United States

United States Public Records, 1970-2009

13 Mar By Dwight

If you are seeking to either fill in recent data in your research or trying to locate family members lost to you, then FamilySearch has the database for you. Their database “United States Public Records, 1970-2009” is similar, yet different to the Ancestry.com version of public records.

On 15 January 2015, I blogged on the Ancestry.com “U.S. Public Records Index.” It is taken from non-restricted records covers all 50 states from 1950 through 1993. The FamilySearch and Ancestry versions work very well together. The FamilySearch database is free.

The FamilySearch database indexes the names, birth dates, addresses, phone numbers, and possible relatives of individuals from throughout the United States. The sources include telephone directories, property tax assessments, credit applications and other records already easily available to the public.

It is important when using such a database that the information can be obtained with little effort elsewhere. The databases simply bring a variety of public sources into one searchable format. This means you may find the same person listed several times. A good explanation of what constitutes a public record in the United States can be found on the accompanying link to the database “Learn More” which directs you to the FamilySearch Wiki article “United States, Public Records (FamilySearch Historical Records).”

You will be able to track the movements of individuals; making this handy if you are researching living descendants of an ancestor. Where you have to be careful is you find multiple people by the same name. Knowing a specific birth date or year can help considerably. Also be aware one record may include a middle name and another one may not; yet they are for the same person.

If you contact someone through a public records database, that person may raise privacy questions. “How did you find me?” Simply direct them to the database itself and assure them you found them through the use of public records, not private records.

If you would like help with your genealogy needs please call 385-214-0925.

U.S. Public Records Index

15 Jan By Dwight

I was consulting with a friend the other day who was writing his family history for publication. He was missing some details on distant cousins. I suggested he look at the two-volume “U.S. Public Records Index” hosted on Ancestry.com.

The “U.S. Public Records Index” is easy to overlook on Ancestry.com. You may have use the “Browse Card Catalog” feature to quickly find it.

The information, which frankly is public record, covers all 50 states from 1950 through 1993. It may be a little shocking for some to know what is considered public record in the United States. However, setting any concerns aside for the moment, be aware, Ancestry.com is simply hosting, not actually generating, the information. The data is already available to the public in other formats. Information may include:

A person’s first name, middle name or initial and last name
A street or mailing address
A telephone number
A birth date or birth year
An age

The information is taken from; voter registrations, public filings, historical residential records, various household databases, white pages of the telephone book, directory assistance records, marketing lists, and postal change of address forms. Now saying this, you have to be aware that sometimes an exact date is not attached to the information cited. Yet, for other entries, for the same person, a year is provided making it relatively easy to reconstruct a time line.

There are some limitations. Persons under 18 years old are not listed. Also you may have to look for a female under the name of a former spouse or partner. The best method I have found to use this database is to try all the name variations, such as Patrick Neil Kelly, Patrick N. Kelly and Patrick Kelly. Because the name is common, especially without the middle name, I try to find a birth date. For the deceased you can search the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) and usually get that. With a place of residence or a birth date, you will find the databases relatively easy to use.

When used responsibly, databases such as these can be a treasure trove of solid information from which to track down the various branches of your family.

If you would like professional help with your family history call us at: 385-214-0925.

Pennsylvania Tax Lists Glossary

11 Mar By Dwight Leave a Comment

Pennsylvania is just one of those cross roads in United States history. Sometimes it seems like everybody went there or through there. From its founding it was a haven for religious refugees being founded as a tolerant Quaker colony. From Ireland came all religious groups mixing and merging through the centuries. The Province of Pennsylvania entered the union in 1787.

The Importance of Tax Records

An essential resource in your research from the 1700s is the tax lists. Important ones have been extracted and published. Most are readily available on microfilm. However, once you get into the records, you will see intriguing terminology which does not translate into modern English. Understanding these are essential to your research. Keep in mind that as the state tax laws changed, so did the terms and items considered taxable.

The main taxable categories you will be interested in will concern land, single men, slaves and horses. The reason is you are documenting single men prior to their marriage and families bought and sold land and horses from each other. This allows you to connect various family members. There are sometimes editorial comments such as “deceased,” “moved” or “heir” which can be helpful.

Common Pennsylvania Tax Terms

Understanding tax language is important because of the lack of early county marriages records for Pennsylvania. So when a “freeman” becomes an “inmate” this mean a marriage has occurred. Key terms utilized in the decades of the late 1700s and early 1800s are as follows:

Freemen: unmarried males over 21.

Heir: indicates a death had occurred.

Inmates: married renters.

Negro: slaves

Occupation: other than a farmer.

