On thing I forgot to add to this video is records prior to census records. The first U.S. Census was taken in 1790. There may be local censuses, but if there aren't you can use tax records like you would use the census records to see who resided in a particular area in a particular time. Good luck! If you want the handout, visit: www.etsy.com/shop/AncestryAimee
I’ve been doing a surname study for one Kentucky county (and it’s parent counties). I had to laugh when you mentioned rethinking doing that with common names like Smith, because that IS my current project. It doesn’t help that they didn’t get very creative with their given names, either. They were almost all William, Henry, John, Joseph, James, or Robert. 😂. One thing I have found with tax records is that siblings or fathers and sons would pay their taxes at the same time and would be recorded together.
Something else that occurred to me regarding Marriage Records: In addition to looking at images on either side of the record, don't forget to scroll down when viewing each image. Sometimes the little permission notes, etc. are tucked away beneath the bond.@@AncestryAimee
I’ve been stuck for about two years now…. Any help or suggestions would be AMAZING! So what do you do when you have a name and wife with kids names, you don’t have a def birth record but based on census during life and age given estimated birth either in 1796 or 1797. Don’t have a death date and can’t even find a record or where he and wife are even buried. Know from Virginia per census records but that’s it and last record of him was in Trigg county KY. Same area, same time frame, MANY individuals with the same name….William Clark. I can’t even find a middle initial. I’ve tried the wife’s parents and land etc. nothing. But married and did stay together. Same issue with surrounding counties. A historical book from Trigg county even made the comment about how many there were. I’ll get laser focused and work, read, research then get frustrated and quit for a week. Ha!
The hardest records to find for me have been all the Irish people who came over. Somehow a few have no census records, no marriage records nor ship records. It gets very frustrating sometimes.
Yes. Me too. I need to spend more time learning Irish research in Ireland as well. The Irish mostly came when naturalization records only asked them to renounce their sovereignty. No details about their place of origin. And the names are so common, the passenger lists are difficult as well.
My best results have come through the county histories that came about between 1870-1920. Sometimes the descendants spoke of their family origins. FAN club can help too. Folks often settled in the same area in the US.
@@AncestryAimee Any suggestions for 1840s and prior in Ireland? I have a Hugh McLaughlin who immigrated from Antrim in 1844 (according to a US census) to New York City. Different censuses give different years of birth, sometimes a big difference, but I believe he was born about 1820 in a specific parish in Antrim. Some other people on Ancestry have his parents as Charles and Rosie, but there is no documentation I can find anywhere to support that. I checked Griffith's Evaluation and there are no records of any McLaughlins in that parish prior to the 1860s. There is a Charles McLaughlin in another county and a couple of Rose McLaughlins in other counties, but that's all I have. Is this a brick wall?
Not necessarily. I actually have two videos to meet out towards the end of May about Irish research that may help you out. A friend of mine who lives in Ireland met with me and we talked Irish research. Check those out and see if they help.
My 4th great-grandfather is believed to have been born in South Carolina about 1783. That is all I have been able to find. No parents or siblings that I can find. What makes it worse us that his last name and the names of his descendants are listed as Bohannon. His father in law has him listed as Buchanan.
Great video, thank you! I recently solved a brick wall I had been working on for a decade when I stumbled on a will. I can't even remember how I found it because I was so exited about all the family members I found there. 😅 I plan to buy your handout, I appreciate how you lay out this process. ❤
I’ve found some helpful info in military pension records from the National Parks Service website, I was searching for Civil War records and found them there. I also found some information in ancestry’s yearbook section which was a great source for photographs.
Aimee, do you have a video or know of more resources regarding marriage bonds? (Context) My family patriarch, Robert Perry, married Frances Basham in Monroe County, Virginia in May 1807 (he's my 1700s+ on this line). Frances' brother Nathan helped put up the $150 bond for them to be married - and later that week, her dad ALSO had to sign a permission slip for them to be wed. (Context end) Anyway, my question about them is really how they worked. Like did they really have to put up $150 real dollars, or was it just a promise system? Nathan was a farmer, Frances' father was a farmer, and Robert was a school teacher, so that seems like it would have been a *really* hard amount of money to come up with! (like roughly $3K in todays money if I did my math right). Robert was the illegitimate son of a local farming family, and we don't know if his mother was still alive when they married (not for lack of trying :-) ). My other families are from farther north or in England at this time so they use different systems for marriage than Virginia did it seems like.
