
several pieces
of construction paper and give them to places where I may be doing a
lot of
copying. Alternately, you may try any blank dark object
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When reading film or printed sources that are difficult to read, use
colored
films to cut the light. You may wish to purchase transparency film in
several
colors as certain types of film, papers, or inks respond differently.
The type
of light they were filmed with, ink and paper colors reflect back
different
light ranges, so play around with the films to see which allows you to
read the
print best. I used to be able to get school report covers for this, but
now
they are much too opaque. Small squares of the film may also be used
between
microfilm (or microfiche) reader lenses and the glass plates which
protect the film.
If you can get only one color of film, choose the most translucent
yellow you
can find. Choice of color will depend on several variables -- light
from
machine, light from room, and condition of the film, are a few. If the
reader
is a projection type, you may wish to place the film on the table on
which the
image shines. Sometimes with this type of reader, manila folders work
well;
absorbing some of the reflected light. I also leave these items in
places I
often frequent.
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The films above are equally useful when reading copied papers that are
of poor
quality or old faded originals.
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Poor copies may be enhanced by re-copying them at a higher
resolution or
by making them lighter or darker. If the copier has photo settings,
play around
with them till you get what you need.
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When visiting a cemetery try to remember to take a 2'x2' square of
cardboard
covered with aluminum foil, a flashlight and a spray bottle of water.
The foil
paper and flashlight can help erase or form shadows for
photography of
stones. Wet stones show letters better, too. The final tool would be
sand from
the surrounding site. A bit dribbled into the carving on a horizontal
stone or
used to gently rub off lichens or dirt that obscures names and
dates,
works wonders. Never use anything else! Talcum powder, shoe polish,
shaving
cream and a host of other things people tell you to use, simply
accelerate the
decay process of the stones. Be sure to brush the sand off when you are
done,
for when wet, it too may harm a stone. Tread softly wherever you go.
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On finding females: some areas of the world use English common law
regarding
name changes, so legal action is not necessary in choosing the name by
which
one goes. Ie: British Isles, US and Canada. France,
Spain, Quebec
and Louisiana
among others use a civil law system which requires a woman who wishes
to change
her name to go thru the same procedures as others who make name
changes.
Therefore when looking for a woman of French, Italian, or Dutch
parentage, it
is wise to look for her under her maiden name even if married at the
time.
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Be careful with interpreting items based on normal spellings. For
example a
death certificate was reported as "died of new money disease." This
turned out to be Pneumonia. A woman was listed as "Drew Ciller ..."
-- Drucilla; another "Mack Scene . . ." -- Maxine.
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Searching on the internet: almost always results will be best if you
use lower
case letters and concise terms. If you get too many hits, you may then
begin
experimenting with descriptive words to limit results. Typing in all
lower case
will render all instances of your query, while using proper
capitalization may miss those read incorrectly when OCR'd or from
copies of old
manuscripts with poor capitalization.
Carefully check the suggestions made by your search engine. See if they
allow
"wild cards" or if the system allows truncation -- ie: typing in good
will result in findings of Gooding, Goodwin, Goodman, etc.
In most cases adding a "+" sign before a word will dictate that it must
be in the results.
Also, quotes around a phrase will usually make sure the engine treats
words as
a phrase rather than as separate words. You need to be careful here,
though.
When looking for John Smith, you may miss "Smith, John" or "John
H. Smith."
If looking for roadways, never specify street, avenue, etc. unless you
receive
too many hits.
If allowed a "fuzzy search," try that, first.
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From The newsletter of the Allen County Library in Ft. Wayne, IN
comes the suggestion to look at census soundex films when one cannot
find a
person one knows should have been enumerated in a specific census.
Often pages
have been missed when filming is done, but the soundex films were made
from
typed indices of the originals. Should you find your name there, the
next step
would be to go through the original files in the National Archives.
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Agricultural, Manufacturing and Mortality Schedules, Social Statistics,
and
Defective, Dependent and
Delinquent classes are all addendums to the censuses and when
studied, give
us a better look at the area and our ancestors. Some of them have
specific info
on people, while others deal with general facts.
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This is from a member of the Wells Co., IN mailing list:
On some of the records on Ancestry.com, when searching a name with Mc
at the
beginning you should leave a space between it and the rest of the name,
some
not all. Also when searching for a person with what we presumed to be
an
unusual first name, use the soundex capability, does wonders. Good luck
and
happy hunting. Don
Similarly when searching within one of the books, articles or whatever,
you may
wish to use a space before a name that is commonly within other names,
when
using the "find" command of your browser. Ie: Edge is found in
ledger, Rutledge, and many others, so one would type in
"(space)edge". Also, remember not to capitalize the first letter.
Lack of capitalization was rampant in the early 1800s.
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Make
use of libraries, funeral homes and other remote resources. Always send
a self
addressed stamped envelope and if
appropriate a small donation. Not only will you get better service, you
will be
helping strapped public offices with their day-to-day upkeep. It is
always wise
to offer to pay for copy and postage as well.
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One
must be careful when reading older documents. In the past, "In-law"
meant just that, relative by law. It
often referred to a step-child or step-parent. Also, I noticed one
entry that
referred to one woman's granddaughter as her step-daughter, and other
instances
where daughter referred to daughter-in-law.
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I want to take this opportunity to remind you of
a long-standing
service of the Allen County Public Library. For many decades,
individuals
who have not had a desire to officially publish their genealogical
work
have sent an unbound "master copy" to the Historical
Genealogy Department. In exchange for the privilege of
allowing us
to make one photocopy for our collection, we provide
the compiler of
the work with one complementary, bound photocopy for his or her
collection
in addition to returning the original master.
It is a great way to make sure your work is preserved and available for
future
generations of researchers. In addition, having a copy at our
library
ensures your work is secure from any disaster that might, heaven
forbid, befall
your personal library. What to do with the extra copy?
How about a "draft" book to pass around at the next family reunion
for others to comment upon and update? Or a little
surprise gift for the relative or family friend who really helped you
out?
If you are interested in taking advantage of this service, just mail
your
unbound "master copy" to Steve Myers, Assistant Manager, Historical
Genealogy Department, P.
O. Box 2270, Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270.
Include a note that simply reads, "Photocopy Exchange
Program." You'll be glad you did--and we will certainly be
glad you did!
Curt B. Witcher
Manager, Historical Genealogy Department
NE Director, Indiana Genealogical Society
Allen County Public Library
P. O. Box 2270, 200 E. Berry Street
Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
CWitcher@ACPL.Lib.in.us
260-421-1226
Fax: 260-421-1386
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Finally,
a suggestion for your family:
Please,
label pictures with the subject(s), date, and place. You, too, may
appreciate
it later!