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Legacy Tree Onsite: The National Archives in Iaşi, Romania

Legacy Tree works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked one of our onsite researchers, located in Iaşi, Romania, to share his experiences with genealogy research in Romania at the National Archives in Iaşi, and the records available to help with your family history.

The city of Iaşi and its archives – an overview

The city of Iaşi is the largest locality in the northeast of Romania, a region called Moldavia. Not to be mistaken with the Republic of Moldova, which represents the eastern half of the former Principality of Moldavia, occupied by Russia after 1812, a region called Bessarabia, which belonged to Romania only in the interval 1918-1944.

Source: https://ro.wikipedia.org

The city of Iaşi was the capital of the Principality of Moldavia from the 17th century to the year 1862, when the Principalities of Moldavia and Walachia united and when the capital was set in Bucharest.

According to modern standards, the Archives of Iaşi were constituted on January 1st, 1832, with one headquarter. Until 1832, the documents were kept in the institutions that issued or received them, or in private archives (secular or confessional). Hence, between 1832 and 1862, Iaşi was the headquarters of the Moldavian Principality Archives, and subsequently they acquired a regional character, within the Romanian Archives. Though they were founded in 1832, thus far the deposits of the Romanian Archives in Iaşi have gathered many old documents, dated even to the 14th century. Until the present, the Archives in Iaşi harbor almost 17,000 linear meters of documents, from the oldest one (within the 14th century) to the present, thus the second largest archive in Romania.

Visiting the National Archives in Iaşi

The current headquarters of the Iaşi archives are on B-dul Carol I no. 26, on one of the most prestigious and select streets, close to “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University. The hours for the lecture hall – where researchers are granted a free permit – are listed on the website of the institution. However, as far as research, only little information is available online. Consequently, for most research topics, genealogy included, it is mandatory to actually stay in the library. Researchers may access 15 documents and 5 registries daily. You are allowed to take photos using your own camera, and the daily photo fee is Lei 7 (less than 2 US dollars), without any limit on the number of photos taken.

Documents useful for genealogy research in Romania

As for the documents useful for genealogy research in Romania, it is worth knowing that – by the legal character of the documents preserved in the archives – there are differences in terms of the historical period and the category of population to which the searched family belonged.

Ownership documents

Until mid 19th century, most preserved documents pertain to the ownership of buildings and lands within cities or to lands owned outside the cities. Thus, a genealogical reconstitution before the 19th century is possible only for the families who owned properties. It must be mentioned that, based on medieval law – in force until mid 19th century and in case of Jews until 1918, when they were granted full civil rights – only the Orthodox Christians were allowed to own properties outside the city territories. Catholics and Armenians had a derogation only concerning the lands with vine. Consequently, until the 19th century, the best chances for retrieving the genealogy concern the families of boyars (noble families) and to a certain extent, the rich urban citizens, and almost null for the other categories of population.

Statistical documents

There is a category of useful documents for genealogical studies. Such documents are dated to the second half of the 18th century and they represent tax censuses; authorities noted the family heads in those lists. Based on the lists, it is possible to develop the genealogy of certain families, until the second half of the 19th century, when – mainly after 1832 – such tax censuses were organized every seven years. Only a part of those lists has been published. For the city of Iaşi, two volumes were issued, titled Documente statistice privitoare la istoria oraşului Iaşi, vol. I (1755-1820) and vol. II (1824-1828) [Statistical Documents concerning the History of the City of Iaşi], Iaşi, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Press, 1997.

Also in the first half of the 19th century, various categories of taxpayers were recorded separately, such as merchants, artisans or foreign subjects who lived in the Moldavian Principality, most of them in the urban areas. Many of those who had the status of foreign subjects were Jewish. A volume that reunites the census of the foreign Austrian subjects in 1832 was published recently at the Al.I. Cuza University Press in Iaşi (The Austrian Subjects in the Moldavian Principate (1833-1835), Iaşi, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Press, 2014 – in Romanian language; http://www.editura.uaic.ro/produse/rezultatele-cautarii-pentru/silviu-vacaru/supusii-austrieci-in-principatul-moldovei-1833-1835-contributii-1307/1), but the archives of Iaşi host many other such lists, still unpublished.

Civil status registries – marital status as registered by parishes

Along with the statistical and tax-related documents, for the period between 1832 and 1865, the Archives in Iaşi also includes civil status registries, drafted in parishes. Unfortunately, thus far, only a small part of the civil status registries were inventoried and available for research.

Before analyzing the period after 1865, it must be stated that – along with the Cyrillic paleography of the old documents – the genealogical research is made even more difficult by the fact that, until 1865, no strict rules were imposed concerning last names, though attempts had been made since 1832. For this reason, in the tax and civil status records up to 1865, individuals were generally registered using the formula: X the son of Y, and in the subsequent generation, Z the son of Y, but there were also cases of formulas such as: X + occupation. The preservation of a name across several generations is frequent only in case of noble families; for the others, such cases are rare.

Civil status records – after 1865

More information, comprising a greater number of details pertinent for genealogy research, is available for periods after 1865. In 1865 the organization of the Civil Status Service following the French model entered into force; thus, the births, marriages and deaths were no longer recorded by parishes, but by civil offices constituted within city halls.

In terms of advantages compared to the previous period, first of all, they began drafting up the documents using Latin characters, and then they enforced the standard of using last names. The Civil Status Funs has been inventoried almost integrally and it may be researched. Unfortunately, they are not available online, and the registries even less so. Consequently, documents may be consulted only in the study hall. A researcher may research the lists of people who were born, got married or who died in the period 1865-1916 and he/she may order up to 5 registries. According to Archives rules for the protection of personal data, civil status documents newer than 100 years old are not available for public research.

The Archives of Iaşi preserve the registries of people who were born, got married or who died for all the localities within the county of Iaşi, the city of Iaşi included. For the other localities in Moldavia, registries are within the Archives of each county centre (Suceava, Botoşani, Piatra-Neamţ, Bacău, Vaslui, Galaţi, Focşani). The research rules are the same as for the Archives in Iaşi, but the hours may differ, (they are usually shorter).

In the Archives of Iaşi we find – for the period 1865-1908 – approximately 3,000 registries for the births, were 59,779 births were recorded. For the period 1865-1905, there are approximately 1,500 marriage registries, where 21,731 marriages and divorces were registered. For the period 1865-1908, there are approximately 4,000 registries of deaths, comprising around 80,000 deaths.

It is also worth noting that, in terms of the demographic structure – mostly in the cities in northern Moldavia, the city of Iaşi included – in late 19th century, the Jewish population accounted for around 50%. Since the last years of the 19th century, the number of Jews decreased gradually, initially through immigrations across the Ocean, mostly in the USA; after the Second World War, due to the massive emigration to Israel, the Jewish population in Iaşi and in Romania, in general, dropped dramatically. Currently, the community of the Jews in Iaşi counts around 200 members.

Hence, in order to study the genealogy of the families who – since late 19th century – left the urban localities in the county of Iaşi, emigrating from Romania, the types of documents presented here briefly – mostly those pertaining to civil status dated after 1865 – are very useful.

Here, is an example of a death record within a registry of civil status.

genealogy research in Romania

National Archives of Iaşi, Civil Registrar of Iaşi, Deaths, 14/1866, f. 27 recto

 TRANSLATION:

Civil Registrar for deaths

Death certificate

In the year of one thousand eight hundred sixty-six, on the fourth of August, at eight o’clock a.m., came to us, officer of the Civil Registrar of the commune of Iaşi, police district no. three, county of Iaşi, Mr. Daniil Lazar, aged forty-five, an old clothes man, the uncle of the deceased, domiciled in police district no. three, Târgul de Sus, and Mr. Avram Herş Ox, aged twenty-nine, a shoemaker, domiciled in zone (police district) no. four, Sfânta Vineri street, and they declared that on the third of August, at ten o’clock p.m., Mr. Leiba, son of Moise Lazăr, aged seven, Israeli, domiciled with his parents, son of Mr. Moise Lazăr, old clothes man, domiciled in district no. three, Târgul de Sus no. 990, and of Mrs. Feiga, the latter’s wife, has died in the house of Herşcu Marcu, because of cholera.    

After we made sure of it ourselves, we drew this certificate that the declarants, after reading it, signed with us. 

Officer of the Civil Registrar, Th. Codrescu <m.p.>.

The declarants sign.

If you need help accessing and obtaining documents in Romania to continue extending your Romanian ancestry, our professional genealogists and onsite agents are ready to assist you! Our team of genealogists is experienced at tracking down all kinds of family history records in a variety of locations, and can help you extend your ancestry as far back as records will allow. Contact us to discuss which of our project options would best fit your needs.