Seated: a landowner was a resident

Servant: Various modes indentured servitude often European.

Unseated: a landowner was a non-resident.

If You would like professional help with your Pennsylvania research Click Here.

Abbreviations for Men Religious in Ireland

14 Nov By Dwight Leave a Comment

If you are researching men religious in your family, then you understand just how important these personalities are in your genealogy. A brother of your ancestor who became a Roman Catholic priest or brother may have had an excellent education, may have been well travelled, could have authored books, and most importantly, left a paper trail behind.

Naturally, a main purpose for researching and reconstructing these lives of these men would be to see if there is a record stating where in Ireland he was born. My research philosophy is that if you find men religious in the family, then stop all your research and concentrate on that one individual.

One record in which you begin to reconstruct all the facts is obituaries of an immigrant priest or brother. Even if an obituary does not provide a place of birth, then there are clues which will eventually lead you there. After his name will be some letters, which if you’re unaware, signify the religious order he belonged. This is your key! It’s within the order records that birth places and additional biographical material can be found.

However, those letters, can be baffling, especially if you’re unfamiliar with Roman Catholic orders. I am providing the main ones in Ireland where Irish men belonged. I’m drawing my source material from the excellent article by Kyle J. Betit “Priests, Nuns and Brothers in Ireland “ The Irish At Home and Abroad 5, #2 (1998): 70-76. Although parts are dated, I would recommend getting a copy of the entire article. Here’s his listing, which will open up records for you, if your relative studied with a religious order in Ireland prior to 1920:

CFC: Congregation of Christian Brothers (of Ireland)

CM: Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians)

CP: Congregation of the Passion (Passionists)

C.S.Sp: Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) Congregation

C.SS.R: Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists)

FPM: Presentation Brothers

FSC: Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Brothers)

FSP: Congregation of the Brothers of St. Patrick (Patrician Brothers)

IC (prev. OC): Institute of Charity (Rosminians) (prev. Order of Charity)

O.Carm (prev. OCC): Order of Carmelites (of the Ancient Observance, prev. Calced Carmelites)

OCD: Order of Discalced Carmelites

OCSO (prev. Cist.): Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (Trappists)

OFM (OSF until 1897): Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans)

OFM.Cap (prev. OSFC): Capuchin Friars

OFM.Conv: Conventual Franciscans

OH: Hospitaller Brothers of the Order of St. John of God (St John of God Brothers)

OMI: Oblates of Mary Immaculate

OP: Order of Preachers (Dominicans)

OSA: Order of St. Augustine (Augustinians)

OSB: Order of St. Benedict (Benedictine Monks)

OSF: Brothers of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis (Franciscan Brothers)

SJ: Society of Jesus (Jesuits)

SM: Society of Mary (Marists)

SMA (prev. AM): Society of African Missions

Once you have identified the Religious Order, then search the Internet for a website, or contact the Central Catholic Library in Dublin: www.catholiclibrary.ie

Tomorrow, I will be discussing the abbreviations used for Women Religious in Ireland.

Southern Claims Commission

15 Jun By Dwight Leave a Comment

A little known source in genealogy is the Southern Claims Commission records which cover the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

The Southern Claims Commission was established in 1871 and was dissolved in 1880. Its purpose was to review property loss claims by Southerners who remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War. Of the 22,298 claims received, only 7,092 were approved. While most of the claims (accepted and rejected) were for white citizens, there were a significant number of black claimants. What is important is that the claims listed witnesses, usually family members found in these records. There are some 222,000 witnesses with their personal information.

The documents consist of pages of some 80 questions which had to be answered, and the witnesses also had to answer the questions. This provides a treasure trove of insight into families.

The Southern Claims Commission records (1871-1880) are now scanned and indexed on Ancestry.com in three indexes: a Master Index (accepted and rejected); Disallowed and Barred Claims; and Allowed Claims. Make sure you search all three. Plus, I find that sometimes it helps to not put in a name in the search, but only the county. Then I can see who else was filing a claim from the county. It also helps me get around the problem of often marginally literate people trying to maneuver through the government paperwork and dealing with government officials. With seeing who else filed claims, I can get around some of the most horrid spelling errors of surnames imaginable!

Do not ignore this as a major resource for the Reconstruction Era, and for personal details.

Researching Families on the American Frontier

1 May By Dwight Leave a Comment

Millions of North Americans have ancestry from the American frontier. The geography I’m speaking of would include; Vermont, Upstate New York, Ohio, western Pennsylvania, western Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and western North Carolina. Other areas could also qualify. The time frame would be the 1770s and as late as the 1830s in some areas.

