Records evolve. Some records are created to preserve specific information. These certainly change over time. Go far enough back in time and death records might not give the cause of death, something you expect to see today. Other records are created to gather statistics. These, it seems, evolve much faster. If one simply wants to […]
I found a reference to a man, Anders, that I was researching. It was a reference to his drowning. I checked the death registers for the date that was given and sure enough, he was listed. So were two other men. There was a note squeezed into the margin. It was hard to read but
Identity must be one of the most fascinating facets of genealogy. Isak and Ovra where recorded twice as parents. Those were the names that were written into the birth registers. When one of their sons died the information about his parents matched Isak and Ovra with one exception, their names. Ignatz and Charlotte were the
There is something special about those times when records don’t simply stop but fade. Times long enough ago that identity was seen differently. A man is not known by two names but by one name and the place where he lived. When his child was born, all that was recorded was the date, his given
Pushing the Limits Read More »
The full Moon occurs when the Sun and the Moon are on opposite sides of our world. We see the full face of the Moon illuminated by the Sun because as we turn up our eyes to the Moon, the Sun is shining from below our feet, lighting up the far side of the Earth.
A Pope Watches the Sky Read More »
David J. Hand, the author of the book The Improbability Principle has a list of items that go into his principle- The Law of Inevitability The Law of Truly Large Numbers The Law of Selection The Law of the Probability Lever The Law of Near Enough In the book he describes events that seem like
In light of David Letterman’s impending retirement, here are the- Top ten reasons to give up genealogy 10 Tired of the search result “Buy Ichabod Whittleby products on Amazon.com!” 9 Thought people were kidding about the 1890 census. 8 Upset by DNA match to Justin Bieber. 7 Discovered that someone has copied your idea to
When I studied ancient history in this university many years ago, I had as a special subject “Greece in the period of the Persian Wars.” I collected fifteen or twenty volumes on my shelves and took it for granted that there, recorded in these volumes, I had all the facts relating to my subject. Let
The Attrition of Facts Read More »
The other day I went to the library to pick up a book I had on hold. I found the book and a magazine on the shelf waiting for me. I checked them out and was casually flipping through the magazine while I waited for my daughter’s choir practice to wrap up. In the back
Sure, we already have Family History Month in October but as my kids have pointed out to me lately, to be cool now, your activity needs to have a specific day with a funny connection to what it is supposed to celebrate. For example, earlier this month, grammarians celebrated grammar day on March 4. They