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The Lure of the Land: 4 Types of Land Records That Can Help Solve Genealogy Brick Walls

Land records are some of the most underutilized, yet most useful, records available in genealogy. Often, they are the only records which state a direct relationship between family members. They can also be used to prove relationships indirectly by studying the land laws in force at the time. Sometimes they can even be used to locate an ancestor’s farm or original house, so that we can walk today where our family walked long ago.

Land records exist in the United States in abundance for most locations, yet they are an often overlooked resource for many genealogists. Don’t make the same mistake! Read on for more information about how land records can help you scale seemingly impossible brick walls in your genealogy research.

Land Ho! The Importance of Land Records

The search for new land is one of the main themes of American history, so it makes sense that land records would be an important part of researching that history. The right to own real estate was not universal in most of the countries from which the majority of American immigrants came. And even when it was possible to own land legally, it was often too expensive and thus out of reach for most people.

As a result, the lure of vast expanses of relatively cheap and plentiful land has proved irresistible to millions of immigrants to American shores over the course of the past 400 years. The land records created throughout those years to document ownership of all that real estate have accumulated in seemingly limitless amounts throughout the vast area that now comprises the United State of America, even in the face of catastrophic record loss in some locations.

Due to the paramount importance of land ownership in what would become the United States, land records often are the only records in which you will find your ancestors mentioned in some areas. They also usually exist from the date of formation of colonial, state, and county governments, where the records still exist. They often state relationships or provide other, indirect, evidence of family relationships. Understanding what kinds of land records exist, where to find them, and how to use them is often critical to solving genealogical mysteries.

Types of Land Records and How to Use Them

Land Deeds

The most essential land record is the deed. Deeds document the transfer or sale of title, or ownership, of a piece of land or other property from one party to another. Deeds usually concern land, or “real” property, but they also often mention moveable or “chattel” property, such as household goods and even enslaved persons.

land record deed index

Example of deed index, courtesy of FamilySearch

They sometimes, but not always, contain explicit, direct statements of relationship between family members. Sometimes this can be a parent-child relationship, but deeds can also include a list of people who are children or heirs of a particular deceased person who owned the land being sold. Sometimes the language in deeds involving heirs makes it clear that the heirs are children, sometimes not, so some care must be taken not to assume that all heirs are children. Research in other records sets such as probate, census, and church records may make the relationships of the heirs to the deceased land owner clearer.

In the early years of a settlement, and sometimes later, deeds books also often contained other types of transactions, including the sale of enslaved persons and sometimes even wills. These are often records for which no other copies survive. Thus, surviving deed books should always be checked for ancestors and their family members in every jurisdiction in which you do genealogy research.

Also, remember to check published abstracts of deeds if they exist, as witnesses to deeds were not included in most indexes to the original deed books. Witnessing a deed was one of many ways relatives assisted one another, and thus the presence of one of your ancestors as a witness for someone else suggests they had some kind of relationship, which might lead to the discovery of previously unknown ancestors.

Also keep in mind that not all states required the recording of deeds throughout their history, or did not require them to be recorded in a timely fashion. Pennsylvania is an example of this lackadaisical attitude to record keeping that now seems foreign. When researching land records in Pennsylvania it is important to remember that deeds for an ancestor might have been recorded years, even decades, after the actual transaction took place. Therefore, always remember to check the indexes for deeds and other transactions many years after the person in question died or left the area.

In other states, such as New Jersey, land was sold at the colony and state level for longer than is typical in other areas and thus land records must be sought at the state or colony level up to that time. In the case of New Jersey, deeds only began to be recorded in the various counties around 1785. Therefore, New Jersey real property research must be done at both the county and state or colonial level. In the case of colonies and states with massive record loss, such as Virginia, land records recorded on the state level are often the only records that survive for some counties, and thus are critical for success in navigating such “burned” counties.

Land Grants and Patents

Land grants and patents issued by the various colonial, state and federal governments are also an important resource, including land lotteries in states like Georgia. In many states, such as Pennsylvania and North Carolina, the original applications, warrants, surveys, and patents or grants still exist and can be searched at the state archives or online. While these documents do not often state relationships, they sometimes do, as in the case of one of my ancestors whose father had applied for a land patent in Pennsylvania in 1787 but had died before the patent was issued in 1800, and thus it was granted to his son by the same name. However, the land patent spelled out that the original applicant had died and his son was the person actually receiving the patent.

Land patents and grants, as well as deeds in general, can also document the dates in which an ancestor resided or at least owned land in a given location, assisting the researcher in establishing timelines for ancestors and for differentiating between two or more individuals residing in a given area with the same name. Anyone dreading research on their Smith and Jones ancestors might just find the solution they seek in those old, musty deed books!

Mortgages

Other land records that might prove essential in solving genealogy puzzles are mortgages, which in some states like New Jersey were recorded locally earlier than deeds and sometimes survive for earlier years than do deeds. A mortgage is a promise by a borrower to repay a loan using real estate as collateral—in effect deeding title to the real estate to the creditor if the loan is not repaid. A similar instrument called a deed of trust, or trust deed, performs the same function with the exception that a third-party trustee takes title if the loan is not paid back in full. In the early years, mortgages and trust deeds were usually contracted with private individuals, but as the banking industry grew in the United States over the course of the nineteenth century, they began to be taken out with banks instead of private persons.

The two parties involved in a mortgage are the “mortgagor” and the “mortgagee,” and indexes can often be found for mortgages using those terms. However, sometimes early mortgages and trust deeds were recorded in the same books as deeds, so keep an eye out for them. And remember: the mortgagor is the borrower, while the mortgagee is the creditor. But don’t be put off by their sometimes-confusing terminology. Old mortgages and trust deeds are some of the most underused land records in existence—yet they can sometimes be the key that unlocks the door to that next ancestor. Don’t overlook them!

Tax Records

One other land record that could crack the case is land tax records. Everyone who owned land had to pay taxes on it, at least in theory. Sometimes, land tax books include notations about one person inheriting land from another, or more commonly, the change in owner’s name from one year to the next can indicate inheritance of the land. The absence of a deed or will showing the transfer might be explained by checking the land tax books.

tax record

14th Dec. 1786
Received of Mr. James Brooks Six pounds, Eighteen Shillings and four pence in full for the balance of Samuel Wood Estate Land Tax for 1784 & Half tax for 85
John Rodes L. Ds. Image courtesy of MyHeritage.

The Law of the Land: Primogeniture and Genealogy

In some cases, the inheritance and real estate laws of the time might allow you to make a determination of parentage even without a will or deed stating the suspected relationship. The legal concept of primogeniture, or inheritance of land by the first-born son, was in force in many parts of the Thirteen Colonies until soon after independence, especially in the southern and middle colonies. Thus, when a land owner died, his first-born son would often inherit all or most of his land if he died intestate, or without a will.

The emergence of one man as the owner of a given piece of land in place of the previous owner, either as the seller, or “grantor,” in a deed or in the land tax records, could indicate that the previous owner died and the land was inherited by his “heir-at-law,” the first-born son. There might not be any record of this transfer, so knowing the “law of the land” can prove to be instrumental in cracking the case.

In these and many other ways, land records can be used to find direct and indirect evidence of family and other types of relationships, often when no other record does—or even survives. It is for this reason that land records research must be part of any reasonably exhaustive genealogical investigation.

Land Records: Where Are They Now?

In some areas, land records are the only records that survive which state relationships or can be used to provide indirect evidence of them. They also are useful in establishing biographical timelines for ancestors, and to learn more about their lives. They can sometimes also be used to identify the location of ancestor’s farms and sometimes even their original homes, so that today’s genealogists can often literally walk in the footsteps of their ancestors. But where are those records now?

It used to be that if you wanted to do genealogy the right way, one of your first stops had to be at the county courthouse where your ancestors lived. This is still a good practice, as many treasures held within the walls of the hundreds of courthouses scattered across this land are not microfilmed, digitized, or abstracted, and likely never will be. The Recorder of Deeds and the County Clerk are therefore often the genealogist’s best friends. So, planning a trip to the courthouse or archive where land records are held is still a good idea. But many of us live far away from where our ancestors owned land and lived out their lives. How can we access these records if we don’t have the time or budget to travel to the areas in question?

Thankfully, the digital revolution has made researching land records and other types of documents much easier, but often still time consuming and at times overwhelming. The land records held at the state level for “state land” states (the original thirteen colonies and the states formed from them such as Maine and Kentucky) are usually indexed and can often be accessed digitally at the website for the state archives, commercial genealogy sites such as Ancestry.com, or can be ordered via correspondence with the archive.

In states that were part of the old Northwest Territory, such as Ohio and Indiana, as well as the other public land states (any state formed under the Constitution that was not carved out of one of the original colonies), grants from the federal government to the first recorded owner of that land can be found at the Government Land Office site created by the Bureau of Land Management. Their site allows searches for names of individuals who purchased federal land in public land states and even includes digital images of the land grants, including the signature of the President of the United States at the time.

