Genealogy Lessons
Links to (mostly) MYRT's Practical, Down-to-Earth
Advice...
-
About
these Lessons
- #1 - Primary Birth Records
- "YES, "competent" is a word we will use to describe
your family tree climbing abilities."
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#2 - Choosing a Genealogy Program
- "The first advantage of using a genealogy
management program, is that you are able to type in the name,
dates, localities on each ancestor 1 time."
-
#3 -
Relationship Terms - "MY SON'S NOW WIFE didn't imply a previous marriage. It was used to
protect the estate from being diluted from claims by subsequent wives should this one die and the son
remarry. "
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#4 - Home
Sources- " When
times were rough, people used whatever precious book they had on hand to
record names and dates of births, marriages & deaths."
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#5
Calendars & Dates - "Naturally because we're
living in an imperfect world, different countries adopted the
newer calendar at different times! For instance, the Gregorian
calendar began on October 5, 1582, but was not adopted by Great
Britain and the American colonies until September 14, 1752."
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#6
- Government Records - "... we look to other sources
for original documents that were created at the time our
ancestors lived."
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#7
- Public Library Sources -"Despite being in a Florida
library, we found information on his ancestors who are from
Florida: Manatee, Sarasota, Hillsborough &Leon counties,
Louisiana , North Carolina and early Baltimore County
Maryland."
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#8
- Previously Compiled Genealogies - "Just
remember, when using previously compiled genealogy, its better to
question than to perpetuate the myth."
-
#9
- Conflicting Information -
"The bottom line is that you will
need to document every source and the dates stated or implied by
that source."
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Reader's
Feedback: Regarding Lesson #9 - "Even vital records can be wrong. My daughter's death certificate has
incorrect information on it and I was the one that supplied the info. I don't know if it is incorrect because of transcription errors or because of the severe emotional distress that I was in at the time!
"
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#10
- County Boundary Changes - "The hard
and fast rule for genealogy researchers is record
the place or locality as it was at the time of the event."
-
#11
- Local Histories - "As you continue your family
history research, you'll need to move from
finding the original documents of birth, marriage and
death to reading contemporary diaries and printed local
histories."
NOTE: Where the columns were previously posted
at http://members.aol.com/dearmyrtle we have noticed that during the past 8
months, AOL has not provided consistent support to the members web space. I'm
gradually moving them over to dearmyrtle.com for reliable access. AOL has
actually told me they do not know when the problem will be fixed. (sigh)
Related Topics:
DearMYRTLE's
"FINALLY GET ORGANIZED" monthly checklist has been converted
to a "little book." Click to find out more.
Myrt :)
DearMYRTLE,
Your friend in genealogy
www.dearmyrtle.com