| FHC Info | |
Hours of Operation:
Mon: Closed
Fri: 9:30 am-1:00 pm
Saturday:
9:30 am-4:30 pm
Tues, Wed, Thurs:
9:30am-4:30pm, & 7-9:30 pm
Directors: Linda & Kurt Christensen Washington DC Stake Carol & Gary Petranek, Silver Spring MDStake |
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WDC FHC News
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WDCFHC Annual Conference - May 2
Classes are full - to be on a wait list send an email to: conf2015@wdcfhc.org
Conference website: http://www.wdcfhc.org/Conference/
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Thursday Night & Saturday Classes
The April schedule for our Thursday evening workshops:
- April 2 - FindAGrave
- April 9 - BillionGraves
- April 16 - FamilySearch "Memories" App
- April 23 - FamilySearch Stories
- April 30 and throughout May - Photo Workshops
Thursday night workshops begin at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 18 class begins at 9:30 a.m.
We invite you to join us! No registration is required. For further information, call the FHC at 301-587-0042 or email: info@wdcfhc.org.
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WDC FHC Focus Group Schedule
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Join a Focus Group to Enhance Your Research Skills
African-American: weekly on Monday mornings at 10:00.
Beginning Genealogy: weekly on Tuesday mornings at 10:00. Contact Lorraine Minor at ldgene@verizon.net for further information.
DNA Group: bi-weeky the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month at 7:00. Next meetings: April 8 and 22.
Eastern European Group: Meetings are monthly on the 4th Saturday at noon; focus countries: Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
Irish Group: bi-weekly meetings on the 1st, 3rd & 5th Tuesday evenings at 7:00.
RootsMagic Users Group: Monthly meetings on the 2nd Saturday at 9:30 a.m.
All are welcome - no registration needed.
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Hairsplitting Those Property & Probate Records
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by Elizabeth Shown Mills, Evidence Explained
Originals? True originals? Duplicate originals? Record copies? Certified records? The 'most original'? How do I tell the difference? Does it even matter?
Many of the property and probate records we consult at the city and county level are record copies rather than 'true originals.' Historically, citizens created deeds, marriage contracts, probate inventories, and a host of related records in the private office of an attorney, a notary, or a justice of the peace. On those occasions, duplicate originals were typically made-a true original to be kept by the official who created the record and one or more duplicate originals for the key parties involved (say, the grantor and grantee in a land sale).
Depending upon the law at the time and place, either the official who created the document or one of the parties to the transaction might bring one of the duplicate originals to the town or county record office. There, the document would be recopied into a record book. Depending upon law and custom, the originals might be returned to the individuals who submitted them for recording-or they might be kept by the clerk. Retaining the original was a common early practice for probate records, less so for deeds.
As careful researchers, we want to seek the 'true original' or the copy closest to the original (the so-called 'most original'). If a city or county has preserved probate files (packaged or bundled loose papers), you would give more weight to the documents kept therein than to the record-book copies that might be easier to read. As a legal and practical matter, however, record copies officially created and maintained by public record offices are treated as original records, unless a "more original" version is known to exist.
Source: Evidence Explained, Quick Tips, March 27, 2015
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Voter Registration Records
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by Kimberly Powell
Did your ancestors vote?...voter registration records can provide an address where our ancestors were living during the gaps between census records, but we may also find naturalization information, voting records, or even an ancestor's signature. Additional information can be gleaned by checking the voter laws in effect at the time in that area--many places enforced a residency requirement of a certain period before allowing an individual to become a registered voter.
What You May Find in Voter Registration Records:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Place of residence
- Naturalization information (possible)
- Signature
- Occupation
- Marital status
- Whether they owned any land
To read the full article, which includes inks to records, click here. |
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Immigration to and Migration Within the US in the 1900s
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by Juliana Szucs
The wave of immigration that started in the 1880s continued into the 20th century. Immigration peaked in the first decade of the 20th century with more than 9.2 million immigrants coming into the U.S. in those ten years. With many of the immigrants coming from southern and eastern Europe, there was a push to control the numbers of immigrants coming into the country. More questions were asked of passengers. Polygamists were to be excluded and, following President McKinley's assassination, political radicals as well. The Dillingham Commission was tasked in 1907 to compile statistics and report on immigration into the U.S.; its findings prompted legislation that drastically reduced the number of aliens allowed into the U.S.