Other types of records associated with federal land, including applications for public domain land grants, Homestead Act applications, Freedman’s Bureau land records, and bounty land warrants and applications for veterans are all held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Many of these records also state relationships and add rich detail about the lives of ancestors. However, most of these records have never been digitized and must be searched in person or requested via the National Archives’ online order service.

Land records at the county or town level are still held at the local county courthouse or archive, if they survive. Many jurisdictions have digitized their land records and made them available online, in many cases for free. This can sometimes include the entire run of a county’s land records, back to the formation of the county. County clerks and recorders will also sometimes do research via correspondence, though most are unable to do so due to time constraints.

Most importantly in the field of land records research from a genealogical perspective is the massive digitization project undertaken by FamilySearch, the website for the genealogical Society of Utah. Millions of land records from all across the United States, and even some from other countries, are available at their website free of charge—and viewable either from the comfort of your own home or at a Family History Center or the Family History Library itself, depending on the license agreement FamilySearch has with the original repository. This vast trove of land records is almost completely unindexed by FamilySearch and will thus not appear in results using their “Records” search page. They must instead be searched in the “Catalog” search page.

Despite not being indexed by FamilySearch, the digitized microfilms themselves usually have indexes, either in separate volumes or at the beginnings or ends of the digitized individual deed books. Most of the digitized land records made available by FamilySearch date from 1900 or before, so a trip to the courthouse might still be warranted for most twentieth-century deeds and more recent land records research. If all else fails, don’t forget to ask the recorder or clerk for help if you have a limited research goal, such as one deed copy—you just might be surprised how eager and willing they are to help.

If the land records you need are unavailable online or are held in a remote location, consider hiring a professional genealogist to go to the courthouse in person on your behalf. Legacy Tree Genealogists has a worldwide network of onsite researchers who can obtain nearly any record that still exists in most areas. Call or email us today so that we can assist you in the search for your ancestors and the records of their sometimes only tangible piece of the American dream—land!

Indeed, land ownership was more widespread in the Thirteen Colonies and the United States than most any other nation on earth. But what if your ancestors still didn’t own any land? How do you find those elusive family members who for whatever reason were unable or uninterested in owning land? Well, that’s a topic for another day.

In the meantime, however you access them, land records are absolutely critical for success in genealogy and should be thoroughly examined whenever possible. You’ll be glad you did.

Do you have a family history mystery or genealogy “brick wall” you can’t seem to break through? The experienced team at Legacy Tree Genealogists can help! Contact us today to request a free quote!

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Mapire: A Free Tool for Historical Maps of Europe

Historical maps of Europe are an often underutilized resource in European genealogy research. We share a free tool that allows you to add European maps to your genealogy toolbox!

Since most records were held on the town/parish level in Europe, locating the correct town is an essential first step before researching your ancestors in their country of birth. Over the centuries, borders in Europe sometimes changed drastically, so it is important to know to which country or empire your ancestral hometown belonged in the time period of interest as well as today. Border changes can impact where records are held, the language(s) in which they were recorded, and even the name of the town. Sometimes smaller villages or hamlets named in records no longer exist today, but their former locations and names are preserved on historical maps. Finding a contemporary map of the area in the time period your ancestors lived there can also add fascinating detail to your understanding of their lives. Did they live on the edge of a forest or a lake? Did they cross a field to get to church or were they just down the street? Was their house made of stone or wood? Is it still standing?

Mapire – A Valuable Resource for Family Historians

Mapire.eufree tool for maps of Europe holds a wonderful collection of historical maps of Europe, including the military surveys of the Habsburg Empire, country maps, cadastral maps and thematic maps. Each map is overlaid on a modern map, enabling one to compare historical structures with the same area today. It is also indexed, with the ability to search by city or town on each map. A historical map can be viewed side-by-side with the modern map of the same area, using the synchronized view, or the opacity can be adjusted to show the modern map below the historical map, and there is even a 3D option. Mapire is free to use (high-resolution copies can be purchased) and it was created in partnership between several archives in Hungary, Austria, and Croatia. More archives have also contributed to the collection since it was created in 2014, including archives and libraries in Finland, Scotland, Belgium, and even Texas, so while the bulk of the collection focuses on the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, other countries are also included.

There are five main collections available to search on Mapire:

Maps of Europe

The military surveys included in this collection were created for the Habsburg dynasty that ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire and cover the lands in their empire but also many other countries in Europe.

maps of Europe

Spread of the Habsburg Empire. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons, author unknown.

These military surveys are particularly useful for determining archaic names of towns and viewing the geographical features of the land at the time. This can be useful in determining the likelihood of a family attending church in a specific neighboring parish if there are multiple options—if crossing a field or through the forest was a quicker path to a town with a church, they may have attended church there regardless of where the road led.

Europe in the eighteenth century (includes First Military Survey 1763–1787)

  • includes maps for Bukowina, Galicia, France, Bohemia, Wallachia, Moravia, Croatia, Slovenia, parts of Germany, Netherlands, Hungary

Europe in the nineteenth century (includes Second Military Survey 1806–1869)

  • includes maps for Norway, Bohemia, Croatia, Galicia, Habsburg Empire, Hungary, Greece, Austria, Italy, Russia, Belgium, France, Switzerland among others.

Europe in the nineteenth century (Third Military Survey 1869–1887)

  • includes maps for England, Wales, Scotland, Prussia, Russia, Finland, Italian states, France, Netherlands, German states, Greece, etc.

City Maps 

This collection includes historical maps for Amsterdam, Budapest, Venice, London, Moscow, Rome, Saint Petersburg, Sarajevo, Paris, and Vienna. Most are from the eighteenth and ninetenth centuries.

Country Maps 

This collection includes maps of various countries including the United States, Sardinia, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Prussia, Italian States, Scotland, Norway, Moldavia, Hungary, France, and the German states, among others. The collection is somewhat eclectic (one of the Norway maps is from 1950, while the map of Lower and Upper Alsace dates to 1731) but it is worth checking to see if a map you need is included.

Cadastral Maps 

 This collection includes cadastral maps for many of the lands in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, with some gaps. Cadastral maps are detailed land maps showing the use of land on a village level. The various strips of land being farmed are usually numbered, as well as the houses in each village and sometimes even the names of the owners and tenant farmers were recorded. Different colored buildings sometimes even can indicate the material of which the house was built (the level of detail varies widely depending on who drew the map). The example below from 1864 Slovenia is highly detailed, showing stone buildings in yellow, wooden buildings in pink, house numbers and the names of tenant farmers recorded on the strips of land they farmed at the time it was drawn.

maps of Europe

1864 cadastral map from Lendava, Slovenia. Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

This level of detail makes these maps extremely useful for genealogical research—if the house number of a family’s residence was recorded in the parish registers, it can often be pinpointed on a cadastral map. Because these maps are also georeferenced, it is often possible to pinpoint the location of the ancestral house today.

Thematic Maps 

The last collection on Mapire includes administrative maps of Hungary and a few topic-specific maps as the name implies. This includes a map of religions in Hungary (1910), ethnicities in Hungary (1910), and maps detailing changes in land-use for Transcarpathia over time.

As professional genealogists, we are skilled at thinking “outside-the-box” and utilizing every resource possible to discover your family’s story. We’d love to help you learn more about your ancestors, and will leave no stone unturned in our quest to do so! Get started today by requesting your free quote.

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Putting the “Story” Back in Family History

Whether you want to build your family history with as many names and dates as possible, or choose to instead focus on discovering the stories and details of your ancestors’ lives, there’s no right or wrong goal. It’s about choosing what’s important to you.

Choosing How to Build Your Family History

As project managers, one of the questions we ask our clients is whether they want us to build their family trees as quickly as we can, only including biographical material if it is of unusual interest. A second option is to include limited biographical material, focusing our efforts on extending the family tree as far back as possible within the allotted research time. The last option is to spend time expounding upon biographical information, including material from documents beyond those used to prove genealogical linkages.

Why do we offer all three options? In our experience, everyone is interested in slightly different results.

Building a Broad Family Tree

One cousin of mine has spent years researching the family of our great-grandfather, dating back to the 1500s in Finland. He has filled five books with all of the descendants from the original five sons. When I brought photos to him of our family here in the States, he looked at me like I came from the moon. He was so focused on the names and dates that he never gave thought to how each of those names belonged to a real person. A year later, in the family magazine, he mentioned how he had never thought about the stories and photos and how his focus had started to shift to collect as much information as he could about each family member. If he had been focused on this all along, he might not have accomplished all he did to locate all of the names and dates that he has found.

Delving Into the Details

But for me, I have always loved the story. Who are these ancestors? Where did they live? How did they live? What occupations did they have? How did they interact with those around them?

