Court records are an invaluable source of information about our ancestors. I have successfully used court records to discover family associations, personal property descriptions, information about crops and livestock, financial details, and names of neighbors.
52 Ancestors Blog Posts
Landed
Land records are particularly helpful for locating where my ancestors lived. In 1785, surveyors adopted the rectangular method of platting land using Ranges, Townships, and Sections. For this week’s prompt, I will describe using online resources to locate where my ancestor lived in Ohio more than 180 years ago.
Maps
Maps can give context to our ancestors’ lives, flesh out a family story, or document a family’s migration. This week I describe how to use online maps and directories to find historic addresses on modern maps.
Branching Out
I am branching out the search for my unknown 4th great-grandparents and am attempting to use DNA. As a result, my family tree is also branching out! Identifying common ancestors between myself and my DNA matches requires adding MANY people to my tree.
Curious
I am curious, how do others research common surnames. I am working on: Smith, Gilbert, Russell, and Gillespie. Another I am researching has a number of spelling variations. What techniques are successful when it comes to common surnames?
Another Favorite Photo
I looked through my box of old family photos to find a previously not scanned photograph worthy of being a favorite photo. At the very bottom of the box, I discovered a large photography studio folder with a charming image inside that is now a favorite photo.
Favorite Find
A recent favorite find is four images I created years ago for a calendar. These images represent my 64 4th great-grandparents.
Foundations
My research foundations for 2022 are to put names on thirteen of my 64 4th great-grandparents who are brick walls. I do have strong clues for several, and I will prioritize my efforts with those.
Future
For 2022 I plan on doing more research, specifically focusing on my 4th great-grandparents who are brick walls. I still plan to participate in Amy’s challenge, but I will document my brick wall research for many of the weekly prompts. Even if they do not precisely match the prompt.
Holidays
I made a holiday photo collage and labeled each with a letter. I asked my family to match the holiday photo to the years I provided.