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                          SEARCHING YOUR FAMILY TREE
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                             By Richard A. Pence

[The following beginner's guide to genealogy was first syndicated to
newspapers in 1977 and again in 1982 by the Register and Tribune Syndicate.
While it has been updated to reflect such things as new addresses, it
obviously doesn't deal with how you might effectively use them in genealogy
work, since it was written before the days of home computers. Those
experienced with computers will readily see applications in research,
recordkeeping and printing out material. Richard A. Pence is co-author, with
Paul Andereck, of Computer Genealogy, published by Ancestry, Inc., Salt Lake
City, and has published several books on the Pence family. He is editor of the
NGS/CIG Digest, published bimonthly by the Computer Interest Group of the
National Genealogical Society. He is also co-sysop of the NGS/CIG BBS, a part
of the National Genealogy Conference, and moderates a conference on genealogy
for the Capital PC Users Group in Washington. Copyright 1982 by the Register
and Tribune Syndicate, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa. Updated December, 1986; used
with permission.]

                              HOW TO GET STARTED

One of the difficult aspects of genealogy - at least for me - is trying to
explain to friends why a grown man should spend countless hours in a musty
library or chasing around the country copying inscriptions from tombstones in
overgrown cemeteries.

That sort of avocation, they think, is reserved for matronly ladies who want
to join patriotic societies.

There are many who search their family trees for that reason alone. But
genealogy is much more. It is a human history of our nation's growth and a
puzzle infinitely more challenging than the crossword in the Sunday New York
Times.

If you enjoy solving a mystery or are fascinated by the early history of our
country, then genealogy may be the hobby for you.

But where do you start? The best place is right at home.

The first thing you should do is write down all you know about your family,
starting with yourself and your parents and working backward to your
grandparents, great grandparents and so on. Chances are someone already has
started this process; if so, your job will be easier.

You should include dates and places of births, marriages, deaths, places of
residence and other information, such as occupation, military service or
church affiliation.

When you get stuck, figure out who in your family might know the answer. In
fact, you should try to interview your older relatives as a first order of
business. With some luck, you may find out much of what you want to know about
a particular branch of your family.

Early in my research I visited a great aunt who supposedly had kept some
family records. I didn't really expect the treasure I found. Among the things
she had: my third great grandmother's family Bible - complete with vital
statistics for three generations - which had made its way from Massachusetts
to a homestead in South Dakota nearly 100 years before; a family photo album
with pictures that predated the Civil War and which contained photos of four
of my third great grandparents; and old newspaper clippings, letters and notes
which provided additional information and clues.

INTERVIEW POINTERS

There are things to keep in mind when interviewing or writing your relatives.

First, make your questions specific. You'll have a better chance of getting a
helpful answer. If you ask generally about early family recollections, your
correspondent may not reply or may say that little can be remembered. Ask
about specific people, specific times or places.

I once wrote a great uncle, asking him for any information he might have on
his ancestors. He answered, saying he didn't remember anything. I then wrote
and asked him if he knew were his father had lived in 1870. His return letter
not only solved that mystery, but included colorful stories about great
grandfather's days as a cowboy in Texas and Kansas, stories told at bedtime
when my great uncle was a boy.

Second, inquire about photographs, diaries, letters and other family papers
that may give clues for names and places your family lived. Look for items
such as funeral cards, birth announcements or marriage, birth or death
certificates.

Third, keep track of what you are told in a carefully dated and documented
fashion. Write down who told you and when they told you for each piece of
information. If a relative sends you an undated letter, add the date you
received it. If you use a tape recorder, begin the tape with the date and
location and the name of the person you are interviewing, as well as your own
name.

FAMILY TRADITIONS

You should treat family traditions with a certain amount of healthy
skepticism. These stories - often embellished from generation to generation -
are great clues for further research, but they shouldn't be accepted until
they can be documented.

There are some traditions that seem to pop up in nearly every family. If you
encounter one of these, don't disregard it - but be careful how you use it.
Here are some:

* The "Three Brothers." Invariably you will come across the belief that the
founders of a particular family in this country were "three brothers, who came
here at an early date." A common variation is that "one remained in New
England, one went south and one went west."

This tradition reflects the desire of an individual to believe that everyone
with the same last name is somehow related. The "three brothers" theory neatly
explains why there are families with that name throughout the country whose
relationships can't be established. Most genealogists disregard this theory
unless there is evidence otherwise.

* "We're Related to Nobility." This tradition also is common but often not
true. Variations include a lost dukedom, riches or a castle in some foreign
land.

Unscrupulous promotors have played upon the desire for wealth or status by
convincing people to contribute toward a fund seeking to restore a lost
fortune or property to its "rightful heirs" - usually everybody with the same
last name as some rich or famous person.

The strange thing about these con games is that the more you try to tell "Aunt
Bessie" she's being taaken, the more she is convinced that there's a giant
conspiracy aimed at depriving her and her relatives of their just inheritance.

If it does turn out that you have an English lord as an ancestor or that you
and George Washington are descended from the same stock, then you have an
interesting addition to the story of your family. (When you consider that in
just 12 generations - less than 300 years - an individual has 8,190 ancestors,
it wouldn't be terribly unusual to find such a connection.) But don't forget
that for every nobleman in most family trees, there are several dozen
ancestors who came to this country as indentured servants.

* Association With Famous People. You often will hear of some ancestor's
association with famous people or events. Stories like these may have some
foundation, but they often are impossible to document. However, if the facts
seem to fit you'll want to continue researching the tradition.