I have always had a strong connection to the Marlborough apartments in Everett, Washington. During family vacations in Everett, we would drive past this stately old apartment complex where my grandmother had worked as a maid. Recently a Facebook post popped up on my newsfeed with photos of these grand old apartments, built in 1912. I’ve searched for them before, and this time when I searched there was a new webpage for a walking tour put on by the Historic Everett Society. There with the pictures of this apartment complex was a picture of my mother’s godmother, Mrs. Laura May Vollans, from 1922.

family history stories

Courtesy of HistoricEverett.org

When I saw the photograph of Mrs. Vollans, my interest was piqued again. I have several pieces of her glassware that my grandmother inherited, which I faithfully wash every few months. I know that my grandmother worked for her for many years as a maid and that eventually she became the godmother to my mother and uncle. Somewhere during that time, they had become friends, not just employer and employee. She was spoken of often in our family, but she passed away long before I was born.

I started my search with the apartments themselves. I had located a website a few years back where I had found that the new owners were renting the apartments as short-term-stay corporate apartments. Several pictures of the apartments showed they were appointed with lovely antiques, but I knew from the city directories and census records that Mrs. Vollans and her husband lived in apartment J, and it was not part of the website.
But this time, when I looked, the photos were there! On my screen were pictures of unit J with its lovely hardwood floors and refurbished kitchen. The images give you a good idea of the layout of the apartment, and the owners took special care to add some of the charm. TIP:

family history stories

Courtesy of http://www.shortstayok.com/shortstayok.com/Marlborough/Marlborough.html

These photos of an old radiator and doorknob spoke volumes to me. While these features, along with the beautiful floors, may have been restored, it is also very likely that they are original to the building. My own grandmother would have dusted and made these items to shine, time and time again.
The last thing this website gave me was a look at the domestic quarters in the basement. While I don’t know which one my grandmother lived in, I do know that she did live there, and my great-aunt had many fun remembrances from her childhood of going to visit her older sister there.

My quest then was to know more about this couple. I knew they had no children, and my grandmother had inherited many of their lovely things. I was always under the impression that my grandmother worked for just Mrs. Vollans, but I discovered with the help of Ancestry that her husband was alive for most, if not all, of the time my grandmother worked there, as well. I found death certificates and their headstone. I found city directories that detailed a 20-year timeframe that showed when they moved into the Marlborough apartments and where they moved from as well as the business that Mr. Vollans owned. But, to really get to know her, I moved on to the newspapers and found several articles detailing the social events she attended, the friends she had, the golf club she belonged to. I learned that “Mrs. Bert H. Vollans, formerly of Everett, has taken an apartment at the Lowell [in Seattle] on the 22 December 1928.” From her obituary, I learned she was born in Illinois and died at home in this apartment at the age of 90, and she was the Sunday school superintendent in the First Presbyterian Church of Everett.

putting the story back in family history
One of the most interesting items I found, however, was an article about the first 10,000 license plates in the state of Washington that were mailed out on 12 December 1927. The state had 30,000 applications on hand, and the plates were being issued at the rate of 8,000 per day. It went on to talk about just a few who had the first 100 numbers. Laura M. Vollans of Everett received license number 28, and her husband, who had passed away just three weeks before, received number 20. This placed them higher than Senator W.G. Hartwell of Colville, who received number 42, but behind N.C. Richards of Yakima, who was the Republican national committeeman who received number 1. This, along with the photo of her standing alongside her car with a golf bag, shows me just what an independent woman she was.

family history stories

Courtesy of Genealogy Bank – Bellingham Herald, Monday, Dec. 12, 1927, page 5

What Are Your Family History Goals?

So, as you think about starting or continuing your research think about your research goals. What type of information are you most interested in learning? Are you interested in taking your family tree back as far and as wide as you can go with a tree full of names and dates? Or, are you looking to learn the story that goes along with your ancestor’s names? Do you want to learn as many details about your family members as possible, or maybe even about their neighbors and employers, to learn all you can about your family story? Both types of research serve their purpose, and there is no right or wrong answer. Choosing the latter will definitely take more time, but if it is something that is of importance to you, the rewards can be well worth that extra time!

The team at Legacy Tree Genealogists would love to help you with your family history, whether you’re interested in building a broad family tree as far back as possible, or delving into the details and stories of your ancestors’ lives. Contact us today to request a free quote!

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Legacy Tree Onsite: Top 3 Record Collections for Researching Jewish Genealogy

Legacy Tree works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked one of our onsite researchers, located in Lviv, Ukraine, to share the top 3 record collections for Jewish genealogy research at the State Central Historical Archive of Ukraine.

State Central Historical Archive of Ukraine

The State Central Historical Archive of Ukraine

The State Central Historical Archive of Ukraine holds the largest Ukrainian collection of historical Jewish documents. This includes Jewish populations that were part of the Polish Kingdom (before 1772), the Austrian (1772-1867) and Austro-Hungarian (1867-1918) Empires, the Republic of Poland (1919-1939), the Soviet Union and under Nazi German occupation.

Top 3 Record Collections for Jewish Genealogy

There are a number of documentary repositories, also known as Fonds, which contain documents of Jewish genealogy, but there are main three collections of interest:

  1. Fond 701 – Although this collection of 5672 documents is called the “Lwow Jewish Religious Community,” it contains 420 registers of Jewish vital records from 63 towns. More information and lists of vital records can be found here.
  • Other documents of genealogical interest in this Fond include the Lwow Evidence books 1796-1860. Lwow was a unique city with a big Jewish population and Austrian authorities established family numbers given to a limited number of Jewish families who had an official right to reside in Lwow. Those given family numbers were official members of the Lwow Jewish community, they paid community taxes and had a right to have an official businesses and property in Lwow. There were 3768 Jewish families officially residing in Lwow in the 18th – 19th centuries which can be found in this collection.
Jewish genealogy record collections - Lwow Evidence books 1796-1860s

Lwow Evidence books 1796-1860s

  • In spite of most documents from the Nazi German occupation not being well preserved, a source of great value found at the archives is the book of burial registrations in Lviv from 1941–1942. This collection numbers over 6,000 people. These books recorded the date of death, address and age of the deceased. You may come across the names of the famous Lviv professors, doctors of medicine, or lawyers.
  • In addition, there is a 1941–1942 card index of the inhabitants of the Lviv Ghetto. These cards recorded names, addresses, birthdates (years), positions and places of work. The collection contains over 20,000 cards, and these are some of the only extant sources for the Holocaust period.
Jewish genealogy record collections - Card index of Lviv Ghetto 1941-1942

Card index of Lviv Ghetto 1941-1942

  • Besides the documents concerning Jewish residents of Lwow, the Fond also includes a collection (about 1000 cards) of personal cards of emigrants from Russia who lived in Lwow in the 1890s on their way from Russia to the West.

2. Fond 166, also known as the “Tabula Registers” was founded in 1780 and existed until 1939. This is a huge collection of various documents concerning real property: sales, purchases, rental agreements, settlements, deeds, testaments, marriage contracts, promissory notes, guarantees,  obligations and various business contracts concerning real property and business relations between realty owners. Having a deed listed in the Tabula Registers was the only way to make a deed legal so all sectors of society are represented. The most important use of this collection for genealogy purposes are the records concerning the distribution of inherited property.

Jewish genealogy record collections

  • The Tabula Registers were common for all sectors of the population –property was registered for landlords and magnates, state institutions, banks, the state railroad, rural and city communities, churches, monasteries, etc., as well as various contracts of petty-traders, testaments, and promissory notes. The collection even includes auction sales notes from tiny towns in the poor provinces on the boundary of the Austrian Empire.
  1. Fonds 178, 179 – this Fond includes the documents of educational institutions of Galicia known as the “Province School Council” (1797–1921) and “Curatoria of Lwow School Circuit” (1921–1939). These documents are often the only source of information with regard to Jewish genealogy of the Interwar period.

These documents recorded the activity of elementary schools, gymnasiums [high schools], teachers’ seminaries and professional schools.

The documents of genealogical interest in this collection are:

  • Lists of students
  • Examination letters, graduation certificates, school certificates
  • Teachers personal fileThese documents include dates, places of birth and sometimes the names of parents. Examination letters even contain student photos!

Here are just a few examples of Jewish genealogy records that may be found onsite within the collection at the State Central Historical Archive of Ukraine:

Photos of Genesia Preminger (1929) and Sabina Horowits (1937) from their school certificates.

Photos of Genesia Preminger (1929) and Sabina Horowits (1937) from their school certificates.

List of children of school age born 1921 in the town of Ottynia

List of children of school age born 1921 in the town of Ottynia

Zygfryd Adler's graduation certificate from Stanislawow High School, 1929

Zygfryd Adler’s graduation certificate from Stanislawow High School, 1929

Birth certificate of Bruno Schulz from his teacher's file

Birth certificate of Bruno Schulz from his teacher’s file

While an increasing number of records are being digitized and made available online, many, many more are nestled among the shelves of historical archives and repositories around the globe, and may just be the missing piece you need to continue your family history research.

