December 31, 2005

But I Don't Speak the Language

You have just leapt "The Pond" in your research, having found that a grandparent or great-grandparent is not only from a foreign country, but one whose language you do not know. Don't think that your personal research has ended and you must employ a professional. Even though you don't know a word of the applicable foreign language, it isn't that difficult to do research in French, German, Swedish, Spanish, Italian, Polish, etc.

My boss recently asked me to help her with her genealogy. I always like a new challenge and especially enjoy the beginning research of a family tree, so I eagerly agreed. I have worked with American, English, Irish, Canadian, African-American, French, German, Polish and Eastern European Jewish research, but must confess I did utter a small cry of dismay when she said her father was of Hungarian descent. Not only Hungarian, but from a village that is now in Romania! However, I was not discouraged because I have found there are basic approaches to most research which work with most American and European records.

Ancestral VillageThe first essential step is locating the village the ancestor came from. A detailed account of how to...

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Research in England

Donna Przecha examines what you can learn from civil registrations, census records, and parish records in England. Find out what you should know before heading to the Family History Library or to your ancestors' homeland.

In this article, "the Family History Library" refers to the central genealogy library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), located in Salt Lake City. "Family History Centers" are LDS genealogy libraries located throughout the world through which researchers can borrow films and fiche from the Salt Lake facility.

If your genealogy research takes you to England, consider yourself fortunate. To begin with, you will not have a language problem — at least, not too much, even though it is said at times that we are divided by a common language! England has been a very stable country, not overrun by foreign armies, and many old records still exist. The political boundaries have been pretty much the same for centuries so the political divisions will mostly have the same names and boundaries. The only geographical change is that the counties were restructured in 1974 and the genealogy records are filed by old county boundaries, so you do need a pre-1974 map.

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Post-Christmas Review of Cards

On a quiet afternoon following Christmas, my husband and I go through our fairly large stack of Christmas cards, gleaning all sorts of tidbits that we can put into the "notes" section of our family files. We also receive many Christmas letters, and some of these have really nice details for our files. Our goal is that a hundred or so years from now, anyone finding this treasure trove will be able to think of us all as more than just the dash between our birth and death dates.

We also take care that our own...

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December 22, 2005

My Christmas Present (I Hope!)

We all have our brick walls. If we didn't we wouldn't spend time reading how to articles on genealogy websites and e-zines (grin). In this last "Beyond the Index" column for 2005, I'll discuss my biggest brick wall in hopes that I'll get a genealogy Christmas present this year. I have been reasonably well-behaved, but I'm not holding my breath on getting an answer to this genealogical question for Christmas. However, perhaps my plan of attack will generate some ideas for you as you try to knock down some of your own brick walls.

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U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources

Three principal types of pensions were authorized for revolutionary war veterans and their dependents: "disability" or "invalid" pensions for physical disabilities incurred in the line of duty; "service pensions" for service in a certain stated period of time; and "widows' pensions" to wives of servicemen who were killed in the war or who served a certain stated period of time. Major provisions of the pension laws are summarized below.