As a small boy, I read a relative's account of how our ancestor - my third
great grandfather - supposedly spent a winter in an Indian "wickiup" (teepee
or lodge) and was later confronted by its owner, Blackhawk, the famous Sac
chief. The story was worth more checking for two reasons: Our ancestor was
known to be in that area of northwestern Illinois at the time, and history
records that an incident such as this (according to Blackhawk's autobiography)
was one of the things that led up to the Blackhawk Indian War in the early
1830s.

Finally, several years ago, I discovered an eyewitness account of the event.
Not only was our ancestor named as the intruder, but specific dates and places
were given, thus documenting when the family moved into Illinois. In this
case, a family tradition led to the eventual proof of an ancestor's
participation in an interesting historical event and added illuminating
details about his life.

But other traditions have never proved out. I'm still trying to document an
item in an Indiana history that claims Abraham Lincoln visited once or twice
at the home of a second great grandfather (Is it true? If so, what was the
reason?), one that says New England relatives were frequent visitors of J.
Pierpont Morgan, the financier (they were related to him through a Pierpont
line, but at best distant cousins!), and still another that places an ancestor
among those who participated in the Boston Tea Party (turns out he was a
prominent leader during the Revolution, but no facts relate him to this
event).

There are some other common problems with family traditions you should watch
for. Some examples:

An incident often will be credited to one side of the family when in fact it
happened to another side. Your grandmother may tell you a story she heard as a
child about something that happened to her paternal grandfather and later you
discover that it was her maternal grandfather who was involved.

Sometimes the story will be credited to a person in the wrong generation. An
example appears in my grandfather's obituary, which says he was descended from
a "Revolutionary War veteran who became known as Judge John Pence." Since
Judge John wasn't born until 1774, I knew this was impossible. I assumed what
happened was that the family stretched a statement in an early family history
from "the family goes back to Revolutionary days" into veteran's status for
the first known ancestor. Years later I discovered documentation that John's
father was the one who had served in the Revolution.

Mistakes about national origin can confuse a family's history. Your great
grandmother may have denied a particular nationality because it was not "the
thing to be" in her day. Consequently, your grandmother might pass on to you
what she believes to be the truth; in reality, though, great grandmother
"withheld evidence."

Don't be surprised if, while you're interviewing Aunt Bessie, she suddenly has
amnesia after having displayed a remarkable memory about the family tree,
complete with names, dates and places. Suddenly - when you ask her about a
particular ancestor - she can't remember a thing. That's a sure sign you've
found a family "black sheep" - we all have them!


                              KEEPING YOUR RECORDS

As you collect more and more information about your ancestors, you'll find that
you will have an increasingly difficult time keeping track of who is who.
That's when you'll want to set up some sort of record-keeping system.

A looseleaf notebook and alphabetical files are enough at first. The notebook
is compact enough to be carried when doing research, yet it can contain enough
information so you can double-check information on the spot. The alphabetical
file provides a safe and orderly means of keeping copies of accumulated records
or notes and correspondence about a particular family.

THE NOTEBOOK

These are the records I include in my "traveling notebook":

Family Ancestor Charts or Pedigree Charts. These charts, which can be
purchased through most genealogical societies or from businesses or bookstores
which specialize in genealogy, are for your direct ancestors only. They begin
at the left of the page with an individual (you or your child or parent), then
branch out to the right to show parents, grandparents, etc., including dates
and places of births, deaths and marriages. If you are the "subject" of the
chart (which is designated as Chart No. 1), you are assigned the number 1.
Your father is No. 2, your mother is No. 3, your paternal grandfather is No.
4, and so on. Pedigree charts usually have complete information on three
generations of ancestors for an individual, with the names of the members of
the fourth generation plus a reference to succeeding charts, where vital
information on them is recorded.

This commonly used numbering system for pedigree charts is called an
"ahnentafel" by genealogists, after the title of a book where it was first
used. By looking at a chart you can see that the number for any individual's
father is 2 times that of the individual and that person's mother's number is
2 times plus 1. With the exception of No. 1, who can be either male or female,
all even-numbered persons are males and all odd-numbered are females. The
spouse of No. 1 is not assigned a number.

If you don't have charts, you can simply do an "ahnentafel listing" on a sheet
of paper, with the persons listed in numerical order.

Carrying this numbering system over to other records allows quick
identification of any person in your records and allows you to file
numerically if you choose.

Charts subsequent to No. 1 are numbered sequentially, with Chart No. 2 having
the ancestors of No. 16 (your great great grandfather), Chart No. 3 the
ancestors of No. 17 and so on. All these charts are kept in the front of your
notebook and provide a record of the statistics you have on your more distant
ancestors. As you acquire information, you may need to include an index of
each family name in your notebook. This index probably won't be necessary
until you have traced several families back a half dozen or more generations.

Family Group Sheets. The other major section in your notebook is a collection
of family group sheets containing information about each couple whose names
are on your pedigree charts. These sheets can be arranged alphabetically by
last name or numerically according to your pedigree charts.

Included on these sheets is the following information: name of husband, date
and place of his birth, marriage, death and burial, and names of his parents.
Similar information is given for the wife and for each of the couple's
children with room for their spouses' names. Space is left for other
information such as places of residence, occupation, church affiliation and
military service.

