When it’s not online
That pesky GPS thing again There is one essential truism in genealogy that every single genealogist — The Legal Genealogist included — has encountered at one point or another to our dismay: It’s not all online. As a matter of fact, it’s...In gold or silver coin
About those lawbooks… What exactly did Elizabeth Wright do for a living around 1867? You won’t find the answer in the 1850 census, even though you can find her in the 1850 census of St. Louis, Missouri. She was recorded as 38 years old, born in Scotland,...Mapping San Mateo
Just where would that ancestor have lived? So… an ancestor died in San Mateo County, California, on 1 January 1886. His obituary kindly informs us that he had lived in the same house for exactly 40 years, having moved in on 1 January 1846. Here’s the...Taking notice
A lesson from Arkansas law It is one of the most basic elements of the law. You can’t do something about an issue if you don’t know about it. And so the law makes people who want you to have to do something — or who want to do something to you...Discovering fiction
Another example of why not to accept automated systems So The Legal Genealogist opened the email program this morning and there it was. A personal discovery, just for me, according to the automated system notice from one of the big genealogical companies.1 Another...Turn the page!
The rest of the story So many times, the answer to a genealogical question can be found with a simple action. Turn the page. And … sigh … The Legal Genealogist occasionally needs a reminder to find the book that has the pages to turn them. Case in point....On this day
Checking those historical facts The Legal Genealogist is very fond of the various websites that are willing to tell us what happened on this day in history. Despite their occasional inaccuracies,1 the websites that serve up history in sound bites often provide fodder...Equal opportunity DNA criticism
Don’t take ThruLines as gospel either So a couple of weeks ago The Legal Genealogist focused on the dangers of uncritical acceptance of the automated systems at the DNA testing companies that link us to possible/proposed ancestors by showing how one suggested...Finding Margaret’s mother: part 5
Not so fast… It’s the 2019 research goal of The Legal Genealogist to put paid to one particular genealogical question this year: who was the mother of Margaret (Battles) Shew? Margaret is my 3rd great grandmother. My line comes down from Margaret’s daughter...Subscribe by Email
