Early Vital Records of Massachusetts From 1600 to 1850

If you've got ancestors in Massachusetts between 1600 and 1850, consider taking a look at the free transcriptions of vital records on this site:

http://ma-vitalrecords.org/

Webinar on Correcting YOUR Ancestry.com Tree Released

I just finished the recording of my webinar on making corrections and changes to your Ancestry.com tree.

Items discussed included changing:

• names
• relationships
• locations

We discussed the importance of not correcting where you shouldn't and making certain that you don't say records say things that they don't. Along the way we mentioned a few pitfalls to avoid. 

You can download the recorded file at an introductory rate of $4. 

Ancestry.com's 1940 "Residence" search includes 1935 residence

It might be that I'm the only one who wasn't aware of this.

When you search the 1940 census on Ancestry.com and include a residence, it includes a search of the 1935 residence as well. The search on this screen was for individuals who had a residence of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

I was surprised to see the last match--in Orange County.

Apparently it came up as a hit because that person was living in Chicago in 1935.

Just in case you didn't know.

The 1940 census and images are free at Ancestry.com through 2013. 

County Marriages On FamilySearch

For some states, FamilySearch has indexes to county marriage records that link to images. In some cases, a search for an ancestor may turn up several "marriages." They may all be the same couple and the entries could be referring to different documents and records that were created as a part of the marriage process. These could included:

• Marriage bond
• Marriage license
• Marriage register

It doesn't mean there were multiple marriages--just different parts of the "record."

New Webinars for August 2012

We have three new webinar topics for August:

• Federal Land Descriptions
• Determining What's On FamilySearch
• Did Your Ancestor Get a Union Civil War Pension?

Date	Time	Topic	Cost	Description	Register
10 August 2012	10:00 AM Central	Sections, Townships, Base Lines and Meridians: Land Descriptions in Federal Land States	$8.50	This presentation will provide an overview of how land is described in Federal land states, beginning with base lines and meridians and working down to sections and quartersections. We’ll see how to interpret a legal description, determine the approximate acreage, and create property maps.	Add to cart
10 August 2012	12 Noon Central	Understanding What’s On FamilySearch: Do Multiple Databases with Similar Titles Confuse You?	$8.50	This presentation will focus on American databases on FamilySearch.org. Do you know what you are really searching when you search aFamilySearchdatabase? Do you understand the difference between three databases with similar titles that cover “the same thing?” We will look at several examples during this presentation and provide a general framework for determining (when you can) what a database really is.	Add to cart
10 August 2012	2:00 PM Central	Did Your Civil War Ancestor Get a Pension: Ways to Determine if your Serviceman Applied	$8.50	We will look at several online finding aids to pensions, some offline finding aides, and a general research strategy for determining if your Civil War ancestor received a pension.	Add to cart

Look at the Entire Search Page

To reduce the chance you miss options, the first time you use a search interface online look at the entire page. Are there options that only become active when a link is clicked? Are there additional search parameters on the bottom of the page.

There may be options you simply have not seen because you have not looked.

Or they may not be additional options at all.

Do You Understand the Difference Among FamilySearch Databases?

Do you always understand the difference among different FamilySearch databases? This post on Rootdig.com discusses three Tennessee marriage indexes at FamilySearch.