Also included is such information as additional marriages for either husband
or wife and the citation or source of each piece of information. Children born
from other marriages of your ancestors are listed on separate family group
sheets. Adopted children may be listed if the adoption is noted.

As with pedigree charts, family group sheets can be done on a plain sheet of
paper. Among places where these forms can be ordered are: The National
Genealogical Society, 4527 Seventeenth Street North, Arlington, VA 22207; New
England Historical and Genealogical Society, 101 Newbury Street, Boston MA
02116; the Everton Publishers, P.O. Box 368, Logan, UT 84321; or they may be
bought at any of the many branch libraries of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and in bookstores which deal in genealogy or history.

The information on your family group sheets will provide you with backup facts
for those contained on your charts and also will come in handy on your
research excursions.

While you may not be directly interested in facts about the brothers and
sisters (siblings) of your ancestors, this information often can provide a
vital clue about your own direct line.

For instance, you might learn that a particular great grandfather's name was
John Doe, but you don't know his father's name. From other sources, you learn
that John had a brother named James and a sister Elizabeth. Put this
information, with actual or approximate dates of birth, on the children's
portion of a family group sheet.

If the children you know about seem to have several years between their dates
of birth, you should leave blanks for other probable children. Also leave the
spaces for the parents blank. Later in your research, you may discover that a
Samuel Doe had children named John, James and Elizabeth, as well as others.
Check this information against what you have learned about your great
grandfather and his siblings. If there's enough to convince you that Samuel
may indeed be John's father, then you can begin in earnest to find out more
about him.

There's another important reason for learning about the brothers and sisters
of your ancestors: They can provide clues to earlier generations of a family.

Building on the above information, suppose your great grandfather and one or
more of his brothers named their first sons Samuel. This would be added
evidence that Samuel was John's father, for it was the custom in the last
century to name the first son after the paternal grandfather.

Likewise, the second son was commonly named after the maternal grandfather,
and suceeding sons were often named after uncles or great uncles. The girls,
too, were often named after their grandmothers or great grandmothers.

And given names that appear to be surnames also can provide clues to a
mother's or grandmother's maiden name. Naming a son John Smith Doe might
indicate that his maternal grandfather's name was John Smith.

Your family group sheets can also help in establishing ages of the parents and
children. Suppose you are piecing together information on a family and you
only have ages or birthdates for a few of the children. Group the children as
best you can from the oldest down to the youngest.

If you know the spread of time from the oldest to the youngest, you may be
able to approximate the mother's age by keeping in mind normal childbearing
ages. Statistics tell us that the average age for men to marry is about 25;
for women, about 21. The average time between children is about two years,
sometimes less.

If there is a gap of several years between children, it likely could indicate
that one or more children died at birth or in infancy. Another possibility is
that the older group of children had a different mother who died and the
younger group are the offspring of a second marriage.

Large numbers of children with a spread of 25 years between the youngest and
oldest definitely should lead you to examine whether there was another wife.
If you know there was an earlier wife, but are unsure as to when she died,
think of the possibility she may have died in childbirth, a frequent cause of
death in early days.

THE FILE

Despite all of the information you'll have in your "traveling notebook," you
still will need a place to keep other documents and backup material.

A secondhand standard letter-size file cabinet should do the job. Initially, I
had a file folder for each family name filed alphabetically. As the amount of
information grew, however, these folders had to be subdivided.

I now have dozens of folders for the Pence family, including several for some
individuals, plus many for unrelated Pence families. (In the course of your
research, you'll accumulate a lot of material on unrelated lines. You'll want
to file this material because it can help you prove or disprove theories about
your own lines. In my case, piecing together all of the various Pence families
in the U.S. eventually became an overriding genealogical interest.

Above all, remember as you go about your genealogical research that everything
must be verified or documented before it can be considered genealogical
evidence. Place each bit of information, its source, the place you found it,
the date and other pertinent facts on a sheet and put it into its proper file
folder as soon as you can.


                       SECONDARY SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Genealogists need to learn what written records are available and where to
find them in order to do an accurate job on their family trees. Generally,
records are referred to as either "primary" (contemporary or original) or
"secondary" (compiled or published).

Primary records are those which report an event at or close to the time it
happened. They are original records of events and include state or federal
census records; courthouse records, such as deeds, wills, probates, birth or
death records, naturalization records, or court proceedings (both civil and
criminal); church records, primarily baptism and marriage; ships' passenger
lists; and military records.

Secondary, or published records, include histories, indexes or compilations of
census or marriage records, printed family histories or genealogies, and
collections of tombstone inscriptions.

Primary records are the most reliable source of information, but secondary
sources can provide you with many shortcuts in your genealogical research. A
printed family genealogy, for example, might have information on several
generations of a given line you're searching.

Most competent genealogists consider published family histories only as clues
for further searching. They use the dates and places as evidence of where to
search for more supporting information. A well-done family history or
genealogy will include citations to primary records and will greatly simplify
your future research.

LIBRARIES

As interest in genealogy and local history has grown, more and more libraries
have improved their collections in these areas. Many county-seat libraries
have fine collections. Almost every state library has a special collection of
genealogical materials, often maintained with the aid of a state historical or
genealogical society. Unfortunately, smaller libraries often cannot afford
such collections, although some books may be available through interlibrary
loan.

In your search for secondary reference materials, you'll want to start at your
local - or nearest larger - library, especially if your family has lived in
your county or state for many years. Ask your librarian for local histories
and genealogies; one of these might, for instance, tell you where your family
lived before it came to the county where you now live. Also check the
libraries in nearby counties.