If you need help accessing and obtaining documents to continue extending your Jewish ancestry, our professional genealogists and onsite agents are ready to assist you! Our experts are experienced at tracking down all kinds of family history records in locations around the world, and can help you extend your ancestry as far back as records will allow. Contact us to discuss which of our project options would best fit your needs.

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“Did My Ancestor Serve in the American Revolutionary War?” Research Steps to Prove a Family Legend

We frequently have clients contact us wanting to know, “How do I prove a family legend is true (or untrue)?”.  In this article, we highlight research that was completed to find out whether the family legend of an ancestor serving in the American Revolutionary War is fact or fiction. 

prove a family legendMany of us want to learn about our ancestors’ lives, and this is a key motivator for completing family history. Yet some people also want to know what role their ancestors played in history, and if certain noteworthy events occurred in their lives, or perhaps even a royal connection exists. In fact, many of our clients come to us with oral family history stories – what some call “family legends” – and seek our help in proving or disproving these stories.

Recently one of our clients found herself in that same situation. She wanted to determine if her ancestor, Samuel Megginson, had truly served in the American Revolutionary War. I’ll review her particular case to illustrate how to approach proving or disproving a family legend, and what record collections may frequently be used.

Finding Evidence to Support Family Legend

Clearly, the first step is for us to find corroborating evidence that helps support the claims made in the family legend. This particular story included some specific details such as a Dr. Cabell setting Samuel’s broken arm in or around 1760. Specific details can either mean the story has a basis in fact or that it’s been retold within the family so much that it’s essentially just accepted without proof. Therefore, our evidence-finding should center around the specific details which our client shared.

Compiled Sources

We began our research by performing an internet search for “Samuel Megginson broken arm”. The most promising hit was a Find-A-Grave memorial for Samuel Megginson created by a Dr. Gresham Farrar. Dr. Farrar had previously researched Samuel’s life. He identified an extensive, compiled genealogy titled Virginia Cousins: A Study of the Ancestry and Posterity of John Goode of Whitby, A Virginia Colonist of the Seventeenth Century, with Notes Upon Related Families, A Key to Southern Genealogy and a History of the English Surname Gode, Good, Goode or Good from 1148 to 1887. This particular book did mention that Samuel’s arm was broken and set by old Dr. Cabell.

G. Brown Goode, Virginia Cousins: A Study of the Ancestry and Posterity of John Goode of Whitby, A Virginia Colonist of the Seventeenth Century, with Notes Upon Related Families, A Key to Southern Genealogy and a History of the English Surname Gode, Goad, Goode or Good from 1148 to 1887 (Richmond, VA: J.W. Randolph & English, 1887), pp. 69–70, books.google.com

Although the book included no reference or citation to the source of the Samuel Megginson entry, we were able to document that this was part of the family story. Here’s how. Dr. Farrar’s memorial mentioned that Samuel received 243 acres of property in Buckingham County, Virginia, from the lieutenant governor of the colony on 14 July 1769. The document that Dr. Farrar referenced to prove the land grant is located in the Special Collections Research Center at the Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Military Service Records

Dr. Farrar had already found Samuel Megginson’s military service records. The first record was one regarding Captain Nicholas Cabell, who organized a company in the spring of 1776 that drew men from Amherst County and surrounding areas. Samuel, his brothers William and Benjamin, and their brother-in-law William Horsley, all enlisted in this minuteman militia company as privates. Samuel served from 25 May 1776 until 12 September 1776—right at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. During this time the company marched “to Manchester, Jamestown & Williamsburg” and “did not return until late in the month of September [1776]”. Samuel’s brother William died during these campaigns, on 31 August 1776.

family legend

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115369833/samuel-megginson

Tax Records

We did some more digging to learn more about Samuel’s life. We determined that Samuel was in Virginia until at least 1785, when he was taxed there in Amherst County, and was in Montgomery County, North Carolina, by 1800 and there until 1815, when he signed a deed giving much of his property to his son, also named Samuel.

Genealogical Proof Summary

We continued studying Dr. Farrar’s notes and noticed what he wrote concerning the ancestry of Samuel Megginson, Sr., that “there is no ‘direct’ evidence proving” the relationship between Samuel and his father William Megginson. However, Dr. Farrar was able to compose an extensive genealogical proof summary that was accepted by the Jamestowne Society as proof of the parent-child relationship between Samuel and William. Samuel’s mother was Mary Goode whose lineage had been proven back to Jamestown, Virginia! Given the client’s interest in historical context, we wanted her to have this information about Samuel’s parents. We asked the Jamestowne Society to please send us a copy of Dr. Farrar’s genealogical proof summary. They would not, but they did forward the summary of Dr. Farrar’s application for membership, which verified Samuel Megginson was the son of William Megginson and Mary Goode. Also, it gave each generation from Samuel Megginson to Christopher Branch, a famous Jamestowne figure. If our client chooses to join, she qualifies for membership into the Jamestowne Society. Learn more about the requirements for membership in the various lineage societies in our article, Hereditary Societies and You.

A Legacy for Future Generations

It can be so fulfilling to learn of your ancestor’s historical legacy. This particular client was pleasantly surprised and wrote us to say: “My report arrived today and it is so very interesting! I love the connection to the revolutionary war and am amazed by it.” The client had not known her ancestral connection to Jamestown, Virginia or that she was a descendant of Christopher Branch. She now has a (documented!) legacy to pass on to her children and grandchildren.

Sometimes our family stories are exactly what we think they are, sometimes they are different, and sometimes they are even better. When you prove or disprove family legends by connecting documents to your family stories you may be amazed at what you learn.

Need help with your research? Uncertain how to negotiate fact from fiction? Contact Legacy Tree today for a quote! 

[1] G.  Brown  Goode,  Virginia  Cousins:  A  Study  of  the  Ancestry  and  Posterity  of  John  Goode  of  Whitby,  A  Virginia  Colonist  of  the  Seventeenth  Century,  with  Notes  Upon  Related  Families,  A  Key  to  Southern  Genealogy  and  a  History  of  the  English  Surname  Gode,  Goad,  Goode  or  Good  from  1148  to  1887 (Richmond,  VA:  J.W. Randolph  &  English,  1887),  pp.  69–70,http://books.google.com, accessed April  2018.

[2] Revolutionary War  Pensions,  Nicholas  Cabell,  Captain,  Amherst  County  Minute  Men,  Revolutionary  War,  children’s  pension,  pension  no.  R1577, National  Archives  and  Records  Administration, http://fold3.com,  subscription  database,  accessed  April  2018

[3] Lineage application of Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Jr., national no. 6954B, Jamestowne Society, supplemental (Christopher Branch), approved 2010.

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Online Resources for Researching Your Norwegian Ancestry

Legacy Tree works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked one of our onsite researchers, located in Norway, to share his favorite online archives and record collections for researching Norwegian ancestry.

There are about as many descendants of Norwegians worldwide as native Norwegians. Easy access to Norwegian record collections are therefore important for family history researchers worldwide. In this article, we share our favorite online archives and record collections most used by family history researchers to extend their Norwegian ancestry.

The National Archives of Norway (Riksarkivet) building in Oslo.

1) The National Archives of Norway

The National Archives of Norway (Riksarkivet) preserves the non-current records of government ministries and other central offices. Norway launched their first Digital Archives in 1998. It was run by the National Archives of Norway in collaboration with the University of Bergen and was among the pioneers of online publication of archival content. Since then the Digital Archives have expanded significantly and is today the most important Norwegian archive for family history researchers. It is run by the government and is free to use worldwide. In 2018 it was decided that the Digital Archives will be further developed to become the nationwide portal for publishing of digitized archives, regardless of origin or place of storage in Norway.

How to Search the Digital Archives

The Digital Archives offer user searches for historical individuals often based on name, place of residence and year of birth in a number of different source types. Some sources also permit searches for properties and residential buildings.

Your initial search at the Digital Archives could be a simple search in their website search box, followed by a more advanced search if required. If you are not familiar with the different search options, it could be well spent time to read the user guides. In particular, the information about searching with special search characters is recommended. The wildcard character is often used since the spelling of names varies a lot in Norway. We also recommend spending some time becoming acquainted with the sources available for the area and period of interest by searching the find source page.

A section of the Digital Archives website with the simple search box, excellent for the initial search. Click the green “Trace your ancestry” button and you will find information about how to use the Digital Archives and how to find Norwegian ancestors.

What Records are Available on the Digital Archives?

The Digital Archives have scanned all released parish registers and made them available online. A significant portion of these registers have also been transcribed and made searchable. In addition, the censuses for 1801, 1865, 1875 (incomplete), 1885 (towns), 1891 (incomplete), 1900 and 1910 are also searchable. The remaining of the 1865 and 1875 censuses, already searchable at MyHeritage and Ancestry, are expected to become online later in 2019. In 2020, all released parish registers (baptism, marriage and burial) after 1800 and the 1920 census are planned to become searchable.