Families were obtaining, protecting, and working land. Land was life. Disease and conflict were everywhere. There were few if any doctors, ministers, schools, newspapers, and roads. Families settled in clusters for protection. To identify where the cluster was originally from would be to find out where your ancestor was from. This works well in Irish and Scots-Irish research. So always look for the neighbors of your ancestors.

The county officials registered marriages, land deeds, slave sales, probated estates, collected taxes, and held court. All of this generated records. Yet, they cannot be judged by the same standards as “Back East” where society was stable.

The federal censuses may be incomplete, which leaves tax lists as the better record. Land records are also a major source. However, probates and church records are often non-existent, or at least sketchy.

With frontier cases, I head straight for the land and tax records. Everything else hinges off those two. If the federal censuses exist, then that is frosting on the cake! If they don’t, then I build my case on land and tax records.

Be careful and do not believe online pedigrees. Always prove these pedigrees by looking at primary sources. Don’t expect frontier research to be like “Back East.”

Tomorrow I will discuss the unique aspect of frontier religion, and how that affected record keeping.

Canada to America Border Crossings

26 Apr By Dwight Leave a Comment

It was common for ancestors to arrive first in Canada and then come to the United States. That’s one aspect of immigration research. There is another aspect sometimes people don’t think about. This is that both Americans and Canadians went back and forth for any number of reasons. Sometimes we forget Irish had family members in any number of countries. In the case of North America, they could visit each other, and often they did.

This archive of records have been indexed and digitize in the database “Border Crossings: From Canada to the U.S., 1895-1956”: www.ancestry.com Don’t let the late date detour you away from this source. Quite the contrary if you think about it. You can have someone who emigrated from Ireland in the 1860s or 1870s, go visit family in either country by the 1890s or after the turn of the century. If they are entering the United States legally, they technically should appear on these border crossings.

The records will provide name, residence, relatives, birth places, age and point of entry. Remember, the border crossings are mainly, but not exclusively, points of entry across land. Points of entry stations were not consistent for the entire span of years. These include:

Idaho: Eastport

Maine: Bangor, Calais, Easton, Eastport, Fort Fairfield, Fort Kent, Houlton, Jackman, Lubec, Madawaska, Van Buren, Vanceboro

Massachusetts: Boston

Minnesota: International Falls, Baudette, Duluth, Mineral Center, Noyes, Pigeon River, Pine Creek, Roseau, Warroad

Montana: Babb, Chief Mountain, Cut Bank, Del Bonita, Gatweay, Great Falls, Roosville, Sweet Grass

New York: Alexandria Bay, Buffalo, Cape Vincent, Champlain, Clayton, Fort Covington, Hogansburg, Lewiston, Malone, Moers, Morristown, Niagara Falls, Nyando, Ogdensburg, Rochester, Rooseveltown, Rouses Point, Thousand Island Bridge, Trout River, Waddington

North Dakota: Northgate, Pembina, St. John, Walhalla

Vermont: Newport, St. Albans

Washington: Anacortes, Danville, Ferry, Lynden, Laurier, Marcus, Metaline Falls, Northport, Oroville, Port Angeles, Sumas
I have successfully utilized this resource. Most of my success has come from researching people who were crossing the border decades after they had already emigrated from Ireland.

I Can’t Find My Ancestor’s in the Passenger Arrival Lists

25 Mar By Dwight Leave a Comment

Since the North American Passenger Arrival Lists are scanned and indexed, you would think you would find your ancestors. These are on www.ancestry.com with some on other sites, such as www.ellisisland.org The point is, if you are like me, your still asking the question, “Which Mary Kelly is mine?” What a nightmare, because Mary Kelly’s are everywhere.

It’s important to remember, that unless a family came intact to North America, or has an unusual last name, then you may never know which Mary Kelly is yours! Frankly, as a professional genealogist, sometimes the passenger’s arrival lists are about the last source I consult.

The lists I am talking about are a nineteenth century creation. Ports kept records of ships and passengers arriving. Do not be mistaken, they are not always complete. The port of Baltimore is a well-documented example.

If I could offer a few helpful hints to this source, it would be the following:

The date of arrival as listed on a US citizenship paper may not be correct.
Many people came to Canada first, then boarded another ship to America.
Don’t expect ages in the lists to match exactly your ancestor’s age. Seriously, many Irish didn’t know how old they were anyway.

My advice on passenger’s lists is to keep them in perspective. Don’t expect too much when you are looking for my symbolic Mary Kelly. However, also do not close off the possibility you may actually find her. This is all part of typical Irish family research.

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