Thank you! I have lots of info on this family for 4 generations but have been having a hard time after I put it down, picking it back up an not doing duplicate work. I'm going to use your list and follow it religiously plus add to it as I find other things.
In Kentucky about 1814 I found in an Order book entry that a "division of estate was ordered recorded." Should that be in a will book or would that be a deed?
This is very interesting!, and very different from my own research, and i realize i'm very spoiled. I use church records only basicly so far as they go. Some parishes only have church records from the early 1800's due to fires and such, and in one case the vicar himself bured the records. but many goes as far as 1686 or further back, and some from the early 1700's, but most are not totally intact. And for the time before the church records, there are lists of property owners that goes back to 1535, and court records. and for the time before 1535, there are pachment or paper letters, or copies of them, those mostly came from private archives but are now in state archive, and they do not cover all parishes.
I have a probate record of the father ( 1752-1812)and son(1779-1823)the executor, I know it is the son, but I can’t find that proof in the record. There is so much information in there
@@AncestryAimee there is one page that I can not read very well and I contacted the county were I got it from to reprint the page and that was not any better. I probably have to go there
Sorry to hear that! It is difficult. Take a break. Then just focus on one line. Don't get distracted with the other ones. Gather some knowledge from conferences (they are a boost too to be around other crazy genealogists!) and other learning sources. I actually did a video on giving up. :)
70 years of family history, written in Kurrent in old German, buried in amidst a 20-page lawsuit from 1583. If only they'd actually named every sibling, but at least I got definitive counts of the number still living at the time of the suit.
When doing the Census evaluation, I would track the families of all of the head of households with the same surname? Current trying to confirm or deny that David Penrod Jr is the father of Elias Penrod. In this case I’m starting in the 1840 Census.
@@AncestryAimee Thank you! Been doing the evaluation. Also filling in the census information on blank census forms, and using that to fill out an 1800-1840 Census Comparison Form I learned about. It helps me better visualize who might be the same person, and who might be different as I travel through time. Also helps me see when someone might have been born.
I have 2 person with same name and birthday and death. The middle name is different. How would you go about seeing if they are same person or not? Born in Tennessee and died in Searcy County AR
Use the strategies in the video to search for that individual in the counties in which they resided looking for a duplicate that may have been confused. You'll need to be very thorough. Good luck!
I discovered a new ancestor of mine last week. I don't have any documents directly linking his name to that of my known ancestors, however, I am still confident I found the right person. He's the only one that fits what we already know about our known ancestors. He's the only one in the right area at the right time with the right surname. While having direct links between names is nice, it isn'ts always possible. Genealogy is science. Treat it like so by applying the scientific method. Given what you already know, form an hypothesis. Test your hypothesis by collecting data. The data you collect are the records you find and the information contained within them. Analyze your data. Form your conclusion. Repeat. Our family tree is akin to a scientific theory. Our family trees, if correct, should predict where we might discover new data. As with science, new data might not fit our model, so we must be prepared to reform our hypothesis and correct our models.
Thank you, Aimee. Your videos are so helpful. I’ve been working on my family tree for about a year and you give good advice without making me feel confused like some of the other genealogy specialists.
Is ancestry a for sure thing cause I’m finding suprizes and before I tell everyone that I’m related to a king and I’m Native American two different tribe I got to make sure
After my Husband and I did 23 and Me, I found out that my late Husband's oldest Paternal First Cousins are my 3rd Maternal Cousins. It makes sense since their Mother had been my Maternal Greatgrandmother's Cousin as they both lived in proximity to each other and both had German surnames. Both late 19th century and very early 20th century. My side the surnames were Urey and Frey, not a spelling error, separate German names who married each other. My Maternal Great Grandmother was Mary Margaret Urey who married Mordecai Aiken Frey. My Third Cousins Mother was a Dommel Yohn.