Norwegian ancestry

In terms of volume and frequency of use, the parish registers and the transcribed censuses make up the main components of the current Digital Archives. The digitized Norwegian Records of Emigrants from 1867 to 1930 are also popular sources for family historians due to the significant emigration to America and some other countries during that period.

Norwegian ancestry

Norwegian ancestry2) The National Library of Norway

Another important source for family historians is the National Library of Norway. Their overall goal is to digitize their collections of books, newspapers and other documentation. Already, they have digitised all Norwegian book publications up to year 2000. This include the popular farm and family history books (bygdebøker) that is available for many municipalities. Their search engine also allows you to search the content of the books and newspapers. Unfortunately, their online database is only accessible from a Norwegian IP-address. This excludes users outside Norway. If that is your case, our team of worldwide researchers is available to assist with onsite research needs.

3) MyHeritage Norwegian Ancestry Collections

Over the last couple of years, MyHeritage has become very popular in Norway. This has resulted in a very unique and huge collection of Norwegian family trees. Several hundred thousand Norwegian family trees are now available in the MyHeritage SuperSearch database. Additionally, MyHeritage recently announced that they’re partnering with Arkivverket (the National Archives of Norway) to include the 1891, 1900 and 1910 censuses in their own collection. Information from these family trees and census record collections, combined with the data from the Digital Archives and the National Library provides you with a very powerful combination of tools for exploring your Norwegian ancestry.

If you need help accessing and obtaining documents in Norway to continue extending your Norwegian ancestry, our professional genealogists and onsite agents are ready to assist you! Our team of genealogists is experienced at tracking down all kinds of family history records in a variety of locations, and can help you extend your ancestry as far back as records will allow. Contact us to discuss which of our project options would best fit your needs.

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Legacy Tree Onsite: Beginner’s Guide to Jamaican Ancestry Research

Legacy Tree works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked one of our onsite researchers, located in Jamaica, to share her experiences with researching Jamaican ancestry.

Jamaica is a multi-racial society. Though African ancestry occurs in eighty-five percent of the population, there are a large number of persons who also have European ancestry, East Indian Ancestry, Chinese ancestry, Jewish ancestry, and Middle Eastern ancestry. The first mistake made when starting to do Jamaican ancestry research is forgetting the fact that Jamaicans are “out of many, one people,” which incidentally is the coat of arms motto of the country.

Jamaican ancestry

Courtesy of wikimedia.org

The History of Jamaica

The first inhabitants of the island were the pre-Columbian peoples, who settled the island in two different waves in 670 AD and 800 AD, culminating in a culture that is called Taino by academics today. The Taino were the people who greeted Christopher Columbus in 1494, when he first came to the island of Jamaica. However, the Spanish colonization of the island had a devastating effect on the Indian population. Through disease and harsh treatment they were brought to the brink of extinction, though a few survived, with there being descendants of those first Jamaicans today still living on the island.

Early Jamaican Records

The Spanish ruled the island for 145 years, which ended with the invasion in 1655 by the English. By 1660 the English were victorious, and civil administration under the British was established. With this came the division of the island into parishes, with each parish having a parish church centered in a parish capital. Each parish church’s rector was charged with the task of recording all baptism/births, marriages, and burials in his parish. As the population grew, more churches were added and an island curate was appointed to supervise the growing responsibility of record keeping. All records were kept with handwritten duplicates: the original registers and their companion copy registers. These were housed in separate locations to protect the information as best as possible. The Anglican church was the official church of the colony and the only church whose records were officially recognized until 1870, when the passing of a new set of laws heralded the fledgling beginnings of civil registration. Originally called Law 6 Registration, it soon allowed all records, not just Anglican ones, to be considered official state records and all citizens to be registered.

Jamaican ancestry

A 1740 map of Jamaica, courtesy fo the British Library.

However, before this law was passed, inclusion was attempted after the emancipation of slavery in 1838, with the addition of the Dissenter records for marriages, which were officially collected by the Anglican church. (Dissenter faiths were all other denominations besides the official state church and included Baptist, Methodist, Moravian, and Presbyterian faiths.) However, the Dissenter baptism records were omitted and could only be found scattered all over the island held by each individual church.

Jamaican ancestryAlso started in 1659 with the establishment of Island Secretary’s Office was the collection of colonial administration for all parishes and general record keeping, including state papers, patents of land grants, wills and their accompanying inventories of estates, crop accounts, and deeds of transactions, which could include slaves’ sales and purchases, land or dowries or sundry other legal disputes. Slave returns were kept to record the rise and decline of estate slave populations through births, deaths, and absconding or running away. Cadastral and estate maps were drawn up and lodged with the relevant offices. Laws and private acts were recorded, and these too are useful for the genealogist, as private acts deal with specific families being granted specific rights and freedoms or rights to dispose of large estate holdings. There are many more records to be found, but those named are the most relevant for genealogical purposes.

Top 3 Archives for Jamaican Ancestry Research

The most common question any genealogist will ask is where to get started with their research efforts. The following three locations are the best places to begin with tracing your Jamaican ancestry:

  1. The Jamaica Archives and Records Department originally evolved out of the old secretary’s office and was established in 1955 as a division of the new records keeping arm of the colonial government as the Island Records Office (IRO), with the appointment of a government archivist. The division became an autonomous department in 1982 in and of itself with the passage of the Archives Act. Here you will find patents, government and colonial state papers, ship manifests, inventories of estate probates, manumissions of slaves, crop accounts, historic naturalizations, and slave returns, to name just a few. They also house the unindexed baptism, marriage, and burial original parish records for the IRO.
  2.  Registrar General’s Department of Jamaica, which also encompasses the Island Records Office. The RGD, as it is more commonly called, contains the right to collect and store all records associated with civil registration, hence continuing the role of the IRO and the earlier Secretary’s Office, and still has the rights to house the historical records associated with baptism/births, marriages, and deaths. So it’s here the researcher must come also to find wills and transactional deeds, and also housed are the original law books from 1659, though those are no longer available for use. Finally, the RGD also holds the deed poll ledgers and a number of other records that may or may not be helpful to genealogical research, but are not available for viewing by visitors to the RGD.
  3. National Reference Library of Jamaica, a compendium of rare books, cadastral maps, estate maps, original illustrations, photographs of various places and people, and newspaper publications all oriented around Jamaica and to some extent the wider Caribbean. The library also holds biographical information on individuals of note and collections of manuscripts dating from the Spanish era through to English colonisation into the independence era of the island. Here the genealogical researcher’s first stop should be the Fuertado manuscripts collection of notable luminaries, military and civil administrative and elected representatives of the Houses of Assembly and the Council, which are arranged easily in alphabetical order. The researcher can also consult indexed newspaper publications, both defunct and active, to acquire primary data about events that would have influenced their ancestors’ lives.

In addition to the three archives suggested above, we also recommend consultation of the Jamaica Almanac collection for information on military placements and property ownership listed by the parish in which the properties were located. The researcher can locate original estate maps, to see an estate’s boundaries and property features, such as the placement of planting fields, where the estate factory was located if it was a sugar plantation, where warehouses were placed, and last but not least, the location of the Great House, the name used in reference to the property owner’s house on a plantation. The Great House often was the grandest structure on the estate apart from the factory facilities and also where the slave quarters were located.

Happy hunting to all my fellow genealogists seeking their roots in Jamaica!

If you need help accessing and obtaining documents in Jamaica to continue extending your Jamaican ancestry, our professional genealogists and onsite agents are ready to assist you! Our experts are experienced at tracking down all kinds of family history records in a variety of locations, and can help you extend your ancestry as far back as records will allow. Contact us to discuss which of our project options would best fit your needs.

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What If the Vital Record Doesn’t Exist? 3 Vital Record Substitutes You Can Use in Your Genealogy Research

In this article we explore several vital record substitutes you can use in your genealogy research when vital records are not a research option.

vital record substitutes in genealogy research

Inside the National Archives Building photo credit: https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/XwIC_Au-BcrKIw

Today, the United States Legislature governs US vital record-keeping including registering births, marriages, and deaths. These vital records make it easier to follow a paper trail from parent to child and extend our genealogies back several generations. However, some states did not mandate vital record recording until the 1900s. Because of this, in certain states we do not have primary records before 1900 that capture each person’s birth date, place, year, and parents. And for some of the states that did require information to be recorded, those records no longer exist for a variety of reasons. How can we continue family history research if the vital record doesn’t exist? In this article, we’ll share three vital record substitutes you can use to identify earlier generations and extend your family history.

