November 2011
38 posts
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Ask Ancestry Anne: How Can I Find Someone Who Was...
Question: “My grandfather’s parents are listed on the 1920 census as being born in Germany. But I’m not sure how to find them overseas. Any suggestions? –Marnie Little
Answer: The first thing you should to do when you start searching for your ancestors in another country is familiarize yourself with what’s available for that country on Ancestry.com. Just as every state in...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: I can't find a birth...
Dear Ancestry Anne: I have my granddad’s birth information: John James Sells, born April 15, 1877, Pennsylvania. But I can’t find official birth details or a certificate for him. I’ve found him in the 1880 census in Philadelphia with his mother, Mary Anne (listed as Ada on the 1880 census), and sister Georgianna. I also have Georgianna’s birth certificate, which was found for me by a...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: Why Do I Find Trees with...
Dear Anne: I’ve run across family trees in which someone listed a mother or father who was born after their children or were very young – say 8 years old – when their supposed children were born. Why does this happen?
- Sylvia Valencia
Anne’s Answer: Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone built trees that were 100 percent sourced and had all the appropriate images and explanations...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: What Does That Census Notation...
Question: In the 1850 U.S. Federal Census for Guilford Township, Pennsylvania, is a listing for a Peter and Elizabeth McFerren. On the following page, in sequence, is their son Henry. But the next listing is for a Peter and Lydia McFerren. Next to this Peter’s name is a ditto mark and something that may say “Junior.” Could you take a look at it and tell me whether it is Junior or something...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: Who Reported Insanity -- Family...
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Question: I found a person who was listed in the 1850 census as “deranged” and then in the 1860 and 1870 census as “insane.” In all three cases, the person was living at home, not in an institution. What modern condition would this correspond with – could the person have epilepsy or would this indicate a condition like Alzheimer’s or another such...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: Are Duplicate Census Entries...
Question: My great-great-great-grandfather, John H. Hipkins (1825-1903) seems to be listed in the 1870 census four times. On June 2 he was in Denison, Iowa, listed as shoemaker; on June 30, he is listed as soldier in Fort Leavenworth Reservation, Kansas; on 11 July he is in Smoky, Trego, Kansas, listed as teamster; and on July 28, he is a shoemaker again in DesMoines, Polk, Iowa, as a...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: When I should start recording a...
Question: At what point in my family tree do I change from a woman’s maiden name to her married name? It’s nice to have her maiden name to continue searching but the later censuses have her married name and so does her death certificate. It also looks like she’s never been married down the tree when you’re attaching children.
—Karen Bopp
Answer: Usually in...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: Was my great-great-grandfather...
First published: 13 September 2010
Question: I am trying to trace (and document) my great-great grandfather James Joseph Hester (5 April 1853 – 24 June 1940) and his parents, William Hester and Elizabeth Black (or Blackwell). My problem is this; according to my grandmother’s memories and writings, her grandfather J.J. Hester was born in England and came to the states as a young child with...
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Your Civil War Story: More Gems from a Pension...
Today, we finish the tale of Robert Bryant and his Civil War service. Even though it seemed highly unlikely that a sixty-plus-year-old man would join the cavalry, the evidence tells us that he did. It took a bit of digging, but his widow’s pension record gives us the evidence that we needed to seal the deal. In our last column we started looking through the evidence that was in the pension ...
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Your Civil War Story: Exploring a Civil War...
So we’ve been working on Robert Bryant, and trying to determine if he served in the Civil War. He would have been approximately 60 some years old when he enlisted, which led me to think this wasn’t that probable, but you don’t know until you investigate. Let’s recap what we’ve done.
We know that our Robert Bryant lived in Nicholas County, Kentucky in 1860 with his wife Maria, and five ...
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Your Civil War Story: Sorting Out Your Soldier’s...
For those of you who have been following along, this is the latest in write a series of “Weekly Discovery” columns to help you uncover the stories of the Civil War that are hidden in your family tree. (If you’re just joining us or missed an article or two, see the end of this column for links to other articles.)
In previous articles, we determined who in our family served in the Civil War....
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Your Civil War Story: It’s All in the Details
In my previous post I introduced you to Robert Bryant of Kentucky. He was born about 1802 in Virginia, and in 1860 he was in Nicholas County, Kentucky. We were trying to determine if this Robert Bryant is the same Robert Bryant who served in the 7th Kentucky Cavalry for the Union.
Before we go too much further let me correct a couple of errors I made. On the compiled service record cards...
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Your Civil War Story: Is He or Isn’t He?
One of the challenges we face when researching Civil War ancestors is determining whether a person who shares your ancestor’s name in a record, is actually your ancestor. Today we’re going to begin a case study that will address that particular challenge.
A friend of mine has a family that lived in Nicholas County, Kentucky in 1860. The man was Robert Bryant and he had five sons-William,...
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Cloris Leachman
We met Cloris Leachman at the GBK Emmy Gift Lounge in September and got her started building her family tree. The first record we found? Her, as a 3 year old little girl in the 1930 census with her parents and her sister, Mary.
She was very excited! “That’s me. I exist!”
Have you shared a 1930 census entry with an older, living relative? You might be surprised to find...
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Your Civil War Story: Billy Yank or Johnny Reb
In my previous column we discussed how to look at your tree and determine who might have served in the Civil War. And some of you wisely pointed out that while 1816–1846 as a birth year may be a good rule of thumb for choosing candidates who may have served, it is by no means definitive. Younger and older ancestors may have served, but this is a good starting point.
So now that we have a...
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Your Civil War Story: Identifying Those Who Fought
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. Where did your family fit in? Did any of your ancestors fight? How did the war affect the people in your tree who lived through it?
What was their Civil War story? This was one of most tumultuous periods in American history. What happened to your ancestors during the Civil War affected them for generations to follow.
I am...
October 2011
1 post
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“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may...”
– Abraham Lincoln, 1861 Inaugural Address 