Often the books you need to check will not be available locally. If you have a
fairly good idea of the information you want and which book it is in you may
be able to write your state library (or another library) and ask for specific
information.

Many state libraries have genealogical finding aids which can help you. Some
have indexes of names in early histories or other printed or microfilm
records, such as marriage record indexes. Write your state library and ask for
information. Most have a pamphlet describing what is available.

Many will copy printed or microfilm records for you for a fee. They also may
be able to provide you with a list of people who will undertake genelogical
research for you for a fee.

The Library of Congress (Washington, DC 20540) has an excellent collection of
genealogies and local histories. If your travels include a trip to Washington,
this is a must visit. The library's small staff can only do a limited amount
of searching in the catalogs and indexes for specific titles or references if
you query it by mail.

You can write the library for free leaflets describing its services. The three
most helpful are "Reference Services and Facilities of the Local History and
Genealogy Room," "Guide to Genealogical Research: A Selected List," and
"Surnames: A Selected List of Books."

The Library of the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution
(1776 D Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20006), has an extensive genealogical
collection, including printed genealogies as well as manuscripts submitted by
individuals or local chapters. It also has Bible, church and cemetery records,
abstracts of court records, lineage books, and other materials. The Library is
open to nonmembers for a small fee except during April.

The National Genealogical Society has its own library and maintains a library
loan service and research service for members. The library collection includes
published and unpublished works pertaining to genealogy, local history and
heraldry. It is open to nonmembers for a small fee.

The most famous genealogical library is that of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (35 North West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84150). It has a
massive genealogical collection, much of it on microfilm or microfiche and
available through branch libraries around the country.

Its collection includes a computer-produced genealogical library catalog on
microfiche; the latest edition of the International Genealogical Index, which
lists the names and selected vital data of approximately 88 million deceased
persons from over 90 countries; the Accelerated Indexing System's microfiche
index for 1790-1850; an extensive list of library aids and reference books;
and the Family Registry of some 100,000-plus names coordinating the searchers
with the names being searched.

The library is open to the public and specialists in most areas are available
for consultation.

You'll save a lot of backtracking if you make certain you don't leave a
library, court house or other research site without a complete citation
regarding information you've found. Also write down the citations and general
content for books you didn't find anything in and keep a list of those so you
won't go over the same ground again. This list can also be of help in case you
need to go back to check these sources for newly discovered ancestors.

GENEALOGIES AND LOCAL HISTORIES

As previously mentioned, two of the more common types of secondary information
are local histories. Both can be excellent sources of information or clues for
further research. You should keep in mind, however, that these sources may not
always be accurate.

Local histories were very popular in the latter part of the 1800s, especially
in the Midwest. Most of them were money-making efforts of large publishers who
sent teams of people out into a county. These people collected some local
history and local biographies and added them to a pre-packaged state history.

They also sold books, for that is the way the publishers made money. And the
way to make sure they would sell more copies was to include flowery write-ups
about county residents - either for a fee or upon the subject's promise to buy
one or more of the usually high-priced books. The more prominent one was made
to appear, the more books he was likely to buy, so the publisher's word
craftsmen spared no adjectives.

The biographies were full of "loyal patriots," "respected farmers" and
"prominent merchants," as well as "loving wives and mothers."

Even with these drawbacks, there often is much genealogical information in
these presentations. Usually the names of previous generations are given,
along with the wife's maiden name and the names of her parents. Often included
were the dates the family came to the county and where it had previously
lived.

One of the major drawbacks of family genealogies and histories, especially
those published in the Nineteenth Century, is the lack of adequate
documentation. As often as not, the author - in his zeal to trace the family
back to the Mayflower or other illustrious beginnings - made serious mistakes.
The most common one was assuming that an ancestor was the son of a particular
man with the same name without proper documentation.

On the other hand, these books provide excellent clues for further research.
You can usually make your own judgments as to the accuracy of a particular
genealogy by noting such things as completeness and citiations to specific
sources.


                            THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Of all the materials and sources available to the genealogist, by far the most
important are primary records or "original" records. These are the records
found in archives, courthouses, town halls, old churches - even in the attic.

The value of primary records is that they are contemporary with the event
which they record. Thus they are more likely to be accurate than a record made
some time later from memory.

The National Archives and Records Administration (Washington, DC, 20408) is
the repository for the U.S. government. It preserves and makes available
valuable federal records from all three branches of government. The records in
the custody of the National Archives are housed in the National Archives
building in Washington, DC, (bounded by Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues
and 7th and 9th Streets, N.W.), in the Washington National Records Center in
Suitland, MD, and in eleven archives branches around the country.

CENSUS RECORDS

One of the most valuable records for the genealogist is the federal census.
The United States government has conducted a census of each state and
territory every ten years since 1790 and, in some places, other years. The
federal census records from 1790 through 1840 contain little genealogical
information. Only the head of household is given by name; all others in the
family are counted only in specific age groups by sex. These records, though,
can be helpful, for they tell you the number of children in the family and
their approximate ages (remember that not all in the household are necessarily
family members). They also can help you find where your family lived and
pinpoint your research.

The 1850 census was the first to include the name of each person in a
household, including age, sex, color, occupation, and birth place (state,
territory or foreign country), occupation and value of real estate and
personal property (usually just for the head of the household). In 1870 the
census gave the month of birth if born during the year, the month of marriage
if married within the year, and whether the father or mother of each
individual was foreign born. The 1880 census added two valuable pieces of
information: the relationship of each person to the head of the household and
the birthplace of the father and mother of each person. The 1890 census was
largely destroyed by fire in 1921 and only fragments of it are available for
research.