Very informative. I downloaded the Handout and will use this with my search for Parents of my 3rd great grandfather. I did find a marriage record for him in 1835 but nothing prior. I have a suspecteda family I am thinking he belongs to, but nothing to prove yet. I did find a 1820 & 1830 census for the family I am suspecting. It showed 2 boys under 10 and 2 boys under 20, all the families records only show one son in that age range. I believe my James was born to this couple before they married as his surname Robertson is similar to the suspected mothers surname Roberson. I match DNA with many people connected to this family. My James Robertson names a daughter Mary Polly which is the suspected mother's name and a son George Washington after the other brother in the census's I found. On to look at these other documents you suggested.
I was able to prove that Margaret Wilson Poff was the mother of Wilson Poff using a deed I found on FamilySearch. Wilson Poff married a woman who was also named Margaret, so when his mother sold him some land, the deed specifically mentioned the women as Margaret Poff, mother of Wilson Poff and Margaret Poff, wife of Wilson Poff every time the women were mentioned.
Are you adopted? If not I’d say to just start building a family tree on Ancestry. Watch videos for helps and check out my website tutorials www.ancestryconsultingbyaimee.com. If you are adopted or don’t know who a parent is, do a DNA test with Ancestry. If you want more personalized help I can coach you or do a project for you. You can reach out to me through my website. I really hope you can figure it out!
You also need to know the County in England. Church records are very good and in many cases go back as far as late 1500s. Sometimes wills will mention place of origin or land purchased will be named after a place of origin.
I generally can't find the county, just the state. Couple that with the fact that English naming customs re-used the same names over and over, so how can you be CERTAIN that the John Doe (example) is THE right one, and not one of his cousins? One of ours is a (name) born in 1790s in Vermont. There's one person of that name born in 1794 and same name in 1797, different parents. No way to tell! Because the records are so skimpy / give so little detail, I feel like there's no way to be SURE. Even with probate records, if you don't know John Doe's father or siblings, and county how can we be SURE if we've got the right John Doe? Argh. I mean, I wonder if a lot of time, it's just a "probable" ancestor instead of "100% sure" ancestor , and I don't want to be following someone else's line. What I've found helpful are obituaries for people who are born in the late 1700s and early 1800s. If they get old enough, they may have an obit printed in the later 1800s which might include family members. Just a Google search might even turn up a biography about an ancestor who was an early settler to an area. Tough.
You raise terrific points. The truth is you cannot be SURE. And those naming patterns complicate things. When you do a census evaluation in a location you really do have to pay attention to other possibilities and resolve them.
Wow! What an amazing video❤️❤️❤️ one of the next steps in my research process is trying to go back past the 1850s, and locating wills, probates, and so on. I think the hardest thing is getting past the handwriting. I have gotten better at reading old cursive, but sometimes the documents aren’t scanned well and are too light or blurry to read. Also, I research a lot in southern Indiana, and most of their records are not online. I currently live in Japan, so it makes it too hard to plan a visit there. I will definitely try your tips to see if I can find anything. I especially love the grouping of surnames in certain areas or counties tip! Btw, what do you think of the site American Ancestors? I think Connie Knox did a review with them last year, but I would like to know your thoughts!
It's a good site, particularly if you are researching early colonies or the northeast. Sometimes I find it difficult to navigate, but its definitely worth your time. You can access it for free at FamilySearch libraries and there are quite a few in Japan. Visit www.familysearch.org/centers/locations/ to find them.
I wish there was someone like you for Australia and the UK my family is spread over the world. I know you focus on US which has been helpful but I use a lot of your advice for UK and Australia.
Considering the rate of divorce these days, maybe they should bring back the marriage bonds! I always thought marriage should cost the price of a divorce in order to alleviate the "madly in love" marriage.