  • 26 Aug 1776 Half pay for officers and men disabled in the service and who were [p.58] incapable of earning a living, the pension to continue for the period of disability.
  • 15 May 1778 Half pay for seven years after the conclusion of the war to all officers who remained in Continental service to the end of the war; a gratuity of $80 for all enlisted men who served to the end of the war.
  • 24 Aug 1780 Half pay for seven years to widows and orphans of officers who qualified under the provisions enacted 15 May 1778.
  • 21 Oct 1780 Half pay for life to officers (changed to five years on 22 March 1783). Many pensions were paid by the states, especially Virginia, as an inducement for recruitment.
  • On 29 September 1789, the federal government assumed the responsibility for paying pensions formerly paid by the states, and on 23 March 1790 provided that veterans not yet receiving pensions could apply directly to the federal government.
  • 10 Apr 1806 Pensions were authorized to veterans of state troops and militias, rather than only to those who had served in the Continental Army or Navy.
  • 18 Mar 1818 Pensions for life were authorized based on a period of service (in Continental service or in the U.S. Navy or the marines) of nine months or until the end of the war to those in need of assistance but regardless of whether a disability was present.
  • 1 May 1820 Certified inventories of a pensioner's estate and income were required. Those not able to prove need were removed from the pension files. Upon further application and proof of need, many were restored to the rolls after a relaxation of the criteria was instituted on 1 March 1823.
  • 15 May 1828 Full pay for life to officers and enlisted men who became eligible under the terms of the 15 May 1778 legislation.
  • 7 June 1832 Full pay for life to officers and enlisted men who served two years in the Continental Line or state troops, volunteers, or militia. Naval officers and enlisted men were included. Those with service of less than two years but a minimum of six months were eligible for pensions of some amount less than full pay. Widows and children were authorized to receive money due the pensioner if it had not been paid before his death.
  • 24 July 1836 Widows were authorized pensions that would have been authorized to the veteran if he were still alive, provided the widow had married the veteran while he was still in service.
  • 7 July 1838 Widows were authorized pensions for five years if they had married the veteran before 1 January 1794.
  • 29 July 1848 Widows were authorized pensions for life if they had married the veteran before 2 January 1800.
  • 3 Feb 1853 All restrictions relative to date of a widow's marriage were eliminated.
  • 9 Mar 1878 Widows were authorized pensions for life if the veteran had served as few as fourteen days or participated in any engagement.
    To obtain a pension, the applicant was required to appear before a court of record in the state of residence to establish proof of military service. Widows were required to make a declaration and offer supporting documents, such as marriage records, property schedules, and witnesses' affidavits. The court certified the accuracy of the papers and forwarded them to the appropriate federal agency in charge of pensions. After approval (sometimes only after submission of further documentation), the applicant was placed on the pension list and began receiving checks as provided for by the then-current law. Often, applicants who were denied pensions reapplied later when requirements were relaxed.

The pension file is a...

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Visit the Local History Room

How often have you walked into a public library and seen scads of people using the computers? Have you noticed that some of these people are checking out genealogical sites? There are times when I want to walk over to them and tell them about another library section they are overlooking.

A source that is too often ignored for family history research is the local history room at the public library. You might even find a local history collection at a college or university library. In some of the county libraries in my home area these are not separate rooms, but many shelves of local books and periodicals. In some localities, the local history room might be in the city or county historical society building.

Today I’d like to share some reasons to visit the local history room if you find yourself in ancestral areas this holiday season--or any other time.

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December 16, 2005

North Dakota Vital Records

The North Dakota Division of Vital Statistics has now placed its public death index online.

The searchable database includes all recorded death certificates for the state from 1881 up to about 2004. The search terms can include Last Name (required), First Name, Date of Death (required, a range of up to 10 years may be entered) and county of death. The results may be ordered by: Name, Birth Date, Date of Death or County.

Since North Dakota has a small population, it is generally best to not add the county to the search terms. Many small communities did not (and do not now) have medical facilities, so the county of death may be 100 miles or more from the county of residence. Also, since the population is so low, it is often best to search an entire decade with last name only. Using my family name, Engel (not rare, but not too common), the results for some 10 year periods only resulted in 1 or 2 matches.

The results list:

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What I Wish I had Known

Much of my early genealogy research was done by trial and error. This week’s column takes a look at some things I wish I had known when I started research. Things always look obvious in hindsight and it is easier to see the error of our ways once we have spent years going down wrong paths.

- Cite Your Sources
- The Importance of the Original
- People Married More than Once
- We Can Always Learn
- Relatives Are Everywhere
- Time Has Passed
- The Importance of the Law
- It Might Not Be a Mistake
- The Importance of Location
- The Living- Life Was Different
- Siblings Are Important
- There Are Few Absolutes

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Research in Russia

In 1991, I received a letter from a researcher in Minsk, telling me he could search the archives there for records of my Krasner-Dvorkin family. I was skeptical but excited. We exchanged letters through his New York-based daughter and arranged onsite research at the Central State Historical Archives for the Republic of Belarus in Minsk (now the National Archives). I had been told that no vital records existed for the district and town of Borisov, my family’s home...

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