The 1900 and 1910 censuses are the most helpful available. The 1900 census
included the month and year of birth of each individual, as well as the number
of years married for each couple, the number of children the woman had borne,
and the number living in 1900. The census indicated whether a family rented or
owned its own residence, whether it was a home or a farm, and whether it was
mortgaged. For foreign born, the year of immigration was given and whether
naturalized or first papers filed. The 1910 census has similar information and
includes whether it was a first marriage or, if not, what number, language
spoken, employment status, and whether served in the Union or Confederate army
or navy.

Because of the confidential nature of census records, Congress determines when
each census may be released. Current law requires that census information
remain confidential for 72 years. The 1920 census, available in 1992, is the
last to have been indexed.

Published indexes are available for all U.S. censuses from 1790 through 1850.
Computerized indexes of the 1860 census for most states will be available in a
few years.

The 1790 census - those parts available - was published by the government in
the early 1900s and has since been privately reprinted. Published census
schedules for 1790 are for Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South
Carolina and Vermont.

The schedules for the remaining states - Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, New
Jersey, Tennessee and Virginia - were burned during the War of 1812.
Substitute schedules, made from names in state censuses or tax lists, have
been published for many of the missing states. These printed 1790 schedules
are available in most larger libraries.

The 1880, 1900 and most of the 1910 censuses have "soundex" indexes on
microfilm. The soundex is a coded surname index based on the way a surname
sounds rather than how it is spelled. The 1880 soundex includes only those
households with a child 10 or younger.

In using a census index, be certain that you have looked for your surname in
all of its possible spelling variations. Remember also that indexes, including
those produced by a computer, are subject to human error. Every genealogist
has a horror story about printed census indexes; studies show that the error
rate is high because of improper keypunching or misreading of the original
records. So if you don't find your ancestor in an index it doesn't necessarily
mean that he cannot be found in the census. You may often have to search every
name in a given county before you find him.

The National Archives has original or microfilm copies of all the federal
census schedules that have been made available to the public. These can be
used in the microfilm reading room in the National Archives or at one of the
eleven branches. If you are searching in Washington, enter the Pennsylvania
Avenue side of the building. You will need to sign in and out and notebooks or
brief cases are subject to search. The reading room is located on the fourth
floor. While a researcher's identification card is necessary for certain
research in the National Archives, you don't need one to use the microfilm
reading room. In any case they are available in the lobby upon request.

To help with your census search, the Archives has a free booklet, "Getting
Started: Beginning Your Genealogical Research in the National Archives."
Included is an explanation of the soundex system.

If you are unable to visit a library where census record microfilms are
available, the National Archives will, on request, send you a copy of each of
its catalogs of microfilm copies: "Federal Population Censuses 1790-1890,"
"1900 Federal Population Census," and "The 1910 Federal Population Census."
Prices and order blanks are included. Also, many county libraries have
microfilm copies of census records for their local areas.

Census records cannot always be relied on as accurate. Persons giving the
information may not have known the exact ages or places of birth of each
member of the household. And there's always been vanity about ages - I've
noted cases where people aged only five years in the ten years between the
censuses! Census takers spelled what they heard and many of them spelled
badly. And apparently they weren't hired because of their penmanship. Even so,
the family listing in a census gives you valuable information and provides
clues for further research.

MILITARY RECORDS

The National Archives has military service records beginning with the
Revolutionary War. Two types of records are of particular interest to the
genealogist: the compiled service record and the pension application record.

Compiled military service records are of limited genealogical value. They
serve primarily to prove military service by your ancestor. For the most part,
they consist of the serviceman's rank, military unit, dates of service,
payroll and muster rolls, discharge, desertion or death. A few of the later
war records include some personal information such as age, birthplace and
physical description.

Microfilm indexes of military service records are available for the following
periods: Revolution, 1775-1783; post-Revolution, 1784-1811; War of 1812, 1812-
1815; Indian Wars, 1817-1858; Mexican War, 1846-1848; Civil War, Union troops,
1861-1865; Civil War, Confederate troops, 1861-1865; Spanish-American War,
1898-1899; and the Philippine Insurrection, 1899-1902.

Pension application records are the most important military records for
genealogists. The National Archives has pension applications and payment
records for veterans, widows and other heirs. They are based on service in the
U.S. armed forces between 1775 and 1916, but not duty in the service of the
Confederate States.

Genealogical information in these files varies. In the file for one of my
ancestors was an "autograph letter" recounting his experiences during the
Revolution as well as statements signed by John Hancock attesting to his
service in Maine, along with notarized information relating to his marriage
and the birth of his children. Others may contain only depositions relating to
the applicant's service, his age, birthplace and place of residence. Widow's
applications often have more material, for they had to furnish the date and
place of the marriage, the date and place of her husband's death, her maiden
name, age, residence, and the names and ages of her children.

The National Genealogical Society compiled and published an alphabetical name
index of the Revolutionary War pension applications files and is working on
one for the War of 1812.

To secure photocopies of military or pension records by mail, write the
National Archives Reference Service Branch (NNIR) and ask for copies of its
military request order forms. Information on the form must be as complete as
possible for an effective search to be made. At a minimum, you must know the
state from which he served and the period when he served. There is a charge
for this service.

