Archive for » June, 2010 «

07
Jun
Chimney Money
Debby

Taxes have been around from the beginning of time.  What the government taxed people on sometimes just amazes me.  The hearth tax from 1662-1689 in England was one of those.  A tax for each hearth in a home was to be paid by the occupant of the home not the home owner.  The hearth tax return forms are a great resource for genealogists.  These lists provide the name of occupants of each home and the number of hearths.

As is in today’s world, there are those (the poor) who were exempt from these taxes, but were also listed on the tax return forms with their exempt status.  Errors, omissions, lost records, and poor penmanship are some of the reasons you may not find an ancestor on the lists, but with the number of years that the tax was in place, there is a good chance you will find some answers.

Amanda Bevan’s book on Tracing your Ancestors in the National Archives discusses in detail what records were kept and where to potentially find copies.

Category: Genealogy  Tags: , , , ,  One Comment
05
Jun
Passports – applications and photos
Debby

When U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925, came online at Ancestry.com, I decided to search to see what type of information would be available.  I was pleasantly surprised when I found not only the original applications, but a photograph, and in a few instances, an accompanying letter explaining why the passport was being applied for.

One of the interesting applications was the removal of the eldest daughter from her father’s passport so she could obtain a passport in her married name.  Talk about a genealogical find.  The name of all the children on the father’s passport were listed, the name of the groom to be, and when the marriage was going to take place, and where the newlyweds were heading on their trip.

The penmanship was clear enough that  I could make out the birth location of the children and their birth dates on the accompanying letter.  Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives, National Archives and Records Administration, 2001, for more information on where to find original passport records.

Category: Genealogy  Tags: , , , ,  16 Comments
03
Jun
Who’s Who Dictionary
Debby

Everyone loves to read about someone in their tree who is famous for something.  Using Google Books, you may find many digitized copies of “Who’s who of …” with the surname in question listed.

The content of each entry varies based on the topic of the Who’s Who issue.  It may be an Who’s Who in Germany, or Who’s Who in New York (city and state).  In the 1922  issue of Who’s Who in Engineering, I was able to confirm the mother’s surname of a distant cousin.  Not only do I now know the entire work history of this individual, I know what clubs he belonged to, every school he ever attended, and where he lived.  The listing of abbreviations at the beginning of the book has also helped deal with those abbreviations dealing with the engineering industry.  As we all know, abbreviations for one industry means something different than those of another industry.

For more information on the various biographies available, check Biographical Dictionaries and Related Works by Robert B. Slocum.

Category: Genealogy  Tags: , , , ,  10 Comments
01
Jun
Importing Data – Beware
Debby

I was recently asked to review a family tree to see what I thought of the research so far.  I looked at the names and dates for logic and then I started looking at the places and dates.

Now as much as I wish I could be in two places at once at times, there is no way that in 1860, someone could be in New York and in Texas on the same day, and in two different weddings.  The couple in question had common names and were married in New York.  This was recorded as the primary fact.  A secondary fact was listed that the same couple were married in Texas on the same day.

Somewhere in the data a mistake was made.  Using the other data recorded in the family tree and the sources used, it was determined that the New York location was the correct location, and a merge from data received online was the culprit for the second entry.

When you find data online, please do not import it into your tree without reviewing it first.  Everyone makes mistakes and you do not want those mistakes added to your tree.  The Genealogist’s Internet by Peter Christian has a great section on Good Practice for family trees found online.

Category: Genealogy  Tags: , , , ,  35 Comments
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