Category: Research

Reasonably Exhaustive Search for George’s Probate

When reviewing the research I’ve done on my 4th great grandfather, I realized that my citation for his probate was incomplete. GASP!

Not a big surprise to me. My earlier research attempts were a bit slapdash. I also haven’t spent a ton of time of this one line, but that changes this year. If I had stopped at the initial search of Ancestry’s “Ohio, Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998” collection, I would only have a part of the story.

A case study follows for why we should conduct a reasonably exhaustive search and a few tips for digging below the surface of online collections.

Continue reading Reasonably Exhaustive Search for George’s Probate

2019 Goal Achieved

For the past 3 years, I’ve been using my version of 52 Ancestors to keep my from being overwhelmed and to make noticable progress. After 12 years of genealogy research, converting gedcoms from different platforms, and early indiscriminate adding of hints, my source citations had been a mess.

Previously when I had a free moment, I would use random.org to generate a number that I could match to an ancestor’s ahnentafel  number.

Continue reading 2019 Goal Achieved

Honoring a Veterans Service: Mathew Szubinski’s WWII Story

[Medals in featured image (right to left): : American Defense Service Ribbon, European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon w/ 2 Bronze Battle Stars, Bronze Star Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon w/ 2 Bronze Battle Stars, and Work War II Victory Medal]

Mathew Emil Szubinski was my great uncle and my mother’s godfather. He was the youngest of four children born to Vincent Szubinski and Stanislawa “Stella” Muszynski, born in 9 Jan 1913 in Chicago, Illinois. (1)

Continue reading Honoring a Veterans Service: Mathew Szubinski’s WWII Story

Genealogy Lesson 5: Location Search

At a glance, see what is available in FamilySearch for your targeted research location.

Let me know what you think about this video. Share your feedback at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F82HTLX.

Handout for all the FamilySearch Genealogy Lessons available for $5.
PDF will be emailed to the email address used with PayPal.
https://www.paypal.me/jlbartimus/5
If you prefer to use an alternative payment method, ask for more information at julie@hayska.org

Contact me at Julie@Hayska.org with comments or questions or add them to the comments. Send me your questions about FamilySearch or let me know other genealogy topics that you want to hear more about.

#genealogy #family history #research #FamilySearch

Genealogy Lesson 4: Browse Published Collections

Find collections you missed or lost track of in FamilySearch. View an image when you’ve only seen the indexed details. Dive a little deeper by browsing the published collections in FamilySearch.

Genealogy Lesson 4: Browse Published Collections

Let me know what you think about this video. Share your feedback at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F82HTLX.

Handout for all the FamilySearch Genealogy Lessons available for $5.
PDF will be emailed to the email address used with PayPal.
https://www.paypal.me/jlbartimus/5
If you prefer to use an alternative payment method, ask for more information at julie@hayska.org.

Contact me at Julie@Hayska.org with comments or questions or add them to the comments. Send me your questions about FamilySearch or let me know other genealogy topics that you want to hear more about.

#genealogy #family history #research #FamilySearch

Genealogy Tip: SMART Research Questions

Are your research questions SMART?

SMART questions can help you find the leaf on your family tree in the midst of the genealogical forest.

Seeing the forest through the trees is how the phrase is commonly used. But, instead, we are looking for the trees, the leaves, the details within a forest of records.

Let me know what you think about this Genealogy Tip video. Share your feedback at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F82HTLX.

#genealogy #family history #research

2018 Goal Achieved

It was a productive year. My favorite goal this year was my version of 52 Ancestors. I was inspired by Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

I needed a systematic way to work through my gedcom file. I have been working from the same file since I started building the tree in 2003. After moving between several genealogy file management systems, my sources were junky, incomplete, or non-existent on earlier added profiles. Locations were not uniform. And, somehow the notes had duplicated multiple times. I didn’t know where to start. When I looked at the full file, I was overwhelmed. Continue reading 2018 Goal Achieved

WWI Research Ideas

Last week, I had the pleasure of listening to Janis Minor Forte discuss records generated by the WWI selective service registration process. The DuPage County Genealogical Society hosted her talk, “Even Gangsters Had To Register: WWI Draft Cards and the Selective Service Records They Produced.”

I never knew that so many documents were created beyond the draft registration cards. The big questions is whether they were kept by an ancestor’s home county. Continue reading WWI Research Ideas