Thank you, Aimee. I have been doing the genealogical search on my family for 50 years, and with great success. Obviously, when I started there was no internet, or computers nor easily accessed ancestry sites. I was lucky by tapping into other family members who I found were also working on the subject, but neither they nor I knew this was happening. I found that some of these people knew of other more distant family members were also working on the tree. I call this ancestry sharing, and it was a huge help for me. I had information that they did not have and vice versa. I even found that my grand father's sister had quite a stash of early family photos that I was able to obtain through my aunt who was the estate executor after she had passed and I asked her to look for pictures, and wow what incredible luck I had. And, I imagine that each of us who are passionate about this have different reasons for all of our effort. Mine happens to be the stories that can be found. Perhaps that part is more work, but so worth it. Thank you for your passion. I understand it well as I too share it!
Oh my yes! Stories is what I want! Why didn't they keep a diary & if they did, where is it!? Most did not bc they were trying to survive. Glad you found a treasure!
Fantastic video. Totally agree with everything about probate records - they are a goldmine! Not only wills and inventories but also administrations, acts, and probate diaries. Wonderful video.
@@matthewdonovan1240 thank you! This and the videos mentioned in here are the best for early research. I don’t have anything pre 1700s. In the US I would maybe also visit the American Ancestors website. www.americanancestors.org. I would also be very familiar with the FamilySearch wiki pages. I have some videos about that. Local historical and genealogical societies are good too. Check out my professional secrets playlist A Professional Genealogist’s Secrets ruclips.net/p/PLCOHvB5d5XvlEvZ-CtnmD8WwpbnpuVhX2
What's up with these Family Search branches that go back to the 1300, 1400 even earlier. One went back before Jesus Christ Lmbo. I'm new at FS and it's fun but I don't want or like to be patronized by a person or algorithm. Lol Thanks no expectations. SK
😂 yeah. I don’t know. Some of them may be legit, particularly if you hook into royalty, but… It’s not an algorithm. Someone has put it in there. But I don’t pay much attention to that.
@@AncestryAimee yeah several links to royalty (British) another reason I question. I was of the understanding that the info with in FS was like a national census and carved in stone lol. I'm understand now the individuals in putting to FB. Interesting for sure. I just hate to go buy expensive Royal Dude Clothes then find out it's not real....jk
On thing I forgot to add to this video is records prior to census records. The first U.S. Census was taken in 1790. There may be local censuses, but if there aren't you can use tax records like you would use the census records to see who resided in a particular area in a particular time. Good luck! If you want the handout, visit: www.etsy.com/shop/AncestryAimee
I’ve been doing a surname study for one Kentucky county (and it’s parent counties). I had to laugh when you mentioned rethinking doing that with common names like Smith, because that IS my current project. It doesn’t help that they didn’t get very creative with their given names, either. They were almost all William, Henry, John, Joseph, James, or Robert. 😂. One thing I have found with tax records is that siblings or fathers and sons would pay their taxes at the same time and would be recorded together.
@@lizsmith7816 I’m so sorry!!! That’s tough! Thanks for adding your experience with tax records.
Something else that occurred to me regarding Marriage Records: In addition to looking at images on either side of the record, don't forget to scroll down when viewing each image. Sometimes the little permission notes, etc. are tucked away beneath the bond.@@AncestryAimee
So true! Thanks for adding that Liz
I’ve been stuck for about two years now…. Any help or suggestions would be AMAZING! So what do you do when you have a name and wife with kids names, you don’t have a def birth record but based on census during life and age given estimated birth either in 1796 or 1797. Don’t have a death date and can’t even find a record or where he and wife are even buried. Know from Virginia per census records but that’s it and last record of him was in Trigg county KY. Same area, same time frame, MANY individuals with the same name….William Clark. I can’t even find a middle initial. I’ve tried the wife’s parents and land etc. nothing. But married and did stay together. Same issue with surrounding counties. A historical book from Trigg county even made the comment about how many there were. I’ll get laser focused and work, read, research then get frustrated and quit for a week. Ha!
One thing I've found, many of my family got married in an adjacent state. Blood test was required in home state, so they crossed the state line.
That’s a terrific point. Thanks for adding it.
The hardest records to find for me have been all the Irish people who came over. Somehow a few have no census records, no marriage records nor ship records. It gets very frustrating sometimes.
Yes. Me too. I need to spend more time learning Irish research in Ireland as well. The Irish mostly came when naturalization records only asked them to renounce their sovereignty. No details about their place of origin. And the names are so common, the passenger lists are difficult as well.
My best results have come through the county histories that came about between 1870-1920. Sometimes the descendants spoke of their family origins. FAN club can help too. Folks often settled in the same area in the US.
@@AncestryAimee Any suggestions for 1840s and prior in Ireland? I have a Hugh McLaughlin who immigrated from Antrim in 1844 (according to a US census) to New York City. Different censuses give different years of birth, sometimes a big difference, but I believe he was born about 1820 in a specific parish in Antrim. Some other people on Ancestry have his parents as Charles and Rosie, but there is no documentation I can find anywhere to support that. I checked Griffith's Evaluation and there are no records of any McLaughlins in that parish prior to the 1860s. There is a Charles McLaughlin in another county and a couple of Rose McLaughlins in other counties, but that's all I have. Is this a brick wall?
Not necessarily. I actually have two videos to meet out towards the end of May about Irish research that may help you out. A friend of mine who lives in Ireland met with me and we talked Irish research. Check those out and see if they help.
@@AncestryAimee Will do, thanks for the reply! 😊
My 4th great-grandfather is believed to have been born in South Carolina about 1783. That is all I have been able to find. No parents or siblings that I can find. What makes it worse us that his last name and the names of his descendants are listed as Bohannon. His father in law has him listed as Buchanan.
That’s a tough one!
Not that unusual to find differs spellings of the same name sometimes education and spelling plays a part in those differences.
Great video, thank you! I recently solved a brick wall I had been working on for a decade when I stumbled on a will. I can't even remember how I found it because I was so exited about all the family members I found there. 😅 I plan to buy your handout, I appreciate how you lay out this process. ❤
Fantastic! Thanks for the compliments.
I have a great great grandfather named Frances Marion Chaney. This is my first time to see your video & imagine my surprise
Candy! I’m researching him for a client (who gave me permission to use his info). Reach out to me through my website. I’d love to touch base!
I’ve found some helpful info in military pension records from the National Parks Service website, I was searching for Civil War records and found them there. I also found some information in ancestry’s yearbook section which was a great source for photographs.
Great suggestions!
I'm excited to use some of these strategies to see if I can't expand my tree!
Hope they do!! Good luck!!
Aimee, do you have a video or know of more resources regarding marriage bonds? (Context) My family patriarch, Robert Perry, married Frances Basham in Monroe County, Virginia in May 1807 (he's my 1700s+ on this line). Frances' brother Nathan helped put up the $150 bond for them to be married - and later that week, her dad ALSO had to sign a permission slip for them to be wed. (Context end)
Anyway, my question about them is really how they worked. Like did they really have to put up $150 real dollars, or was it just a promise system? Nathan was a farmer, Frances' father was a farmer, and Robert was a school teacher, so that seems like it would have been a *really* hard amount of money to come up with! (like roughly $3K in todays money if I did my math right). Robert was the illegitimate son of a local farming family, and we don't know if his mother was still alive when they married (not for lack of trying :-) ). My other families are from farther north or in England at this time so they use different systems for marriage than Virginia did it seems like.
I don’t have a video about that, but it’s a great suggestion! I’ll add it to my list.
Thank you! I have lots of info on this family for 4 generations but have been having a hard time after I put it down, picking it back up an not doing duplicate work. I'm going to use your list and follow it religiously plus add to it as I find other things.
Glad it was helpful!
In Kentucky about 1814 I found in an Order book entry that a "division of estate was ordered recorded." Should that be in a will book or would that be a deed?
Good question. It should be in some probate records, not necessarily a will book, but other probate records. But I have also seen the sale in deeds.
This is very interesting!, and very different from my own research, and i realize i'm very spoiled. I use church records only basicly so far as they go. Some parishes only have church records from the early 1800's due to fires and such, and in one case the vicar himself bured the records. but many goes as far as 1686 or further back, and some from the early 1700's, but most are not totally intact. And for the time before the church records, there are lists of property owners that goes back to 1535, and court records. and for the time before 1535, there are pachment or paper letters, or copies of them, those mostly came from private archives but are now in state archive, and they do not cover all parishes.