In 1917, illiterates, persons of "psychopathic inferiority," men and women entering for immoral purposes, alcoholics, stowaways, and vagrants were added to the exclusion list. The Emergency Immigration Act of 1921 capped the number of immigrants from a particular country to 3% of the number of people from that country who were living in the U.S. in 1910. The Quota Act of 1924 restricted immigration further, lowering that limit to 2% of the people from a particular country who were here in 1890. This all but slammed the door on immigration for people from southern and eastern Europe. During this period, you may find immigrants from these areas traveling to northern or western ports to leave Europe or coming in through Canada. These quotas remained in place until 1965 when they were replaced with quotas for the Eastern and Western Hemisphere and finally in 1978, replaced with a worldwide quota of 290,000.
Not all of the immigrants coming to the U.S. at the turn of the century intended to stay. Many Italians and Eastern Europeans only intended to work until they could save enough money to purchase land or make a better life for themselves back at home. Many of these immigrants, known as "Birds of Passage," made multiple trips back and forth from their homeland. Often the men came first, eventually bringing part or all of their family on later trips. Some returned to their homeland to stay, while others eventually made a new home in the U.S.
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How to Get Started Using DNA for Genealogy
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How to Get Started Using DNA for Genealogy and Family History
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| Dangerous Pitfalls of Death Records | |
by Michael J. Leclerc
Death records are one of the most commonly used sources for genealogists. They have been around, in one form or another, for centuries. But one must be careful to use them properly. There are some pitfalls in using them.
1. Records may have little identifying information.
During the early years of statewide registration of vital records, the information on death records is often quite thin. Parents' names are often not given, nor is information on place of birth. Often the name and date and place of death is the only information recorded. It is not until the twentieth century that you may get more information, and even then the information will vary from place to place.
2. Beware church and sexton's records.
Church records of burials and cemetery sexton's records are often a good substitute for death records, especially in times and places where death records are not available. Remember that these are usually dates of burial, not dates of death. Some cemetery records are not burial records, but transcriptions of grave markers. Dates carved into grave markers are usually dates of death, but they can be in error. There is no "Wite-Out" for stone, when a carver made a mistake, it was literally etched in stone.
3. Deaths at institutions often have less information.
Many of our ancestors died at almshouses or state hospitals. Unfortunately, the death records of those who died in such institutions often provide less information. The informant on such records is often the institution itself. If the patient or inmate did not provide extensive information upon admittance (or if the institution did not ask for it), then there will be less information on the death record.
4. Informant's information can be in error.
There can be issues with the data provided by an informant, especially when it comes to things like parents' names and places of birth. Informants are often in shock or suffering from grief. In their shock and grief, they may unintentionally give incorrect answers to the questions they are being asked.
5. There may be multiple "originals."
Once statewide vital records registration began, you will often find multiple "original" records. For example, in New England, vital records are recorded on the town level, and a copy is sent to the state. The town copies were created from the returns of death reported by physicians and undertakers. Sometimes both sent a return to the town. Thus, there may be as many as four "original" documents, and the information may not be the same on each document, so you must examine each.
Source: Mocavo Blog, February 20, 2014
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Voter Registration Records
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by Kimberly Powell
...Voter registration records can provide an address where our ancestors were living during the gaps between census records, but we may also find naturalization information, voting records, or even an ancestor's signature. Additional information can be gleaned by checking the voter laws in effect at the time in that area-many places enforced a residency requirement of a certain period before allowing an individual to become a registered voter.
What You May Find in Voter Registration Records
- Name
- Date of birth
- Place of residence
- Naturalization information (possible)
- Signature
- Occupation
- Marital status
- Whether they owned any land
To read the full article which includes links to online records, click here.
Source: About.com: Genealogy
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How to Find Cemeteries in Google Earth
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by Lisa Louise Cooke
Do you ever wish there was a master map of all the cemeteries in the world? Well, there is something like that. Let's talk about how to find cemeteries in Google Earth!
If you use Google Earth, you know it's more than just one single awesome dimensional map of the world. There are lots of Layers. Literally. And one of those shows cemeteries in Google Earth.
Google Earth Layers are collections of points of geographic interest that have been curated by Google Earth or its content partners. When you click on a Layer, it brings up all those points of interest on your current view of Google Earth.
You'll find the Layers panel on the bottom left side of your screen. To display all points of interest within a Layer, click the box next to the Layer title. To open a Layer category, click the plus sign next to the label to open the Layer folder, and the minus sign to close it.
There are lots of genealogically-interesting Layers, including Cemeteries. You will find Cemeteries in the More > Place Categories > Places of Worship layer. Make sure the box next to Cemeteries is checked. You'll see the little icon showing a tree with a little headstone next to it. 
