The more you know about a person, the more likely you will be to recognize their record when you see it.
1. Name
a. How is it spelled? variations?
b. abbreviations: Wm for William, Chas for Charles, Geo for George
c. is there a story behind the name? (why I was named Linnea)
d. jr, sr (helps you recognize the next generation)
e. do they have a middle name? What is it? (If you only know the first letter, write it down. It will help you pick them out from all the others with the same first name.)
f. What are the names of their mother and father? brothers and sisters? (find family members in census records, marriage records, birth records, obituaries, etc. Keep attaching records and adding names. You are getting to know their family. You are being given information line upon line so you won't miss crucial information when you see it later on.)
Example of Frederick Stumpf LTC6-MHX: I know the Ortman line pretty well - I've even been to Germany to research it. The temple work has all been done for the parents and children. But I noticed that the son John had a wife with no parents listed. All of her work was done except sealing to parents. How could I find them?
Someone else had attached a copy of her death certificate (because it proves the date she died.) When I viewed the document I also noticed that it gave the names of her parents and where they were born. (The mother only had a first initial and a maiden name - which was hard to decipher, but a discovered her unmarried sister living with them in the 1880 census and THAT handwriting was easy to read!) I'd found the mother, but she was already widowed. I had to look for an earlier census to find the husband. He is in the 1870 census with the wife and 2 kids. I noticed a 30 year age gap between husband and wife. Had I not seen that, I would have assumed the tombstone I found later on belonged to a different generation and was not the same person. He had a different wife listed on the tombstone. Note the death date. She dies and then the other kids are born to the second wife. Their story is starting to come together piece by piece!
Now that I've found them, what do I do? Request the temple work, silly! (Click to reserve. Add the name to the stack. Plan a trip to the temple and ask the kids to bring their friends along.)
2. date
a. How is it spelled? variations?
b. abbreviations: Wm for William, Chas for Charles, Geo for George
c. is there a story behind the name? (why I was named Linnea)
d. jr, sr (helps you recognize the next generation)
e. do they have a middle name? What is it? (If you only know the first letter, write it down. It will help you pick them out from all the others with the same first name.)
f. What are the names of their mother and father? brothers and sisters? (find family members in census records, marriage records, birth records, obituaries, etc. Keep attaching records and adding names. You are getting to know their family. You are being given information line upon line so you won't miss crucial information when you see it later on.)
Example of Frederick Stumpf LTC6-MHX: I know the Ortman line pretty well - I've even been to Germany to research it. The temple work has all been done for the parents and children. But I noticed that the son John had a wife with no parents listed. All of her work was done except sealing to parents. How could I find them?
Someone else had attached a copy of her death certificate (because it proves the date she died.) When I viewed the document I also noticed that it gave the names of her parents and where they were born. (The mother only had a first initial and a maiden name - which was hard to decipher, but a discovered her unmarried sister living with them in the 1880 census and THAT handwriting was easy to read!) I'd found the mother, but she was already widowed. I had to look for an earlier census to find the husband. He is in the 1870 census with the wife and 2 kids. I noticed a 30 year age gap between husband and wife. Had I not seen that, I would have assumed the tombstone I found later on belonged to a different generation and was not the same person. He had a different wife listed on the tombstone. Note the death date. She dies and then the other kids are born to the second wife. Their story is starting to come together piece by piece!
Now that I've found them, what do I do? Request the temple work, silly! (Click to reserve. Add the name to the stack. Plan a trip to the temple and ask the kids to bring their friends along.)
2. date
a. when were they born (census gives approximate year. draft record gives birth date as does birth record, social security death record, find a grave)
3. place
a. look for where they were born (in census records)
3. place
a. look for where they were born (in census records)
b. where were their parents born? (this will help you sift through others with similar names.)
other helpful information:
occupation - a distinguishing feature
who are their neighbors in the census record? They just might be related!
do they have any relatives living with them in a census year?
"You are about to start something here that you don't fully appreciate, but you will grow to love it."
(comment from the ordinance worker in the confirmation room as the Andrus boys and Cardon girls finished up a batch of my family names.)
Saw Bishop Booth working at the temple, Jeff asked, "Is this part of your class?"
"You bet," I replied, "We're going to get through these names." I had a stack for baptisms of which we did 25. But when I went upstairs to the family file, I found a stack of my names 1 inch thick in endowments waiting to be done!
other helpful information:
occupation - a distinguishing feature
who are their neighbors in the census record? They just might be related!
do they have any relatives living with them in a census year?
"You are about to start something here that you don't fully appreciate, but you will grow to love it."
(comment from the ordinance worker in the confirmation room as the Andrus boys and Cardon girls finished up a batch of my family names.)
Saw Bishop Booth working at the temple, Jeff asked, "Is this part of your class?"
"You bet," I replied, "We're going to get through these names." I had a stack for baptisms of which we did 25. But when I went upstairs to the family file, I found a stack of my names 1 inch thick in endowments waiting to be done!
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