This Week's Webinar: Strategies for Tough Research Problems

Are you stuck? Can't seem to get past that brick wall in your family history?

This week's webinar is going to help you with that. 

Kathryn will be discussing different strategies to help you look at your family history research in a different way, and give you some ideas on how to tackle that challenging research problem that might lead to you to finally making a breakthrough in your genealogy. Of course, the problems and records discussed will focus on Canadian family history.

Date: Thursday January 12

Time: 7:00 pm ET | 4:00 pm PT | Midnight UTC

Cost: FREE

How to Access: Sign up for our newsletter and the webinar registration info will be sent to you.

© Copyright by Kathryn Lake Hogan, 2021. All Rights Reserved.

TUESDAY TIP: Indices Are Not Records

Ancestry.com. "Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1913," database online.   Ancestry.com  (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Oct 2015), indexed entry for Harman Ryckman, 1886.

When I was the Dominion Genealogist of the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada, I had the opportunity to review the lineages of many people.  I saw the good, the bad and the ugly of lineage applications.  One problem I frequently encountered was applicants submitting indices from online databases as documentation to prove the relationships in their lineage.

This is a big NO-NO. Indices are NOT records. [Tweet this.] An index is a guide directing you to where the record is located.  It is not the same as the actual record.  Why?  An index is a transcribed document containing abstracted information from the record.  It does not contain all the information in the record.  Furthermore, an index is subject to error because it was transcribed by a human.  Humans make errors.

Ancestry.com. "Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1913," database online.   Ancestry.com  (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Oct 2015), entry for Harman Ryckman, 1886.

I think the reason people are using the index instead of the record is because the index often contains a source citation.  This is poor methodology.  This is not acceptable for a lineage society application or even you own family history.  Take the time to obtain the document either in hard copy or digitally. Then, record a proper source citation on the document.  The book Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, Third Edition will help you do that.

No matter the lineage society, when submitting your application, be sure to include the actual records for documenting your lineage.  Doing so will help ensure your application is processed and approved as quickly as possible.

Updated 23 Aug 2016
Copyright by Kathryn Lake Hogan, 2016.

The 3 X 3 Method

0 X 1	3 X 1
5 X 1	2 X 3
*3 X 3	4 X 1
2 X 4	2 X 2

Sometimes when people start their family tree, they wonder how should they go about this? Where to start? How far back in time can I find my ancestors? What is a reasonable goal?


To set a reasonable and achievable goal, I recommend using a process I call The 3 X 3 Method. Using this method provides you with a plan to research and document the first fifteen people in your family tree.


When starting a family tree, always start with yourself. Then, move chronologically backward through your family tree researching your parents, your four grandparents and your eight great-grandparents. When you look at the position of each of these individuals in a pedigree chart, you will see each person has a number. With the exception of the person in the number one position, males are even numbered and females are odd numbered. This is called the Ahnentafel Numbering System.


The goal of The 3 X 3 Method is to research three pieces of evidence for each of the three primary facts (birth, marriage and death) for yourself, your parents, your four grandparents and your eight great-grandparents. Yes, I know that you are not going to find death information about those people who are still living, including yourself.
Remember what I said about starting with what you know and moving backwards? Right. With that in mind, start with the death of the individual, then research the marriage, then the birth.


Death
Three pieces of evidence for a death might include the following: newspaper obituary or death notice, funeral card, cemetery plot information, grave stone marker, death certificate or death registration, Social Security or Social Insurance information. Date of burial is a different event from date of death. However, you may find the date of death included with the burial information.


Marriage
Three pieces of evidence for a marriage might include: newspaper announcement, marriage bond, licence or registration, or marriage certificate from the church. Remember that wedding invitations, banns and engagement notices only provide information of the couples intent to marry; they do not prove that the wedding actually took place.


Birth
Three pieces of evidence for a birth might include: newspaper announcement, hospital record, birth certificate or registration. Social Security or Social Insurance information may include a date of birth. Census records may also corroborate a date of birth.


For those of us who have been researching for a while, I recommend reviewing your family history files. Are you missing information? Do you have three pieces of evidence for those three primary events for your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents? Now might be a good time to go back and fill in those missing bits of information using The 3 X 3 Method.

Copyright by Kathryn Lake, 2011.

Tuesday Teachings - Two Essential Resources for English and Welsh Research

One of the most important things you need to know when researching English and Welsh ancestors is the parish and the registration district in which they were born, married and died, especially before 1974. Knowing this information will save you some money and a whole lot of aggravation when ordering birth, marriage and death registration certificates from the General Register Office.

 

For example, my ancestor Joseph George was born in Wales. From information on the 1861 Wales Census (RG 9, Piece 4170, Folio 106, Page 4, Schedule 16) it states he was born in St. Dogwells, Pembrokeshire. Funny, I thought he was born in the parish of St. Dogmells. Perhaps there is a spelling error. Which registration district is this parish located?

 

The Phillimore Atlas & Index of Parish Registers, 3rd Edition, edited by Cecil R. Humphery-Smith is an essential resource. A search in the Index reveals St. Dogwell's and St. Dogmael's are two different parishes. St. Dogwell's is in Haverfordwest registration district. St. Dogmael's is in the registration district of Cardigan. The cost of this book may be prohibitive to some researchers as it is quite pricey at £50.00. Check your local library or Family History Centre (FHC) to see if they have a copy you can use.

 

 

A far more affordable option is a book titled Parishes & Registration Districts in England & Wales... by Dr. Penelope Christensen. It costs $18.00 at the GenealogyStore.com. Click on Heritage Books from the left side menu, then "The England Series" link. You will find the book listed there.

 

 

 

Now that I know the registration district for St. Dogwell's and St. Dogmael's, I can search for my ancestor, Joseph George on FreeBMD to find the information I need to order the birth registration certificate. I don't necessarily need the registration district in order to do a search, but it certainly helps to narrower the search results. This especially true if your ancestor had a common name like David Davies. Again, from the census records I know Joseph George was born about 1855.

 

A search for Joseph George born between March 1854 and December 1856 in Cardigan registration district resulted in no matches. The same search in Haverfordwest registration district yielded the result below.

With this information, I can now order the birth registration certificate for Joseph.

In next week's edition of Tuesday Teachings I will discuss how to order birth, marriage and death certificates from the General Register Office in England.