Let’s use one of our recent projects as a case study in finding non-vital southern US records to identify ancestors of an early 1800s person. A client was interested in extending her ancestral line from Alexander Hanson Craven born 1806 in Kentucky and died on 1 November 1882 in Raywick, Marion County, Kentucky. Research in the South is often challenging since records are limited – few were created and even fewer preserved. Several counties in the South are known as burnt counties (due to the Civil War) and basically, no records are available. With that said, our searches would need to focus on other avenues outside of vital records to pursue the parental information for Alexander Hanson Craven. We determined it would best be accomplished through three vital record substitutes: civil war pension files, census records, and wills.

As in all research projects, we had to ensure that any records of “Alexander Craven” which we found were actually records for Alexander Craven, our client’s ancestor, and not for someone non-related but with the same name. The best method for verifying ancestral relationship, and not simply a name, is to search for the ancestor within the context of their family unit. Since so many individuals throughout history have held the same name, selecting someone with the right name at the right place and the right time (but not actually your ancestor) can be a common mistake. So, let me take a moment to clarify what I mean by “family unit context.” If you are looking for someone born in England named Jane Williams, you would likely find many hits that match your search criteria. But if your ancestor, Jane, had two sisters and two brothers, and lived with both of her parents and all four siblings, you could isolate that family of seven. When searching for Jane Williams, you would look within records to track her family and not just her individually. And you would eliminate any results where some of the family of seven cannot be verified. You would also not throw out search results with different spelling, as long as the family unit could still be verified (spelling inconsistencies are all too common on historical records). This method of searching for an ancestor within the context of their family is critical to avoid linking with the wrong individual, which of course would make any further research into their ancestors incorrect as well.

Our client knew that their Alexander Craven was married to Lavinia Lucas and they had at least eleven children. Alexander served in the Civil War with six of his sons. Alexander’s parents were believed to be John Craven of Somerset, Washington County, Pennsylvania and Nancy Miller of Nelson County, Virginia.

Civil War Pensions

Civil War Pensions provide details that are often not available on other records. For a veteran to receive a pension he had to prove Civil War service or the veteran’s widow had to provide proof of his service and provide their marriage information. Since Alexander and six of his sons were in the Civil War, looking at Civil War pension records was a good place to start research and see what pension records were available for Alexander and his sons. Most Civil War pension files have not yet been digitized, and therefore must be copied at the National Archives. We ordered the files for Alexander Hanson Craven Sr. and Jr. because he had a widow’s pension file.

vital record substitutes in genealogy research

Alexander H. Craven, Jr., Pension Record courtesy of the National Archives

When the files arrived, Alexander Jr.’s file was reviewed for any genealogical information that might help extend his father’s ancestry. Unfortunately, his invalid file contained just information and testimonials about his state of health. The pages in his widow’s pension stated that Alexander Jr. was born on 12 September 1844 in Raywick, Marion County, Kentucky. The other lengthy pages of information detailed how his widow was denied her pension because she could not prove her age or marriage to Alexander Jr. She had evidently married him after his service and therefore was not entitled to a widow’s pension. She did not produce any family information that would help extend his ancestry, though his children and several brothers were listed along with variations of his middle name.

Our search uncovered that Alexander Hanson Craven Sr. applied for his own pension, which was rejected. It was rejected because he did not submit the required paperwork. His widow tried to continue the invalidated pension, but her claim was also rejected because she did not or could not send proof of her husband’s death or her marriage to him. She was recorded as Vienna in some of these records, instead of Lavinia. There was no mention of Alexander’s birthdate or parents’ names. The information did confirm that in the 1840s the Cravens resided in Marion County, Kentucky.

Census Records

Census Records are beneficial for information and contain every name in the household post-1850.

vital record substitutes in genealogy research

1850 U.S. Census, for A.H. Cravens courtesy of MyHeritage

In 1850, A.H. Cravens was living in Marion County, but his wife’s name was recorded erroneously as Jemima. His household consisted of some of his children: Thomas, R.J., L., Wm, David, A.H., Zachariah, and G.W. Alexander Hanson Sr. was a farmer with $300 worth of real estate. It was imperative to know the family relationships (or context of the family), so that we could verify that this family was in fact the family of our client’s ancestor, even though in the census the wife’s first name was incorrect, only initials were used to indicate Alexander, and the family name was listed as Cravens instead of Craven.

The 1840 US census records only documented the name of the head of household, along with the genders and age ranges of the other members of the household tallied statistically without biographical detail. On this census, Hanson Cravens was recorded with one male under 5 years old, two males between 5-10, one male between 20-40, two females under 5 and one female between 20-40. Based on the estimated birthdates the client provided us, this census record matches his children: Rebecca (age 5), Sarah (age 2), and William (age 1), plus Hanson (age 34) and his wife Lavinia (age 31). The two males between 5 and 10 could be Thomas (age 6) and another unknown male. To this point, our research has shown that Alexander Hanson Cravens has been documented in records as Alexander, Alexander H., Sr., A.H., and Hanson.

Ten years earlier, the 1830 census showed Alexander Craven and presumably his wife Lavinia in his household—both were in the age range of 20 to 30. Since her name was not recorded, she was just listed with a hash mark. The couple lived in Washington County, Kentucky, a different location than later census records indicate. Our research into the formation of Kentucky counties showed that Marion County was not created until 1834. The couple had not moved – instead the county lines changed as a new county was created.

Probate and Land Records

Probate and Land Records were searched for both Alexander Hanson Craven(s) and his presumed father John Craven(s). If John died in 1813 his probate record would be in Washington County, Kentucky. Searching the records of both counties did not reveal any wills or deeds for either of the men, though several deeds were found for Alexander Hanson in Marion County. While these land deeds showed that he lived in Marion County from at least 1864 to 1884 with his wife Lavinia, they did not depict him selling or receiving land from any family members.

vital record substitutes in genealogy research

Deeds, 1863-1901; A.H. Cravens and Lavina Cravens courtesy of FamilySearch

vital record substitutes for genealogy researchThe records of Washington County revealed that the only Cravens selling or receiving land were Levi and Jeremiah Cravens. This Levi could be a presumed uncle of Alexander Hanson and a brother of John, but none of his grantees had the Craven surname. Jeremiah and Levi were settling a dispute between themselves and the heirs of Jost Myers who were: Jacob Swope, Jacob Myers, John Myers, David Myers, Michael Myers, and Abraham Bosley. This certainly implied that Jeremiah and Levi were related, however, the records did not show any connection to Alexander Hanson Cravens or his presumed father John Cravens.

Finally, the records for Nelson County were searched, since it was the parent county of Washington County, which was created in 1792. In so doing, we discovered the will of John Craven which named all of his children, including Alexander Hanson, confirming that John was indeed his father. John’s will has been transcribed as follows (original spelling and capitalization preserved):

In the name of God amen. I John Crayven of the county of Nelson and state of Kentucky Being debilitated in body but of sound memory and understanding do Constitue and ordain this my last will and Testament.
1st. I. I will and bequeath to my three suns Naimly James Cravin, Reason Cravin, John Cravin all the lands that I Possess to be Equealy Divided between the three.
2nd I. I will and bequeath to my sun Solomon Cravin one Gray mare and my saddle the mare four or five years of age.
3rd. I will and Bequeath to my three oaldest Daughters naimly Nancy Cravin, Debborah Cravin, Cassy Cravin one bed and furniture each and one bow to each of them and all the puter and Delph weave belonging to me to be equaly Divided between the three Named.
4th. It is my will that my daughter Nancy Cravin have one sorrel mear about five years old.
5th. It is my will that my sun Solomon Cravin have a bay stud four years old.
6th It is my will that the Balance of my horsses sheap and hogs be equaly divided between my three suns Solomon Cravin, Hanson Cravin and Kinsy Cravin.
7th. It is my will that my sun James Cravin and sun Reason Cravin have one bead sted apeace the other two one to Nancy Cravin and the other to Debborah Cravin.
8th It is my will that my three oaldest daughters have one linen wheel apeace
9th It is my will that my Daughter Nancy have the cubbord
10th It is my will that my daughter Debborah have a chest.
11th. It is my will that my sun James have a table and Sun Reason one
12th It is my will that the sorrel Horse with a small Blase and snip that was mentioned in the Balance of my Horrsses for my sun James Cravin.
13th It is my will that my two suns James and Reason have two plows swingle trees gears, ax and four hoes Equealy divided between the two mentioned
14th It is my will that my daughter Nancy have all the Woodden weare such as pails piggins and Chirn.
15th It is my will that my sun Reason have one ten Gallon Kettle and hooks
16th. It is my will that my daughter Nancy have one three gallon pot and hooks.
17th It is my will that my daughter Debborah hav one dutch oven and skillet and bails and flesh forks.
18th. It is my will that the chears be quealy divided between my two suns James and Reason.
19th It is my will that my wearing apprel be equealy Divided between my three oaldest suns
21st It is my will that an order that I have on James Cipsell for twenty five Dollars be equealy divided between my sun Solomon and daughter Nancy
22nd It is my will while the family and stock Continues on the plantation they are to be separated with the Corn and Bacon and after the famaly and Stock is Broke up the Balance of Corn and Bacon to Be sold and the money put to Interest for my youngest daughter Polly Cravin.
23rd It is my will that my Daughter Polly have twenty Dollars out of money due me from James Cipsell an put on In trust with the other
24th It is my will and desire after all debts that is that is Due me is Collected and my Debts is paid the Balance to be put to in trust and Equealy divided between my two youngest suns Hanson Cravin and Kinsey Cravin.
25th It is my will that my sun James have the woollen wheel, Chect Real and Sifter and all the Tubbs and loom
26th It is my will all the Spinning that is dun about the house should be wove and equealy divided among all my Children Except James and Reason.
To this my last will and Testament I appoint Levy Cravin my sole Exetor this 17 day of March 1813. I heare unto set my hand and affixed my seale.
Witnesses present: Charles Hayden, Barnaba Nalley, George Hayden