Next, search for a location in the Search box to "fly" to a neighborhood in Google Earth where you'd like to find nearby cemeteries. Look for those Cemetery icons. You may need to zoom in or out for them to appear. While not every cemetery is shown, it's an excellent start! Click on a cemetery icon. This will open a dialog box containing relevant information about the cemetery, often including the address and telephone number. If the cemetery title is hyperlinked, click it for even more useful information.
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Take Time for a Geographic Timeline
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by James Tanner, Genealogy's Star
One of the basic rules of genealogical research is that of recording place names as they were at the time an event occurred in an ancestor's life. There are two implications of this policy: first, the use of the place name current at the time of the event, presupposes that the genealogist has done his or her homework and actually knows how the place was designated, and second, the further implication is that upon searching for records, the accurately recorded place name will assist the process of finding pertinent records.
This rule is based upon the principle that records are most likely to be found associated with the various jurisdictions in effect at the time of the event. For example, military records are most likely to be maintained by the country where the ancestor lived during the time such records were recorded. Records pertaining to marriages, deaths and births (christenings) were most like kept by the church with which the ancestor was affiliated. The examples could go on for each type of record.
From the time of the creation of the record, until the present time, the record could have migrated to another location. For example, a military record may have been created in an area of Europe that has changed hands several times since the date of the record's creation, thus causing the record to be moved as international boundaries changed. The same set of circumstances can happen on a much smaller scale in the United States as county boundaries change over time. Records created at the county level could have been moved as new counties were created from the old.
From the time of the creation of the record, until the present time, the record could have migrated to another location. For example, a military record may have been created in an area of Europe that has changed hands several times since the date of the record's creation, thus causing the record to be moved as international boundaries changed. The same set of circumstances can happen on a much smaller scale in the United States as county boundaries change over time. Records created at the county level could have been moved as new counties were created from the old.
To read the full article, and for links to previous posts in this series, click here.
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Genealogy Tip of the Day
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Did They Really Move?
If your American ancestor disappears in the census before 1850, consider the possibility that the county borders changed. It is also possible that the ancestor never moved but is hiding as a "tick mark" in the household of their child.
One Thousand Documents Do Not Mean Proof!
Just because you see a "fact" written in 1,000 places does not mean that it is true. Genealogical analysis can't be covered in a short tip and we're not going to try, but remember:- Different records that say the same thing may have had the same original "source" if Grandma Barbara was the one who always gave the information. Just because she repeated it over and over does not make it true.
- 1,000 online trees that agree does not mean they are correct. It just means that they probably have the same original "source," right or wrong.
Whether a written reference to a "fact" is "wrong or right," depends upon our perceived reliability of the record and the informant. Not how many times it's been repeated.
We Don't Want People Knowing That
Obituaries and family members can easily hide a key detail in a person's life. According to family members, my great-grandfather died at home. His obituary in the paper indicated he died at home. He did not. After suffering from a series of strokes, the family could no longer take care of him and he was put in a state hospital several counties away where he died a few weeks later. They cared for him at home for years, but were no longer able to towards the end of his life. That's why it took me forever to locate his death certificate--I was looking in the wrong place.
Is the Maiden Name the Same as the Married Name? Is it possible that your female relative married someone with the same last name as her maiden name? If so, she may never have actually "changed" her last name upon marriagere is no "three source" rule in genealogy.
Did They Go Back Across the Pond? Immigrants did not always stay in their new country. Some were not happy and ended up returning to their homeland. If you can't find where your immigrant ancestor died in their "new country," consider the possibility that they went home and never returned.
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Research Tips & Resources
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African Slave Trade Ships and Manifests
About.com: Genealogy link to several databases: Slave Ships
Avotaynu Online. Avotaynu Inc is pleased to announce the creation of "Avotaynu Online," an exciting new venture intended to stimulate collaboration among Jewish genealogists in all its forms. Leading participants in the various areas of genealogical research will provide in-depth articles on events and discoveries on a regular basis: http://www.avotaynuonline.com/
Top African-American Resources on Social Media
To help you learn even more about your family history, we've gathered together a list of blogs, forums, podcasts, and genealogy leaders: here
Native American Newspapers for Genealogy Research
GenealogyBank has a specific collection of Native American newspapers: here
IrishNewspapers.com contains searchable digitized pages from 63 newspapers published in Ireland: here
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Thank you for subscribing to Generations. We hope this publication will motivate you to successfully begin or continue your family history research. We would like to hear from you! Please submit your questions, research tips, and favorite websites to us at info@wdcfhc.org
Sincerely,
Carol Petranek, Newsletter Editor
Linda & Kurt Christensen
Gary Petranek
Co-Directors, Washington DC Family History Center
10000 Stoneybrook Drive, PO Box 49
Kensington, MD 20895
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