Reasons to Examine Old Documents #genealogy

Good Reasons to Personally Examine Old Documents

Genealogy Tips by Jeannette Holland Austin

People write some interesting stuff in their wills! Before we had the Internet, a convenient method of discovering the heirs was to read "abstracts" of wills, estates, deeds and marriages which were published in book. This tremendous undertaking by the authors of genealogy was insurmountable in brilliance. It saved the researcher a great deal of time. But now that we have access Internet to full documents on Georgia Pioneers. Reading the entire document is a boon to genealogists for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the heirs are mentioned with the details of their specific inheritance, and relationship to the deceased. Second, some of our previous assumptions taken from the abstracts can be clarified. Third, we can discover new information. And fourth, all the details are included, some of which the abstracter did not include because it was not clearly discernible on the old microfilm equipment. _____________________________________________________________________________ Images of Old Wills and Estates are available on (8 Genealogy Websites - includes records in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia).

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Index to Kentucky Wills and Estates

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Everyone wants to be Remembered #kygenealogy #kentuckypioneerscom

Everyone wants to be Remembered

Tips by Jeannette Holland Austin

The landscape continues to be scraped off of its valuable monuments. The travesty of angry rioters destroying and removing historical monuments and statues simply because they do not agree with its history, is an incredible disrespect of the struggles and wars fought in earlier times. It was a recent past lived by our ancestors. Mankind has always erected monuments and obelisks and . The Pharoahs of ancient Egypt valued their personal history and wrote it upon the walls of tombs as early as 5000 B.C. If they had not done that, then how would we know the history of those times? Further, more Egyptian tombs are still being discovered today. As decoding occurs and the fragments of ancient history is pieced together, we learn of events which earlier scholars could not assimulate. The Mayans chiefs wrote their history upon every building in its cities! And although interpreters have worked on decoding for many years, this history is just now beginning to be accurately translated. Who doesn't want to know the Mayan history and why they abandoned so many cities? Just about every person who has lived wants to be remembered. This is reflected in the tombstones of every cemetery.  . . . more . . .

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Index to Kentucky Wills and Estates

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How Realistic is Family Lore? #kygenealogy #kentuckypioneerscom

How Realistic is Family Lore?

Tips by Jeannette Holland Austin

How good is your memory? Do you recall the names and dates of family members? When was your grandmother born? Most people will remember when the grandmother was born or died if it was something emotionally arousing, like the death of President John Kennedy. Experts say that our emotions assist in memory recall. Thus, when we visit Aunt Mary and rely upon her memory, we should realize that, although the time of occurrence is very real to her, she could be off by as much as 20 years or more. However, many such memories can be tracked in court house records, such as deeds, wills, estates and marriages. The same is true of family lore. My grandmother always said that we were related to Hoke Smith, the Governor of Georgia. But when I researched the Smith connection and went back several hundred years with it, there was no way. Some lore is simply another interesting tale. And that is all.  . . . more . . .

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Index to Kentucky Wills and Estates

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Errors in the Ancestral Charts of Others

Errors in the Ancestral Charts of Others

Sometimes genealogists get lost in the fine print, thinking that a blurb or two does not help the tracing. However, as the work goes forward, one might wonder about that fine print. Who were the witnesses on the deeds and how did they fit into the equation? Or, who was on the adjacent tombstone again? Most people spend their lifetime searching for ancestors. It is a tedious, yet rewarding and worthwhile endeavor. What we really need to watch for is the "errors out there" being floated around by researchers. One must confirm and verify before accepting information from other people onto their chart. The reason is that one little item could throw us into a tail-spin of confusion and completely off-track. Also, it is a good idea to double-check our own entries, to make certain that dates and places are accurate. . . . more . . .

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Index to Kentucky Wills and Estates

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Analyziing the Estates of your Ancestors #kygenealogy #kentuckypioneerscom

Analyzing the Estates of your Ancestors

Tips by Jeannette Holland Austin

Not everyone files a Last Will and Testament to be probated in the county court, however, most families had an administrator appointed for any number of practical reasons. For one thing, they needed the authority to gain access to funds and sell property. For this reason we must systematically research all the court house papers such as Annual Returns, Inventories, Distributions, Sales, Vouchers and the Minute Books of Inferior Court. Because this is so important in locating relatives, whenever possible, I am adding the indexes to Annual Returns and estates for the various counties to GeorgiaPioneers.com. The first Annual Return for the estate generally pays doctor bills, funerals and miscellaneous expenses of the administrator. Thereafter, in later returns, funds are dispersed to the heirs. You should really review these returns carefully and attempt to identify everyone receiving payment. Receipts are given to administrator. You want to read the vouchers and receipts because this is where you will find the husbands of the daughters. Married women did not directly inherit; their husbands received the goods and signed for them. The Inventories and Sales contain the names of relatives and neighbors who were purchasing items. Also, this is where you will find a general description of parcels of land owned by the decedent and a list of notes owed him. . . . more . . .