At a County Court held for Nelson County on Monday the 19th Day of April 1813.This Last will and testament of John Cravin decd. was proved by the Oaths of Charles Hayden & George Hayden two of the subscribers witnesses thereto & ordered to record whereupon Levy Cravin the Ex[ecut]or Therein named having Taken the Oath prescribed by Law & Executed bond with James Craven & Reason Craven his securities in the penalty of $600 Conditioned according to law. It is Ordered that Certificate of probate of said will be grated the said Executor.
Teste Ben Grayson C.N.C.C.

Besides confirming all of the children of John Cravens and adding to the family an additional daughter, Polly, John’s will provided other clues. First, the fact that his wife was not mentioned suggested that she had died before he wrote it on 17 March 1813. Second, John was doing well financially and was landed with a plantation, several horses, and other animals, furniture, clothing, and other wealth mentioned in his bequests. Finally, his executor was Levi Craven.

We traced Alexander Hanson Craven through the various Civil War pension records, census records, land and probate records to confirm that he was living in Marion County, Kentucky from at least 1864 to 1884 with his wife. The will of his father, John Craven, confirmed their relationship. John Craven’s will also gave the names of all of Alexander Hanson Craven’s siblings and established a relationship link to Levi Cravens, John’s executor.

As you can see, spellings and names were fluid in this recorded documents. Contextualizing the family members and building a timeline substantiated the claim that Alexander Hanson Craven’s father was John Craven. Early southern research requires focus on frequently-changing county and state boundaries in order to find census, land, and probate records. When vital records are not available for research, vital records substitutes can prove relationships and provide the necessary links to earlier generations.

If you’ve hit a genealogy brick wall because vital records don’t exist for your ancestor, let Legacy Tree Genealogists’ staff of experienced researchers help you. We have knowledge of where to look to help solve your “family history mysteries”.  Contact us today to request your free quote.

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Keys to Making Your Unknown Parentage Case a Success

You’ve hired the pros to find your biological family member. Now here’s a list of ways YOU can help make your unknown parentage case a success.

keys to making your unknown parentage case a successCongratulations! You’ve given this a lot of thought, and you’re ready to find your birth parents. You know this is a big job, so you’ve asked Legacy Tree Genealogists to help. We’re on it, and we can’t wait to get started.

Here’s a secret, though: A lot of our success here is going to depend on you. We’ve helped a lot of people, and we feel like we’re pretty good at this, but we still need your help. There’s a lot you can do to make sure we find your biological parents as efficiently as possible. Here are seven ways you can make sure we’re successful together:

Tell us who these cousin matches are.

It’s likely that you’ve already taken a number of DNA tests before you begin working with us. That means you’ve seen your cousin match list. We’re going to see that list too, and our first task is to figure out who those people are. There’s no way to find your unknown parent without those cousins, so we absolutely have to identify them. That means you can preserve valuable research time by telling us everything you know about these people. If you’ve already corresponded with them, send us those notes. If you recognize Myrtle as your mother’s second cousin, don’t keep it a secret. If you’ve sent them five messages and haven’t heard a peep back, that’s okay. We have ways of working around that, but we need to know every detail about what you’ve done first. Without that information, we might spend time uncovering facts you already know, and that’s frustrating for everyone concerned.

Test everyone related to your case.

If you’re looking for your father, and your mother is still living and willing to take a DNA test, we may ask you to have your mother take a DNA test. Doing so will allow us to quickly eliminate maternal cousins, so we spend all of our research time on your dad’s family. If your mother isn’t available, a maternal aunt or your half-sibling can test as well. Even testing a first cousin can help save time by eliminating matches from consideration. Learn more about how testing additional individuals can help resolve your case in our article, Covering Your Bases: Introduction to Autosomal DNA Coverage.

Test everywhere.

DNA tests have become much less expensive over the years. That means that tests aren’t the place to economize, because more cousin matches mean we’ll need fewer research hours to solve your case. We occasionally find we can solve a case with matches from just one site, but it’s rare. More often, we use results from multiple DNA sites to solve unknown parentage cases. Most sites have sales around World DNA Day (25 April), Mother’s Day and Father’s Day (mid-May and mid-June in the United States), and the period from mid-November to Christmas. If you’re looking for recent ancestry in Europe, it’s especially important to test at MyHeritage DNA, which has a rapidly-growing database of European clients (yes, even in Germany!).

During the research phase, find another hobby.

It’s tempting to continue to contact cousin matches or take the information from case updates and put them in your shiny new public family tree. We love this kind of work, so we get it. Jumping ahead can sometimes spook the cousins we still need to correspond with, and that can really bring research to a screeching halt. Sit tight and let us do our thing, and when we’re done, you’ll have tons of fun new material to work with. If you see something new that you think we should be aware of right away, it’s fine to email your project manager and make sure they’ve seen it. In fact, if a cousin you contacted months ago finally responds, be sure to let us know. We get responses from years-old cases, so “better late than never” is part of our daily work.

Tell us about the parent you know.

Unknown parentage cases sometimes involve finding just one parent, not two. If you’ve already identified one biological parent, we need to know every detail about that person. What was her address? Where did she work or go to school? What did her parents do for a living? What kinds of activities was she into? These details can make or break your case. Your parents intersected at some point, and we frequently see cases where they lived on the same street, worked in the same factory, or attended the same school. Sometimes their parents were in the same profession, and the parents met at the company picnic (true story!). You may think it’s strange that we want the name of the obstetrician who delivered you, but it may turn out that he’s the uncle of your birth father (another true story!). Tiny details matter a great deal when it comes to solving unknown parentage cases.

Sometimes, this step can be the most difficult part of the whole process. Parents are people, and people are imperfect. You might know some facts about your parent that are not fun to share, because they’re not things that make you feel proud. We get it. Our relatives aren’t perfect either, and we do this sort of work for a living. That means we’ve seen a lot, and we’re not here to judge you or your family. If the parent you’ve already identified had a complicated life, please tell us. We just want to help you solve your case, and information is our biggest weapon in breaking down brick walls that stand between you and the answers you need.

Share your hunches with us.

Did you spot a packet of old letters from a guy named Bob in your mom’s sock drawer when you were 12? Tell us. Bob is a common name, but when we get to the point where we’ve found your grandparents and they had three sons, the fact that one of them was named Bob might suddenly seem very important. Family secrets are often not all that secret, except from the child in question. If you heard whispers, or Aunt Martha thinks your father might have been missing a thumb, or your cousin says she heard something about a guy who worked at Dairy Queen, let us know. Those little details can save a lot of time in solving your case, because they help us narrow the field of possible candidates.

Don’t cling too tightly to what you “know.”

It’s important that we’re aware of that bit about the letters from Bob in your mom’s sock drawer, because that might matter. On the flip side, it might just be a pile of letters from a guy named Bob. Don’t discount any possibility just because it doesn’t fit with what you’ve been told in the past. Your Aunt Martha might be absolutely certain that your dad was Bob with the Missing Thumb, but DNA knows more than your Aunt Martha does. Sometimes the DNA evidence leads us in a direction that is very different from the one expected at the beginning of the project, and it’s important to be prepared for that. This is especially true for adoptees who have non-identifying information from their adoption agencies. That information can range from 100% accurate to complete fiction. Sometimes the information is so detailed that it seems like it couldn’t possibly be wrong…but it’s wrong. Our job is to gather every single clue, and then let the evidence tell us what’s true. If you’re prepared to do that as well, the emotional side of this journey will be much easier.

Identifying your biological parents is a huge step. We’re glad to be with you on this trip, and we want to work together to get there as quickly as possible. You can help by giving us the information we need to laser focus on finding your birth father or mother (and maybe even a sibling or two).

The experts at Legacy Tree Genealogists are experienced at helping reunite families, present and past. We can help you make sense of your DNA matches and identify your unknown family members. Contact us today for a free estimate.

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