Thanks for adding that! Some people have trouble finding church records but they are wonderful when you do!! So glad you’ve been so successful!
I have a probate record of the father ( 1752-1812)and son(1779-1823)the executor, I know it is the son, but I can’t find that proof in the record. There is so much information in there
That’s definitely a good indication. I would make sure that you find all probate records though to see if you can find any more information.
@@AncestryAimee there is one page that I can not read very well and I contacted the county were I got it from to reprint the page and that was not any better. I probably have to go there
@@soozieevans7222 yeah... probably will have to do that, or hire a local genealogist to grab it for you.
Thanks Amiee. But I have hit so many road blocks / brick walls in my family that it has become disheartening.
Sorry to hear that! It is difficult. Take a break. Then just focus on one line. Don't get distracted with the other ones. Gather some knowledge from conferences (they are a boost too to be around other crazy genealogists!) and other learning sources. I actually did a video on giving up. :)
70 years of family history, written in Kurrent in old German, buried in amidst a 20-page lawsuit from 1583. If only they'd actually named every sibling, but at least I got definitive counts of the number still living at the time of the suit.
That’s awesome!
When doing the Census evaluation, I would track the families of all of the head of households with the same surname? Current trying to confirm or deny that David Penrod Jr is the father of Elias Penrod. In this case I’m starting in the 1840 Census.
Yes. Look at all the Penrod’s in the area of interest. Good luck!
@@AncestryAimee Thank you! Been doing the evaluation. Also filling in the census information on blank census forms, and using that to fill out an 1800-1840 Census Comparison Form I learned about. It helps me better visualize who might be the same person, and who might be different as I travel through time. Also helps me see when someone might have been born.
@@Hogan31500 that’s awesome!
I have 2 person with same name and birthday and death. The middle name is different. How would you go about seeing if they are same person or not? Born in Tennessee and died in Searcy County AR
Use the strategies in the video to search for that individual in the counties in which they resided looking for a duplicate that may have been confused. You'll need to be very thorough. Good luck!
Excellent advice. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Ok, watched it for a second time and found more of my Garrett Family members! Onward!!
Thanks Aimee...Enjoyed the Video....anything on my family yet?
Thank you Lynn! I emailed you.
How are you supposed to read a deed that was written 200 years ago ? Its impossible to read the one i have
Maybe this video will help: ruclips.net/video/i7Hw78KxgHE/видео.html
I discovered a new ancestor of mine last week. I don't have any documents directly linking his name to that of my known ancestors, however, I am still confident I found the right person. He's the only one that fits what we already know about our known ancestors. He's the only one in the right area at the right time with the right surname.
While having direct links between names is nice, it isn'ts always possible. Genealogy is science. Treat it like so by applying the scientific method. Given what you already know, form an hypothesis. Test your hypothesis by collecting data. The data you collect are the records you find and the information contained within them. Analyze your data. Form your conclusion. Repeat.
Our family tree is akin to a scientific theory. Our family trees, if correct, should predict where we might discover new data. As with science, new data might not fit our model, so we must be prepared to reform our hypothesis and correct our models.
Love that!
Thank you, Aimee. Your videos are so helpful. I’ve been working on my family tree for about a year and you give good advice without making me feel confused like some of the other genealogy specialists.
Thank you Lisa. So glad these videos are helping you!
Is ancestry a for sure thing cause I’m finding suprizes and before I tell everyone that I’m related to a king and I’m Native American two different tribe I got to make sure
No it isn’t if you relying on others trees and their recommendations (based on others trees). The records are a for sure thing though
On the marriage bond, the note giving permission to marry gives a no-earlier-than date for the birth of the bride if you can find the age of majority
Yes! Thanks for adding that!
