by Judy G. Russell | Jun 15, 2022 | Legal definitions |
The language of the law. Part Latin, part Greek, part law French, even part Anglo-Saxon. And all confusing. The Legal Genealogist assures you, dear reader: the relationship didn’t morph in all the years of Clarence Wells’ life. Joe Wells is clearly the...
by Judy G. Russell | Jun 6, 2022 | Legal definitions |
The language of the law. Part Latin, part Greek, part law French, even part Anglo-Saxon. And all confusing. The pace of life continues to pick up as The Legal Genealogist heads into the summer institute season so… Snippets. When, as and if time allows. Though...
by Judy G. Russell | May 16, 2022 | Legal definitions |
Maintenance as an offense There is — ulp!! — just one week to go before the 44th annual conference of the National Genealogical Society begins in Sacramento, California. Themed Our American Mosaic, this conference will draw speakers, exhibitors and...
by Judy G. Russell | May 12, 2022 | Legal definitions, Methodology, Statutes |
Remember the mantra! Okay, fans of The Legal Genealogist, here’s your pop quiz for today. What’s the mantra around these parts? Yep, you know it. You can probably recite it in your sleep: If we want to understand the records, we have to understand the law...
by Judy G. Russell | Apr 26, 2022 | General, Legal definitions |
Bring on the ladies… There it is. Right there in the document open on The Legal Genealogist’s desk. Evelyn, handling the estate. Or Shirley, leaving a will. So… is Evelyn the deceased’s daughter, perhaps? Maybe a sister? Is Shirley a single...
by Judy G. Russell | Mar 3, 2022 | Legal definitions, Methodology |
About the best FAN Club evidence ever… Reader Diane George ran into an issue that many genealogists encounter when looking at records of our ancestors. She’d come across an 1895 Wisconsin newspaper article that noted that C. G. Crosse and J. E. Morton of...
by Judy G. Russell | Feb 28, 2022 | Legal definitions |
Not just for servants or apprentices A Vermont librarian was a little confused by a word used to describe a donated record. Patti Houghton Arrison, librarian at the Weathersfield, Vermont, Historical Society, was delighted to have the record: an 1857 document...
by Judy G. Russell | Feb 15, 2022 | Constitutions, Court Cases, Legal definitions |
Citizenship for those born at sea Reader Douglas Burnett got to thinking after reading about the question of the impact marrying into one of the tribes had on a woman’s U.S. citizenship last week. “Your Friday Blog1 got me wondering about ‘what if’ cases,” he...
by Judy G. Russell | Feb 10, 2022 | Court Cases, Legal definitions |
…of a different stripe… The case was heard in the December 1800 term of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania — and it’s exactly the kind of thing a genealogist hopes to find. George Keppele and Henry Zantzinger had been business partners in...
by Judy G. Russell | Feb 7, 2022 | Legal definitions |
Not a physical act! It came up again just last week, in a legal document from the late 1700s in New York State that a fellow genealogist needed help understanding. It’s a phrase often seen in court pleadings from years ago — and one that’s not used...