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Index to Kentucky Wills and Estates

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Identifying the Correct Ancestor #kygenealogy #kentuckypioneerscom

Identifying the Correct Ancestor

Tips by Jeannette Holland Austin

I recall the time when people were saying that our population was so large that America was running out of land! Granted, the population continues to grow and expand, yet it has been calculated that the number of people in the United States today could easily fit into the State of Utah! As genealogists, we are forever dealing with large numbers of people and searching for evidence of their existence. And, because of the duplication of names, we have to be careful that when we find someone, that it is the correct ancestor. The solution lies in researching census and county records and comparing the same. However, the best solution is to research all of the persons with the same surname (in that county) and prepared family group sheets for each family. That way, we realize that some of the people having the same names are cousins, however far removed! Just knowing the identify of each John Smith is clarifying , and will keep us on the correct path. 
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Index to Kentucky Wills and Estates

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You Need an Eye to Detail #kentuckypioneers #kygenealogy

You Need an Eye to Detail

Tips by Jeannette Holland Austin

A number of clues exist in public records which help the genealogist to locate lost relatives. One ancestor which I had researched for many years was discovered by reading Revolutionary War Pensions for that surname. It was Joseph Lane, resident of Missouri whose application stated that he had two sons who'd left home years ago, one who went west and the other to either Kentucky or Georgia. Although no given names were provided, my detailed notes provided two brothers in Georgia fitting that description. From there, I studied their estate records, viz, inventories, sales, annual returns and vouchers to see who was listed and where they resided. The names given in these types of records bear close relationships to the deceased. I found one lost ancestor by searching Jasper County annual returns (for everyone with that surname) and discovered that a trip to Kentucky was an item paid for and listed in the annual returns. This linked "the origin" of the family. Other great digs are deed records where heirs sell their inheritance and name other heirs in the deed. Every single record of that surname must be researched for little clues. . . . more . . .

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Index to Kentucky Wills and Estates

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The meaning of "Child in Esse" #kentuckypioneers #kygenealogy

Child in Esse

Tips by Jeannette Holland Austin 

It is not uncommon for a wife to be expecting a child at the time that her husband writes his last will and testament, or dies intestate. To learn if this was the fact, one should look for the legal language of "in esse" in the will. It means "in existence". Otherwise, a complete study of the probate records is indicated. If the person died intestate (without a will), then the letters of administration, annual returns, vouchers, receipts, sales, inventories, etc. should be closely examined for any activity which resembles the birth of another heir. This includes Inferior Court cases which might be on the books as well as Minutes of the Inferior Court. There are some census records which could help. Say, the husband died in 1841. The 1850 census should reveal the name of the widow and all of her children. Then there is the court for orphans where bonds are given and guardians are appointed. Old newspapers (announcing births and deaths), cemetery plots which contain infant graves, and so on, need to be carefully considered. One of the most interesting facets of researching in Virginia is that the wills, inventories, sales and deeds are contained in one book. This is the best source for learning little tid-bits of information which help to form the puzzle. 
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Index to Kentucky Wills and Estates

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Annual Returns are Part of Every Estate #kentuckypioneers #genealogy

Annual Returns are Part of Every Estate

Tips by Jeannette Holland Austin

Even if a person dies intestate, you can still find the heirs. This is done by examining the annual returns for every year until the estate is closed. The first thing which happens is that an administrator is appointed who makes an inventory of the estate, has a sale to sell off the items and subsequently files a return every year thereafter to the probate county in the county which the person died. This return lists all disbursements ranging from funeral expenses to distributions to the heirs which may occur at any time over the period the estate is active. The heirs then give receipts, called vouchers. Examine the expenditures closely. Try to ascertain the identity of the payees. One easy method is a study of the census records for that county. Some of the heirs are husbands of daughters, so check out these names in the marriage records. . . . more . . .

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Index to Kentucky Wills and Estates

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The Stuff That We Are Made Of

Tips by Jeannette Holland Austin 

The stuff that we are made of literally flows through our veins. Our DNA is a blueprint of ourselves which may be traced back in time to our ancestors. And we are a mixture of many individuals who played their roles in history. Siblings born of the same parents possess features from a variety of ancestors, and the dosage is not equal. Although it is quite interesting to discover the origin of our features, statue, and personality traits while viewing old photographs (everyone should do this), the more interesting aspect of it is the decisions made in the face of adversity. No generation escapes troubles, for all are tested. We share many common elements of those past lives, viz: war, religious beliefs, immigration, marriages, divorce, death and so on. And our trials of today run a pretty close parallel to those of the past. After it is all done, scholars write a history of those days. Owing to the difficult times of our ancestors, how did they stack up? Everyone's history is not written by the scholar. Yet, the ancestors left their story for us to tell. It is in the records (census, county court houses, pensions, bibles, cemeteries, etc.) During troubling times, the memories of their era is somewhat consoling, especially when we know that they stood among the righteous, exhibited bravery in the wars, and had a strong belief in freedom. Yes, this country was founded upon that one belief. Freedom! I found some old letters of one of my great-grandfathers and discovered that he was overtaken by a deep sadness when he left his family during the Civil War. In this way, I understood that same sadness existed during my own unhappy moments. As one traces the families further back in time, the old last wills and testaments display a virtual reality of those days. We can almost put ourselves there, in the shoes of our kin. There are many questions concerning the migrations and lifestyles of our ancestors. And the answers are there, but require a great diligence and patience. And might I say, time? During this era, genealogy research is very much improved, however, as more records are added to the internet. Kentucky Pioneers is processing more old wills and estates, and I must say, the answers are in the details. . . . more . . .

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Index to Kentucky Wills and Estates

SPECIAL GENEALOGY OPPORTUNITY NOW for yourself and friends! $7 (auto expires after 1-month) Try it out now to see if you can find your ancestors

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