After my Husband and I did 23 and Me, I found out that my late Husband's oldest Paternal First Cousins are my 3rd Maternal Cousins. It makes sense since their Mother had been my Maternal Greatgrandmother's Cousin as they both lived in proximity to each other and both had German surnames. Both late 19th century and very early 20th century. My side the surnames were Urey and Frey, not a spelling error, separate German names who married each other. My Maternal Great Grandmother was Mary Margaret Urey who married Mordecai Aiken Frey. My Third Cousins Mother was a Dommel Yohn.
Wow!
Very informative. I downloaded the Handout and will use this with my search for Parents of my 3rd great grandfather. I did find a marriage record for him in 1835 but nothing prior. I have a suspecteda family I am thinking he belongs to, but nothing to prove yet. I did find a 1820 & 1830 census for the family I am suspecting. It showed 2 boys under 10 and 2 boys under 20, all the families records only show one son in that age range. I believe my James was born to this couple before they married as his surname Robertson is similar to the suspected mothers surname Roberson. I match DNA with many people connected to this family. My James Robertson names a daughter Mary Polly which is the suspected mother's name and a son George Washington after the other brother in the census's I found. On to look at these other documents you suggested.
So glad this helped. You’ve got a lot of good information! Hope you can find more proof. Good luck!
In the 1820 Census sons 16-18 are counted twice. CATEGORIES: To 10, 10-15, 16 to 18, 16-25
Thank you for yet another great video
Glad you enjoyed it
I was able to prove that Margaret Wilson Poff was the mother of Wilson Poff using a deed I found on FamilySearch. Wilson Poff married a woman who was also named Margaret, so when his mother sold him some land, the deed specifically mentioned the women as Margaret Poff, mother of Wilson Poff and Margaret Poff, wife of Wilson Poff every time the women were mentioned.
I love it! That is such a terrific example! Thanks for sharing it.
Could u help me I Kno nothing of my past family nor history 😢
Are you adopted? If not I’d say to just start building a family tree on Ancestry. Watch videos for helps and check out my website tutorials www.ancestryconsultingbyaimee.com. If you are adopted or don’t know who a parent is, do a DNA test with Ancestry. If you want more personalized help I can coach you or do a project for you. You can reach out to me through my website. I really hope you can figure it out!
@@AncestryAimee thanks appreciate you no I'm not adopted just bad family 😞
@@lynnwoodcarter3486 I’m sorry ☹️
@@AncestryAimee your ok appreciate all u done I'll check out website 👍
We found dad's ancestor that came over from England, but don't know how to go back further.
I’m U.S. based but check out classes on English research at Rootstech and other places. Use the FamilySearch wiki.
You also need to know the County in England. Church records are very good and in many cases go back as far as late 1500s. Sometimes wills will mention place of origin or land purchased will be named after a place of origin.
I generally can't find the county, just the state. Couple that with the fact that English naming customs re-used the same names over and over, so how can you be CERTAIN that the John Doe (example) is THE right one, and not one of his cousins? One of ours is a (name) born in 1790s in Vermont. There's one person of that name born in 1794 and same name in 1797, different parents. No way to tell! Because the records are so skimpy / give so little detail, I feel like there's no way to be SURE. Even with probate records, if you don't know John Doe's father or siblings, and county how can we be SURE if we've got the right John Doe? Argh. I mean, I wonder if a lot of time, it's just a "probable" ancestor instead of "100% sure" ancestor , and I don't want to be following someone else's line.
What I've found helpful are obituaries for people who are born in the late 1700s and early 1800s. If they get old enough, they may have an obit printed in the later 1800s which might include family members.
Just a Google search might even turn up a biography about an ancestor who was an early settler to an area. Tough.
You raise terrific points. The truth is you cannot be SURE. And those naming patterns complicate things. When you do a census evaluation in a location you really do have to pay attention to other possibilities and resolve them.
Wow! What an amazing video❤️❤️❤️ one of the next steps in my research process is trying to go back past the 1850s, and locating wills, probates, and so on.
I think the hardest thing is getting past the handwriting. I have gotten better at reading old cursive, but sometimes the documents aren’t scanned well and are too light or blurry to read. Also, I research a lot in southern Indiana, and most of their records are not online. I currently live in Japan, so it makes it too hard to plan a visit there. I will definitely try your tips to see if I can find anything. I especially love the grouping of surnames in certain areas or counties tip!