Some state archives or libraries have additional military records - or copies
of the federal records - so you will want to check there. Iowa, for instance,
has an excellent collection gathered as a part of a WPA project in the 1930s
and maintained by military authorities. Some states also issued pensions;
inquiries about these should be directed to the state where the veteran lived
after the war.

PASSENGER ARRIVAL RECORDS/FEDERAL LAND RECORDS

The Archives and its branches have passenger arrival records beginning in 1820
(they were not required before that date). To request a search of the
passenger arrival records, write the Reference Service Branch (NNIR) and
request forms for ordering passenger arrival records. The important
information you will need includes approximate date of arrival of your
ancestor, port of entry, and - if possible - the name of the ship. There is a
charge for this service.

If your ancestor lived in one of the "public land" states (30 states,
primarily from Ohio west) and bought land directly from the federal
government, you can request a search of the National Archives Records. You
will need to furnish your ancestor's full name, the state in which he or she
acquired land, whether the land was acquired before or after 1908, and, if
possible, the legal description of the land by section, township and range. If
you don't have a legal description, describe its location as precisely as you
can. There is a fee for this service and it may take several weeks to process
your order.


                           STATE AND LOCAL RECORDS

The records maintained by each county or other local jurisdiction are valuable
sources of family information. Land records, wills and probates, other court
records and vital statistics are just some of the materials available to the
genealogist.

Unfortunately, many of these records have been lost by fire or, perhaps,
carelessness. And in most states, birth and death records weren't kept until
this centrury. Marriage records are often available for much earlier years.

In general, early records for most of New England are fairly complete. Most
Massachusetts vital records have been published. In the South, however, many
early records weren't centrally kept or were lost or burned.

In most states records of interest to genealogists are kept in the state
archives, the state library and a land office. County records not transferred
to the state archives are usually found in county courthouses. In New England
some records, particularly vital records, are kept in town halls.

Many state libraries have developed information sheets that will help you
begin your research. There are also published genealogical research guides
available for many states.

The government publication, "Where to Write for Vital Records," gives specific
information on the location of these records. Issued periodically, it is
available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office, Washington, DC 20402, or can be found in many libraries. It lists
information by state and includes the repository, address and cost of each
certificate.

"The Handy Book for Genealogists" is a particularly helpful guide. It contains
information on local record sources, including published state and local
histories, lists of libraries and historical societies, county maps of each
state, a listing of counties, with records available in each and whom and
where to write for them, date the county was formed and its parent counties,
and a rundown of available census records and indexes to them. Available from
Everton Publishers, P.O. Box 369, Logan, UT 84321.

You can find out what records are available in a county by writing the county
clerk. (The exact county official in charge of various records varies from
state to state; a letter addressed to the clerk will usually be passed on to
the proper office.)

If you can provide a specific name and an approximate date for a document
(deed, birth, death, marriage, will, etc.), the clerk can find and copy the
record for you at a nominal fee (usually about $3).

VITAL RECORDS

While vital records are the most important records for genealogists, their
availability varies widely from area to area, as previously mentioned.

An additional problem is that information found in them is not always
accurate. Early records may not be complete, the person providing the
information may have given inaccurate data either intentionally or by mistake,
or other errors have occured in copying or indexing.

If a parent gave the information for a birth certificate, you can assume it is
accurate. Beware, however, of information provided for a death certificate. A
person giving such information for his grandfather often didn't know the
pertinent information asked, such as date and place of birth, or gave confused
information. As an example, a great uncle provided information for the death
certificate of his father (my great grandfather) and in the blank for the
decedant's mother's maiden name (a sorely needed piece of information for me)
is listed my great uncle's mother's name, not that of his father's mother.

While the date of death given on a death certificate is usually accurate, the
cause of death may not be as complete as you'd like even though furnished by a
coroner or doctor. The cause of death for one of my ancestors is listed as
"apoplexy" (stroke). Under "contributory causes," the doctor wrote
"drunkeness" and under "how long" he entered "many years"! (A story begging to
be learned! Followup led to an obituary which recounted a trip to town the
Friday night before he died and the wrecking of the buggy on the way home; the
obituary was diplomatically silent about the cause of the accident.)

Marriage records are usually dependable, since the persons involved supplied
the information. However, sometimes folks fudged about their ages - either
because they were too young to marry without permission of their parents or
they didn't want the clerk to know exactly how old they were. My father was
married a few months before his 21st birthday and gave his age as 21, thus
avoiding the hassel of getting his father to sign. And Dad went to a
neighboring county for the marriage license, knowing that his home county
would verify his age against his birth record.

PROBATE RECORDS

Probate records are important for genealogists. Among the earliest available,
they help document family relationships and dates of death. A will may list
the wife and/or husband and all the children by their given names, may include
some grandchildren's names and the married names of daughters and their
husbands' names. Sometimes, though, you'll find one that simply says "my
beloved wife" and "all of my children" without naming any of them. Remember,
too, that a particular son or daughter may have previously been provided for
and the absence of a name in a will does not necessarily mean a person was not
an offspring of the deceased.

If no will can be found, you must search for other papers. Usually you will
find court orders appointing an administrator or executor. If a person left a
will, he often named an "executor" of the will and the court required that
person to post a bond. If a person died "intestate" (without a will), then the
court usually appointed an "administrator." Thus the use of executor or
administrator in court records indicates whether a will was left. Most
counties have indexes of executors' and administrators' bonds. If you search
long enough and hard enough you can almost always find some court record of a
person's death - at least those who owned property, for there had to be some
disposition of that property.

