Are There Ancestors from Scotland in Your Tree?

Today I was wandering around online, looking to see if I could find information on a very distant grandfather of mine from Lesbury in the northern part of England. Since Scotland sits on top of England, I decided to look in that area. I found a great site to do some researching in and I wanted to share it with you.

The site is Old Scottish Genealogy and Family History. There, you will find transcripts of primary sources. Unfortunately I haven't found my ancestor. I am actually looking for his father. Several family trees pertaining to this family on Ancestry, have chosen the "wrong" father for him as I determined by searching primary sources that are available online.

I hope that this link is useful to those of you researching ancestry in Scotland. This is a great time to do some armchair genealogy research as we wait out the pandemic. 

Stay safe--

Sharon

Quick Genealogy Hints (27 June 2017)

Many times when one researches the ol' family tree dates are estimated. An example is when one sees a family listed on a census, birth dates are not normally listed, just ages so if in 1940 an ancestor is listed on the census as being 10 years old then this person's birth year could have been in 1930 or perhaps even in 1929 if their birthday is after the census date. I was taking a look at several family trees on Ancestry and comparing with individuals on my tree. Here is a look at a listing of a woman's children as was noted on about half a dozen trees.

Children

Henry (1713-1760) 

Henry (1713-1713) 

Margaret (1715-1715) 

Margaret (1717-1715) 

Elizabeth (1719-1719) 

Please note that 1 child died 2 years before she was born. More research needs to be done because it appears that the same child may be listed twice or perhaps 2 children born in the same year were given the same name.

The thing is, double check the information. Other folks' family trees are not primary sources and are subject to errors and in this case, numerous researchers duplicated the same mistake on their trees.

Happy hunting!

Sharon

Ancestry DNA Test Kit

Looking at the Cost of Food 1934

I am sometimes amazed to see the cost of foods in the olden days. At times I wonder if we actually "get ahead" when wages go up because the cost of food goes up too. At times it seems like we are barely keeping up with the status quo. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Quick Genealogy Hint (30 May 2017)

Often when reading newspaper obituaries, wedding and engagement announcements there may be errors as far as relationships listed in the articles. An example of errors was found in a couple wedding and engagement announcements that I was perusing the other day. Johnny Smith was getting married to Janie Jones. Johnny's step-father, Joe Doe Sr., was listed as father of the groom and there was no mention of biological father. Johnny has a half-brother who is a Joe Doe Jr. The article mentions that Joe Doe was the best man. There was no mention of Junior or Senior after the name of Joe Doe. Since I personally know this family, I know that Joe Doe Sr. was also the best man because Joe Doe Jr. was deployed with the military. Confused yet?

An obituary I had gone over listed a woman's grandchildren. Well, actually her natural grandchildren were listed, 1 of her 3 step-grandchildren was listed and there was no indication that the included 1 was not biological. A non-related, non adopted person was listed as grandchild when in fact this person was an honorary grandchild since no legal adoption had taken place.

Rule of thumb--If these newspaper articles seem "fishy" then they very well might be. Do not accept as truth until you have found more reliable documentation, preferably a primary source.

Another thing, if you are responsible for providing information for obituaries, wedding and engagement announcements, then lets stick to the facts.

Happy hunting!

Sharon

Quick Genealogy Hint (25 May 2017)

Today's hint is about assigning a family position to a family member. For example, I'm looking at an individual's profile, let's call him John Quincy Doe, and notice that through research I have discovered he has another child called Frederick Barney Doe. So, I enter this new person, Frederick, as child of John Quincy Doe. On Ancestry, one is able to go to John Quincy Doe's page and enter new individuals according to their relationship to JQD e.g. child, spouse or parent.

One day when I was working on my tree, I noticed that a close relative had been assigned the wrong relationship. She was assigned as her father's spouse. Imagine the disservice done to the individuals reputations if future genealogists took this information at face value.

Wishing you happy days climbing your family tree.

Sharon

RootsMagic 7 Family Tree Genealogy Software / Book Bundle

Quick Genealogy Hint

I have decided to post hints on doing genealogical research.  Every now and then, I run across examples of what-not-to-do when documenting your tree.I am not an expert by any means although, I do have a degree in history and was taught a bit about researching. I plan to every now and then post a hint, one at a time so not to overwhelm.

Today's hint--

Women are always entered on a tree by their maiden name NOT married name. 

Happy Hunting,

Sharon

decorative family tree posters

Interesting Tidbits Found Investigating My Family Tree.

It is amazing what you find out when you investigate your family tree. This information I found by googling  Agnes Gruss, one of my great grandmothers. She allegedly gave this money she won in court to a relative to invest for her and that's the last it was seen. I have no proof of this--it is family lore.




from

The American and English Railroad Cases: A Collection of All ..., Volume 28, found online at https://books.google.com/books?id=nKZEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA705&dq=agnes+gruss&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAGoVChMIjZO7gbHyyAIVDHQ-Ch3lewbb#v=onepage&q&f=false.