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Marriage records offer incredible insights, revealing details like names, birthplaces, residences, and even parents' names. This limited-time offer lets you dive into these records for free - no subscription required.
RootsTech, the largest genealogy conference, takes place March 6-8, and it is free to attend online. There are over 150 online sessions. If you haven't registered yet, use this link Register Here. Sessions are available after the conference ends in case you can't watch all the sessions you want to in one weekend.
The February 6th Roundtable topic of census records was a nice refresher as most of us have used census records often in our research. The question of where to find census records elicited the common responses of Family Search, Ancestry, My Heritage, the National Archives (NARA), and a couple of suggestions for international census records – Find My Past and the Danish Archives.
The Family Search Wiki is an outstanding source for census
information. A quick search there on the general term ‘census’ brought up pages of hits for
both the United States and international records and information. Census
records can also be searched at the Wiki by choosing a specific location first then
picking Census from the Record Types list.
Did you know there was a federal census taken in 1885? This
census was not mandatory, and the states of Florida, Nebraska, Colorado and the
Dakota and New Mexico territories were the only participants. More information
about this census can be found at The National Archives. The
1885 census included four schedules: population, agriculture, manufactures, and
mortality.
Other general notes from the Roundtable:
If the census copy located at one site is poor, be sure to
check other sites. The scan quality can vary between websites. Likewise, if
your ancestor isn’t found in the index at one provider, check with another as
their name might be mistranscribed at one site and not the other.
Do not make relationship assumptions, even for the censuses
that include relationship to head of household. The adult male and female may
or may not be the parents of all or even some of the listed children. Early
deaths often led to additional marriages and blended households. The children
could be a mix of full, half, or step siblings, cousins or other relatives, or
even neighbor children taken in after an unfortunate event.
The 1880 census for St. Louis, Missouri, was enumerated
twice, once in June and then again in November. City officials of that time
were unsatisfied with the June enumeration believing the population numbers
were too low and demanded it be redone. Researchers will find inconsistencies
between the two enumerations.
Mortality schedules were taken along with population
schedules during the 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1885 censuses. People who had
died June 1st through May 31st prior to the census year
were included. Deaths were not always reported in the past, so the mortality
schedules are helpful to researchers. If you are fortunate to have had an
ancestor listed on a mortality schedule, you will find a wealth of information
similar to what is found on current death certificates.
Some websites are more comprehensive than others. A good one
to check out is One
Step Webpages by Steve Morse.
A helpful tool mentioned during the Roundtable and listed on
the handout is the Narrowing Birth Dates Calendar offered for
free at Genohistory.
Always review the phrasing of questions asked for each
census. They vary by census and make a difference in how to interpret and
record the information found. The questions may be found at various websites.
The handout provided for this Roundtable also includes these questions and much
more information as well as links to helpful websites.
A key thing to remember is that census records provide
clues for further research but should not be accepted as actual facts without
further documentation.
The February Roundtable – Census Records video is now available,
along with the detailed handout provided by our President, Barbara Coakley.
Members of Genealogy Friends should check their email for the link. If you are
not currently a member and are interested in joining, please see the Genealogy
Friends website.
Are you participating in RootsTech this year, either in person or virtually? If so, you might enjoy this blog post by Roberta Estes - Relatives at RootsTech Reveals Cousins and Provides DNA Candidates. She shares how to find out if any of your relatives have also registered for RootsTech. There are several ways to sort through your list of participating relatives such as location, by ancestor, and family line. Roberta mentions to check back often because more people will be registering. The final day Relatives at RootsTech will be available is April 12th.
I found out that Roberta and I are 10th cousins. These connections do need to be verified. For example, I have documented 6-7 generations back on that line but need to confirm beyond that. It's interesting to see the connections that pop up to other attendees, but it's even more exciting to be given a list of clues to follow that will hopefully lead to more confirmed ancestors.
What is the best genealogy program to use? The one that you are comfortable using. I switched to RootsMagic a few years ago after trying out a few other programs. RootsMagic runs on window or mac and they have a free version that can be downloaded to try out the software.
RootsMagic communicates with both FamilySearch and Ancestry.
Resources
Help File - There is an extensive help file that walks through all the functions in the software.
Community - A place to ask questions.
Genealogy Forum of Oregon Roots Magic Special Interest Group - meets on the 1st Monday of each month at noon central time. The moderator has created a document to supplement the RootsMagic help file. He is very knowledgeable and you don't have to be a society member to attend the meetings.
YouTube Channel - Lots of videos to help with using the software.
https://germanologyunlocked.com/blog/
Have German ancestors? This blog has helpful articles on
research tips, German language, handwriting, church records, German names, and
many more interesting topics.
https://dp.la/guides/the-family-research-guide-to-dpla
This user friendly website provides links to all sorts of
information, records, photos, and ephemera to add context to the lives of our
ancestors.
⬥ The National Genealogical Society (NGS) is now shipping orders of its groundbreaking textbook, Forensic Genealogy: Theory & Practice. With 575 pages, it is the first comprehensive primer for professional genealogists who are interested in exploring the specialty areas and skills required to build a career in this emerging field. Meet the authors and purchase Forensic Genealogy: Theory & Practice at the NGS booth at RootsTech in Salt Lake City 6-8 March 2025. Or order your copy through the NGS Store.
⬥ Celebrate Black History Month with some free webinars from Legacy Family Tree. They are offering these 5 webinars for free during the month of February 2025.
⬥ The topic of the next Mondays with Myrt will be AI and photo analysis. Mark Thompson, from the Family History AI Show podcast, will be the special guest. Join this free LIVE streaming virtual meeting where attendees may participate in the LIVE chat on February 3rd starting at 11am at YouTube.
⬥ Registration will open February 4th for the GRIP Genealogy Institute. Nine virtual courses will be offered from 22-27 June 2025, and eight in-person courses offered from 13-18 July 2025. More information here.
⬥ Fold3 announces a new collection of Virginia military records. The Virginia Department of Military Affairs Records Collection contains information on Virginia military personnel who served between 1876 and 1947, including veterans from the Spanish-American War, WWI, and WWII. Learn more in this recent Fold3 blogpost or go straight to the collection Search. Reminder that Fold3 is available through many libraries. Also Fold3 related – Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries will present Using Fold3 to Your Advantage, featuring Craig R. Scott, at the next Saturday Seminar, February 15, 2025.
⬥ Genealogy Bank recently added new content from 169 titles including 134 newspapers added for the first time. View the newspaper title, location, and date range in this list to see if the newly added content is relevant to your research.
⬥ Storied has acquired the AI company “Memory Lane,” which will leverage AI to “make building family trees more easily, storytelling more seamless, and help you to make new discoveries.” Their new pricing structure, with plans as low as $20 per year, provides access to over 1 billion historical records in addition to platforms for building a family tree and creating Storied Books.