DEEDS

Sometimes the answer can be found in deeds, although these usually do not
contain genealogical information. At a minimum, deeds help you establish where
your ancestors lived and when. Occasionally you will find family references
such as "the same land which I inherited from my father, Samuel, as his eldest
son and heir." Also, some land records, particularly those for settlement of
estates, may list heirs. If your ancestor conveyed "an undivided fifth
interest" in a piece of property it would indicate that he and four other
heirs, likely his siblings, may have inherited the property.

Deeds can also help establish whether an ancestor was married, since the sale
of land requires the wife's consent. The absence of a wife's name indicates
the seller was unmarried at the time. In one case, I was unable to find the
date of death for an ancestor's wife prior to his remarriage to another woman.
To complicate matters, both women had the given name Elizabeth. However,
careful checking of deeds involved in his many land transactions revealed a
period of about two years when he sold land without a wife signing. This
information revealed the approximate dates of the first woman's death and his
later remarriage.

While most counties have accurate indexes of deed records, usually these are a
"grantor" (seller) index and a "grantee" (buyer) index. Other persons who may
be mentioned in a deed are not indexed and the information you are looking for
may be "lost" in one of dozens of deed books. I once solved a perplexing
genealogical problem for another person quite by accident. She wrote wanting
to know if perhaps two of her ancestor's daughters had married into the Pence
family since the two families were neighbors. They hadn't. But one day while
checking a deed for some land my ancestor had bought, I discovered all of the
information relating to the marriages of her ancestor's children. Turned out
that the land was being sold by her ancestor's heirs, one of whom was a
daughter whose existence and married name were unknown. The deed was indexed
under the name of the unknown daughter's husband along with "et al" - "and
others." Naturally, the persons she was looking for were among the "others."
Moral: You may have to check deeds for in-laws of your ancestors as well as
those for neighbors in order to find that elusive fact.

GUARDIAN BONDS

Another useful record found in courthouses is the record of guardian bonds, or
orphan's bonds. These can establish the parentage of a person who was a minor
and help establish dates of death for the parent or parent. Note that it was
not necessary for both parents to be deceased for a guardian to be named. This
was sometimes done in cases where a minor child was an heir to a grandfather's
estate through the deceased parent or if a mother was remarrying. In both
cases, and in others, the guardian was appointed to protect the child's rights
to the estate. I've also noted cases such as one where a person was named
guardian of two orphans who had the same last name as he. Instead of being
niece and nephew, as might be expected, they turned out to be his own
children. He was named guardian in order to take custody of their portion of
their mother's inheritance from her father's estate.

COURTHOUSE RESEARCH TIPS

As always, be sure to take complete citations when extracting wills, deeds or
other court records. Witnesses or those who gave bond for certain transactions
should also be recorded, for these may have been relatives.

Remember that in the early years of our country, many people could not read or
write, so watch for variant spellings of the name you are searching. Often
names were recorded as they sounded to clerks. This is how the name Bentz
became Pence in most parts of the U.S. (The German "B" is often pronounced as
"P.") Most often the spellings we use today were the result of an accident,
not a deliberate effort. It's probably not worth your while to look for a
court record for a name change, for it was seldom done. Likewise, people who
spell a similar surname different from you may be related to you, while those
who spell it the same may not.

A few years ago, notice was taken of the legal name change made by a prominent
person. A Johannes Hart Pence lived in New Jersey in colonial times. One of
his sons, out of deference to his grandmother's maiden name, began using
Hartpence as his surname. Generations later, a member of this family,
remembering the story about the name having been changed in early days, went
to court to have it changed back to "the old way." That's why a presidential
candidate has the name Gary Hart instead of Gary Pence!

Another thing to watch for is translation of names. The German Zimmerman
became its English equivalent, Carpenter, for example.

You also need to watch for misspellings of place names, particularly in deeds.
In searching for the spot where an ancestor lived, I kept finding it described
as being "at the foot of Rich Mountain." No such place could be found on any
map, old or new, in the area. I finally figured out why. The ancestor was
German and if he described the land to an English clerk, he would describe it
with a German accent. If the word was pronounced "rich," what might the
correct word be? Answer: "Ridge." Sure enough, Ridge Mountain was on the map
and the land was located.

And, in earlier times, the boundaries of the counties were constantly
changing. Thus, in order for you to concentrate your research in the proper
place, you need to know the geographic history of the areas you are interested
in.

For instance, some of my ancestors lived for many years in Shenandoah County,
VA. This county was created in 1772 from a portion of Frederick County, which
in turn was created in 1738 from Orange and Augusta counties - both of which
were carved out of other counties. And today, the land on which they lived is
located in Page County, which was created from Shenandoah County in 1833.
Therefore, depending on the dates involved, you might have to search the
courthouses of three or more counties to find the appropriate record for an
individual.

Everton's "Handy Book" (mentioned earlier) can provide you with information
about the formation of counties.

FAMILY BIBLES

Family Bibles or information on tombstones are excellent records - but there
are some things you have to be careful about. For instance, Bibles usually are
accurate family records, but you should check the date the Bible was printed.
If it was printed in 1850 and contains family birth, death and marriage
records back into the 1700s, obviously someone wrote these records long after
the fact and may not have known the facts or remembered accurately, or even
could have been told the wrong information.