Btw, what do you think of the site American Ancestors? I think Connie Knox did a review with them last year, but I would like to know your thoughts!
It's a good site, particularly if you are researching early colonies or the northeast. Sometimes I find it difficult to navigate, but its definitely worth your time. You can access it for free at FamilySearch libraries and there are quite a few in Japan. Visit www.familysearch.org/centers/locations/ to find them.
I am lucky. My family kept very good records.
You are lucky!
I wish there was someone like you for Australia and the UK my family is spread over the world. I know you focus on US which has been helpful but I use a lot of your advice for UK and Australia.
Wow, thank you! I’m so glad it’s helped you there as well.
Considering the rate of divorce these days, maybe they should bring back the marriage bonds! I always thought marriage should cost the price of a divorce in order to alleviate the "madly in love" marriage.
😂
Very helpful with the suggested organizational tips. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you, Aimee. I have been doing the genealogical search on my family for 50 years, and with great success. Obviously, when I started there was no internet, or computers nor easily accessed ancestry sites. I was lucky by tapping into other family members who I found were also working on the subject, but neither they nor I knew this was happening. I found that some of these people knew of other more distant family members were also working on the tree. I call this ancestry sharing, and it was a huge help for me. I had information that they did not have and vice versa. I even found that my grand father's sister had quite a stash of early family photos that I was able to obtain through my aunt who was the estate executor after she had passed and I asked her to look for pictures, and wow what incredible luck I had. And, I imagine that each of us who are passionate about this have different reasons for all of our effort. Mine happens to be the stories that can be found. Perhaps that part is more work, but so worth it. Thank you for your passion. I understand it well as I too share it!
That is wonderful!! What wonderful examples! And thank you for the complement!
Oh my yes! Stories is what I want! Why didn't they keep a diary & if they did, where is it!?
Most did not bc they were trying to survive.
Glad you found a treasure!
Another home run filled with such great info!! thanks Aimee You are my favorite genealogy podcaster and I have learned so much from you.
Wow, thank you so much!
I am sooo glad I found your channel!
Me too!! Thank you!
Thank you Aimee. I love your videos. They are always so helpful. Probate Records will be fun searching. Have a great day.
You are so welcome!
My ancestor put up 400l lb to marry his love. Crazy
That is crazy! I think the most I’ve heard of!
Fantastic video. Totally agree with everything about probate records - they are a goldmine! Not only wills and inventories but also administrations, acts, and probate diaries. Wonderful video.
Thank you @matthewdonovan1240!
@@AncestryAimee Do you have anything on pre 1700s at all? Watching this in the UK myself. Please keep these wonderful videos coming.
@@matthewdonovan1240 thank you! This and the videos mentioned in here are the best for early research. I don’t have anything pre 1700s. In the US I would maybe also visit the American Ancestors website. www.americanancestors.org. I would also be very familiar with the FamilySearch wiki pages. I have some videos about that. Local historical and genealogical societies are good too. Check out my professional secrets playlist A Professional Genealogist’s Secrets
ruclips.net/p/PLCOHvB5d5XvlEvZ-CtnmD8WwpbnpuVhX2
Tax Records
Absolutely! 😁👍
What's up with these Family Search branches that go back to the 1300, 1400 even earlier. One went back before Jesus Christ Lmbo. I'm new at FS and it's fun but I don't want or like to be patronized by a person or algorithm. Lol Thanks no expectations. SK
😂 yeah. I don’t know. Some of them may be legit, particularly if you hook into royalty, but… It’s not an algorithm. Someone has put it in there. But I don’t pay much attention to that.
@@AncestryAimee yeah several links to royalty (British) another reason I question. I was of the understanding that the info with in FS was like a national census and carved in stone lol. I'm understand now the individuals in putting to FB. Interesting for sure. I just hate to go buy expensive Royal Dude Clothes then find out it's not real....jk
@@asignmaker 🤣🤣 that’s good!!
I'm sorry but to distracting ...I'll just leave it at that.
Good luck
😃 ??