In today’s episode of Research Like a Pro, Diana and Nicole discuss the value of negative evidence in genealogy research. They explore the case of Henderson Weatherford, who was long assumed to be the son of William Weatherford. However, a careful examination of William’s probate records reveals that Henderson is not listed among the heirs. Additionally, tax records show that Henderson disappeared from the tax rolls between 1861 and 1862, and his property was subsequently...
In this episode of Research Like a Pro Genealogy podcast, Diana and Nicole continue their series on researching in England without parish records. They are joined by Jessica Morgan. Jessica is a genealogist specializing in British family research. The hosts and Jessica discuss using probate records to find family members, focusing on the differences between pre- and post-1858 records. They explain the court hierarchy in England and how to determine which court would have handled...
Our five-part blog series continues by examining another record type to consider when baptisms, marriages, and burial records can’t be discovered for our ancestors. In part one we looked at the parish chest, in part two, tax records, and this blog post will focus on wills and probate. Wills & Probate Another resource beyond the parish is probate records. Wills are incredibly useful in that they often name the surviving family members (i.e., heirs) of...
Have you ever discovered an important clue while reviewing the sources you already have for a research subject? It’s somewhat common for those following the research like a pro process to discover a vital piece of information during the timeline creation and analysis. This is exactly what happened to me as I reviewed the sources I had on Sally (Keaton) Reeves and her family. Timeline Creation The third part of the 14-day Research Like a...
Uniquely identifying a person who is only mentioned in three records can be challenging. The creation of a research objective requires that you identify the person uniquely in time and place. How then, do you define the research project? I encountered this challenge when beginning a project to study Sally Keaton. The only records I have for her include a court order printed in a newspaper and two documents in William Keaton’s estate packet. The...
Historically, since the first permanent settlement, there has never been a time in North America when people did not make wills or when the estates of those who failed to do so were not handled by a court appointed for that purpose to ensure that the rightful heirs–the legal heirs–became the heirs in fact.12 The Value of Probate Records We have established that land was very important to our Pennsylvania German ancestors and we learned...
In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss three case studies about probate records. In our last episode, we talked all about how to find probate records and what are in them. This episode is about how to probate files to answer a research question. It’s amazing how many clues are hiding in these records! We discuss three projects – Diana’s research about Thomas B. Royston, Nicole’s client project about John Johnson, and Diana’s...
In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss one of our favorite record types for proving identity and parentage: probate records. These records are key in identifying relationships between children and their fathers in 18-19th century United States research. Probate records include wills, inventories, sales slips, receipts, debt payments, summons, petitions, and all kinds of records that reveal information about a family. Don’t miss the important information about how to find probate records for...
Have you heard of the term “nuncupative will” and wondered what one would look like? If you have never come across this term, here’s your chance to learn something new. Our research often throws us curves in the form of new types of documents. If we’re going to become excellent genealogists, we need to become familiar with a variety of terms and records. I’d read and taught about nuncupative wills but never discovered one in...
Have you wondered what is behind the scenes at an archive? Any idea what work goes into preserving the records that we use for our genealogy research? I recently presented a class on using probate records at the Family History Workshop sponsored by the Utah Division of Archives and Records Service and was treated to a tour of the archived records. My guide opened an innocuous door and when I entered the archive I was...