Also, you should check the handwriting carefully. If several entries are in
the same shade of ink in almost identical handwriting, it's a good sign those
entries were made at the same time and probably not concurrent with the event.
The date of the last nearly identical record is probably closest to the
recording date.

TOMBSTONE RECORDS

Tombstones, too, are sometimes erected many years after a person dies and
therefore might contain erroneous dates. Or the stonecutter could have erred
or been given the wrong information. Be careful, too, of printed compilations
of cemetery records (this applies to other published material, such as
marriage records), because errors can be made in copying, indexing or
publishing. A book on one cemetery contains entry for one of my wife's
ancestors, including this quote: "son of N.B." This contradicted other
information and it was not until much later - when I had someone recheck the
stone for me - that I learned the correct inscription was: "Erected by his
son, W.B." This fit what I had previously believed.

When copying cemetery inscriptions, be careful not to misread numbers or
letters. The number 4 is often carved with a light horizontal line that wears
away leaving what looks like the number 1 or 7. Other numbers that are easy to
misread: 3 and 8, 8 and 6, 5 and 3. Letters usually are more distinct, but C,
G, D and O can be confused. Mar and May are hard to distinguish, as are Jul
and Jun. When copying, place a question mark over letters or numbers you are
unsure of.

Be sure to record surrounding stones, for they can provide clues to family
relationships. Look for markers outlining family plots and note the names of
all those buried within the plot. A woman who was a widow for a number of
years, or a bride who died young, might be buried with her parents, and others
with different names may be related.

Many cemeteries will not be well cared for and will be badly overgrown. The
best time to search is the early spring or late fall when the foliage is thin
and the weeds short. Helpful equipment for "tombstone hunting" includes
carpenter's chalk (for rubbing over letters to make them easier to read), a
putty knife to scrape debris off fallen stones, a scrub brush to clean stones,
a crowbar to turn heavy stones, perhaps an axe to clear away underbrush or a
shovel to dig away from sunken stones, and a camera to record unusual stones.

Even if your ancestor is buried in an unmarked grave, if you know the cemetery
he or she is buried in you can sometimes get information about him from
cemetery records. Write a library or historical society near the cemetery to
learn if such records are available. Larger city cemeteries usually have a
sexton who maintains such records. If one exists for the cemetery you are
interested in, that is the person to contact.

NEWSPAPERS

Marriage notices, obituaries and birth announcements are often found in
newspapers - if you are willing to spend the time to hunt through them. A few
are indexed, but most require a page-by-page search. You'll need to know where
the family lived and the approximate date of the event you are interested in.

Some local libraries have microfilm or other copies of early newspapers and
many state libraries have extensive collections. The Library of Congress has
an excellent collection of early American newspapers.

If you know the place and date of marriage, birth or death, you can usually
get a copy of any mention of it (at least for more recent years) by writing
newspapers in the area. Your library probably has a directory of newspapers in
the U.S.

"Newspaper Indexes: A Location and Subject Guide for Researchers," 3 vols., by
Anita Cheek Milner (Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, NJ), lists newspaper indexes by
state, county and town, indicating the repositories in which they can be
found.

CHURCH RECORDS

If you know the religious affiliation of your ancestor, you should try to find
out what records are available for the churches in the area where he or she
lived. Records vary widely from denomination to denomination. Some may be
housed in a national or state repository; others are found on closet shelves
of the current church secretary.

"A Survey of American Church Records," by E. Kay Kirkham (Everton Publishers,
Logan, UT), is a guide to the location of church records that have been
published or deposited in public archives.

OTHER HELP

There are countless other sources for genealogical information - literally too
many to be considered. Your local library is a good resource in discovering
some of them. It will likely have several books on genealogical research, all
of which will give you additional ideas. It also may subscribe to a number of
genealogical periodicals. Take time to check through a few of these. One
feature in many of them is a section with queries about "lost" ancestors. I've
received a lot of help by writing to those searching the same lines as I am.
In fact, one of the pleasant things about genealogy is the willingness of its
practitioners to share their findings with you.

If you get stuck on a particular line, placing a query in a genealogical
publication may yield results. If you follow this route, BE SPECIFIC. Saying
you will "exchange information on the Baker family" won't bring many responses
because readers won't know who it is you are looking for or if they have
information that will help you.

Try this approach: "Need parents of James L. Baker, born OH 1812, married Sue
Allen in Bartholomew County, IN, in 1837; lived Warren County, IN, 1850
census. Who were his parents? Hers? Was George Baker, Bartholomew County 1850
his brother or cousin?" [NOTE: I made up all of the foregoing information, but
after this article began appearing in local newspapers, I got a response to
it!]

If you write others seeking information, remember your mail manners. Because
you're asking them to help you, you should make it easy for them. Ask
questions precisely. Include as much information as necessary to identify the
individual you are interested in, but don't include extraneous material. A
short, to-the- point letter will get a response. One dealing with a variety of
subjects will be set aside because of the extensive work involved in answering
it.

Be responsive to the needs of the individual you are writing and offer
information you may have that could be of help. Offer to pay the cost of
copies of material you request or to reimburse for out-of-pocket expenses. And
it's customary when writing to seek information to include an SASE
(self-addressed stamped envelope) for the reply.

Keep a copy of the letters you send, for it may be difficult from the reply to
tell what you said in your request. And it's a good idea to keep a log of in-
coming and out-going letters, including a notation as to when particular
letters were answered. ******

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