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What You Need To Know To Organize Your Genealogy Files
Know the basics to organize your genealogy files successfully. Learn how to start with a organization system you build for your own genealogy research. Every year January rolls around and I get the organizing bug. I love researching new organizing systems. I might be an organization junkie. [Okay, I AM an organizing junkie.] I am also an organization flunkie. I see all of those pretty organized homes. organized calendars/planners and even organized genealogy files. Pretty, color coded files and binders. Beautiful, nested folders in Dropbox. Perfectly organized photo display walls. I jump into organizing an project but never last more that a couple of weeks. I have just never been…
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The 1890 Census – Researching AROUND the “Genealogy Black Hole” – Part 2
William Haley was easy to track through the census records. 1940, 1930, ……1910, 1900……then nothing. William fell into the black hole of the 1890 census record loss and unfortunately, did not emerge in the 1880 census record. How in the world was I going to find more information about William Haley and his life prior to 1900? Without that information, I would be unable to find his parents and extend the Haley line back. Was I out of options? I did have research options and you do, too! We have to research around the record loss. We must use other records our ancestors generated. In the recent post on…
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The 1890 Census – How To Research the “Genealogy Black Hole” Part 1
[Note: This is Part 1 of a 2 part series on the 1890 census.] The 1890 census is referred to as the “black hole” of genealogy research. How many of you have “lost” track of your ancestors because the 1890 census did not survive the Commerce Department fire of 1921? I’m waving my hand wildly over here! A bit of genealogical trivia first….. The 1890 census did not burn. It received significant water damage during the fighting of the fire. The records then sat and sat and sat….. Well, water, paper and time are not a good combination. The 1890 census was ruined. Back to our research…. The loss of…
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How to Find Your Ancestors’ Divorce Records
Searching for an ancestor’s divorce records can trip up even the most seasoned genealogy researcher. Finding our ancestors’ marriage records is one thing and often one of the first things a researcher searches for. But….what about when our ancestors did not live happily ever after? What about when they divorced? Divorce records were not (and still are not) found alongside the birth, marriage and death vital records. We’ll explore where to find an ancestor’s divorce records below. Why Did Our Ancestors Divorce? While not as common as today, our ancestors could divorce for a variety of reasons. Abuse, abandonment and lack of support are just some of the reasons. Finding…