From roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com Mon Feb 6 16:52:46 2006 Received: from mail.rootsweb.com (mail.rootsweb.com [192.168.65.34]) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id k16NqkE0030987; Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:52:46 -0700 Received: from roots-l.rootsweb.com (roots-l.rootsweb.com [66.43.16.22]) by mail.rootsweb.com (8.13.4/8.13.4) with ESMTP id k16NqjM2027587 for ; Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:52:45 -0700 Received: from roots-l.rootsweb.com (roots-l [127.0.0.1]) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id k16LOMFI014740 for ; Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:24:22 -0500 Received: (from roots-in@localhost) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.8/Submit) id k16LOMGX014739 for roots-approved@rootsweb.com; Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:24:22 -0500 Received: from lists5.rootsweb.com (lists5.rootsweb.com [66.43.27.41]) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with SMTP id k16L7CFI014648 for ; Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:07:12 -0500 Received: (from slist@localhost) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) id k16NZOOZ017935 for roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com; Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:35:24 -0700 X-Envelope-From: hornbeck@s-hornbeck.com Mon Feb 6 16:35:23 2006 Received: from mail.rootsweb.com (mail.rootsweb.com [192.168.65.34]) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id k16NZNE0017926 for ; Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:35:23 -0700 Received: from smtp018.mail.yahoo.com (smtp018.mail.yahoo.com [216.136.174.115]) by mail.rootsweb.com (8.13.4/8.13.4) with SMTP id k16NZKCB018224 for ; Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:35:21 -0700 Received: (qmail 6603 invoked from network); 6 Feb 2006 23:35:21 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO shirley-.s-hornbeck.com) (shirleyhornbeck@sbcglobal.net@66.122.5.229 with login) by smtp018.mail.yahoo.com with SMTP; 6 Feb 2006 23:35:21 -0000 Message-Id: <6.2.3.4.2.20060206152850.0420ee80@pop.mail.yahoo.com> X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 6.2.3.4 Date: Mon, 06 Feb 2006 15:33:45 -0800 To: ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com From: Shirley Hornbeck Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.52 on 192.168.65.34 X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.52 on 192.168.65.34 Sender: roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com Subject: [ROOTS-L] THIS AND THAT MISC GENEALOGY TIPS WHAT'S IT ALL MEAN...LINEAL...COLLATERAL...ALLIED? LINEAL means ascending or descending in a direct line. Example - If your surname/maiden name is Brown, your Brown line is your direct lineal line. COLLATERAL means descended from the same ancestor but not in a direct line of descent. ALLIED families are families related usually through marriage. SASE: Enclose a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) when requesting information from ANY source, individuals, Court House, Library, etc. You stand a much better chance of a reply if you do. Otherwise, your query may go into the trash pile. YEOMAN AND FREEMAN: In England, the terms "Yeoman" and "Freeman" mean the same thing. There were roughly six social classes in early England: the peers or noblemen; the gentry; knights of the shire who lived off the rents from their lands; lawyers, merchants, professional people; Yeoman farmers and then the common people. A Yeoman farmer was a freeholder having quite a lot of land and employing others to help him farm it. The terms in New England probably meant much the same thing. BOAT OR SHIP: Boat - as used by seamen the term does not apply to a vessel, but to a small craft. Boat as distinguished from the general term ship, is constructed of bent frames and a vessel of ship of sawn frames. (This is the opinion of a shipbuilder.) Ship - Strictly a vessel, square-rigged, on all masts from three up. The term is used loosely and applied to quite generally to all vessels. A seaman speaks of his vessel as "the ship" regardless of rig or power. EVIDENCE AND PROOF: All evidence is relative in its value; none that I know of is absolute. There are three kinds of facts: those for which you have abundant proof, those which you believe to be true but for which you do not have overwhelming evidence, and assumptions which you use as leads, hoping to find more evidence or a strong reason to abandon it. The problem comes when two pieces of evidence do not agree completely, or when we are not absolutely certain that the evidence we have applies. Here are some guiding principles: 1. The nearer the recording is to the event, the more likely it is to be correct. For example, a birth certificate is probably more accurate than a tombstone. 2. Legal documents tend to be more accurate than family notes or traditions. They were probably prepared by a third party and people tend to be more careful with legal matters. 3. The census is not a legal document. It is only as accurate as the census taker and the person giving the information. Names may be spelled incorrectly. Included may be nieces or nephews with the same last name being mistaken for children, and children may not be listed if they were away at the time of the census. 1. With Family Bibles, ask the following: a. What is the date of the publishing edition on page 2? Is it such that the family purchased it early in their marriage, or did an enterprising child fill it in later? b. Is the handwriting the same for all entries (someone "caught up" the record at one sitting)? Even if the same person wrote it all, if it was done over a period of years, their handwriting will vary, certainly the pen and ink will. 2. With birth certificates: a. The date and place is probably correct, though in very olden days, the doctor or midwife may have done the paperwork later and there may be a day or two difference. b. The mother's name is probably correct though the spelling may be off. The doctor knew who his patient was. c. Likewise the spelling of the child's name can vary. Be especially careful of transcribed copies of lists made before the days of birth certificates. d. The biological father is probably correct but not as sure. The doctor can only record what the mother told him. 3. With tombstones: a. Don't be surprised if dates vary from other records. The stone mason may have made a mistake, but more often the family member providing the information was doing so from memory. b. If the data doesn't fit, look for another explanation. 4. Wills: a. A good source of information but don't draw too much from them. b. If older children are missing from the list, don't be alarmed. Instead turn to land deeds and see if the father may have helped the older son buy land at an earlier date, or even have deeded some of his own land to him. c. Very rarely a person may have mentioned a brother, sister, niece, or nephew by name but without identification as to relationship. 5. The more facts we have about a person, the more he/she becomes a unique individual. Nothing is absolute and you may have to judge between conflicting facts. FINDING MAIDEN NAMES: In the lower left-hand corner of most deeds, you will find signatures of two to four witnesses. The first one is always from the husband's side. The next one is always from the wife's side. This is to protect her 1/3 dower right under the law. Nothing you will ever use will give greater clues to maiden names than witnesses to old deeds! Also in the 1800's and before, it was traditional when the daughter got married, as part of her dowry, the father either covered the loan or carried the note for his son-in-law. If you know the husband's name but not the wife's maiden name and you can find out to whom they were making their mortgage payments, about 70% of the time it was her father. LEGAL TRIVIA When land was sold, the spouse had to be listed in the land record. Land records should be searched after a death as often a list of heirs will be shown during partition of the estate and even sometimes a map. If there is a will, it is probated by an Executor - if there is no will, the estate is cared for by an Administrator appointed by the court. "IN RE" concerning adoptions means "in regards to" something. You can often find adoptions listed in record books where divorce and probate records are filed. Instead of putting adoptions in under the letter "A" they may place them under "I" for "in re". Under this category you will find petitions to change name, petition to adopt, etc. Shirley Hornbeck http://www.s-hornbeck.com THIS & THAT GENEALOGY TIPS: