No Surname Searches May Find MORE Ancestors in Genealogy Research Tips

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Video to watch next: Genealogy Tips: How to Methodically Research Common Name Ancestors kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHyZoH2giKyXZtk

[@jeslookn5470]

I'm glad I found this video. I spend a lot of time searching census records and use the no name search method exclusively. This allows me to look at all of the names in the community with the same birth date while I'm searching. You never know what you will find. The more you search the better and more creative you get. That is what I spend most of my time on. Searching for records. When you have all of the census records and any other record you can find for someone things can change.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Welcome new FHF Xta Member. Thanks for watching this video and sharing your experience with this technique.

[@kimberleysmith5876]

Thank you for adding captions with punctuation and spelling rather than auto captions. It helps in understanding!

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

You're welcome. I don't always get it right but I do try. I'm hearing impaired so I like the added structure.

[@pamela5947]

Wonderful tips!! I have experienced many of the misspelling issues. Thank you

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

You're welcome.

[@greghanson407]

I've used first name searches with year and place of birth in an effort to locate female relatives who may have married if I can't find them under their maiden name. I've been successful about 50 percent of the time.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

50% success rate is pretty impressive. Way to go.

[@lynmasters667]

Really helpful, Devon. Thank you.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

I'm so glad you think so.

[@debjordan4399]

Very useful information. Thank you.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Glad it was helpful!

[@GenialHarryGrout]

Great tips. Hopefully this might help me pass a brick wall that I have been behind for way too long

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Good luck. I hope so.

[@MagnaMater2]

That is a great one. Lists of existing people during a period are very useful. I had similar troubles with my grandmum's female sided greatgranddad, who was 'unknown', but for hiding somewhere in her genetic matches family-trees, that were all from another village, and actually region, but all featured similar names, one being the birth-name of a WOMAN from the neighbourhood, about 40 years older, that had left no surviving children. And lo: turned out he was also hiding in a list of local apprentices, the only entry of him living in that village as a teenager.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

What a success. Thanks for sharing!

[@annw1395]

I'll have to try those tips. I've been indexing literally thousands of names from 1700s England, and it's been eye-opening: spelling variations, even from one part of the document to another; and bad handwriting at times. But the 2 WORST things are when the parish clerk leaves a name off altogether (burial records for vagrants, without any name or age), birth or christening records where there is no child's first name. Also when the clerk writes down a completely different surname, such as on one record where the bride's surname was erroneously written in one spot as the parish name instead of her own! I've seen dozens of records (1700s) where the clerk wrote what he thought he heard the person say, but their signature was definitely something else. My takeaway from that is to imagine how a person might have pronounced his name, and then what other letters might sound similar. Eg: clerk wrote "Garlick", and person signed "Carlick" (and the G's and C's back then were very different from each other). Another thing to keep in mind is to be flexible with the ancestor's age. Many of my ancestors either lost track of how old they were, or actively lied. I have one ancestor who consistently lied about her age, and by the time she died, she was 12 yrs younger than she really was! Lol. Sometimes I can find the person by just expanding the age parameter.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

First. Thank you for your service. Indexing does not receive enough attention and yet it helps us so much! Second, thanks for all of these insights. I wish I could see a few of the ones you've suggested.

[@annw1395]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics Some errors are spelling errors or just variations on the same document. Some are date errors. Most are discrepancies between the way the clerk/priest spelling the name, and the way the bridegroom spelled his name. (We don't know about the bride's spelling because she didn't get to sign back then.) These are all marriage bonds from Lancashire, England in the 1700s. I've included some of the most noteworthy below: Clerk wrote: Bateson. Bridegroom signed: Beatson Clerk: Dorothy Brockbank (on front of marriage bond). Clerk, on back, wrote: Dorothy Kirkby. Kirkby was the parish she was from. A “Parkinson” was marrying a “Partington”. On back, the clerk goofed and wrote Partington for both the bride’s AND groom’s surnames. Clerk: Dickinson . Bridegroom: Dickerson Clerk (front side): Nicholson. Clerk (back side): Nicholas Clerk: Lates . Groom: Leach Clerk: Yates. Groom: Yeats Clerk (front): seventeenth April. Clerk (back): 7 April Clerk (front): Christopherson . Clerk (back): Christoferson Clerk: Hardacre . Bridegrm signature: Hardicker Clerk: Hopkins . Bridegroom: Hobkins Clerk: Woodle . Groom: Woodale Clerk Hearon. Groom: Herron Clerk: Wilcox. Groom: Wilcock Clerk: Waugh . Bridegroom signed: Waff Clerk (front pg) -- bride’s surname: Myers . Clerk (back) -- bride’s surname: Mirehouse Clerk (front & back): Myles Denny . Groom (front & back): Miles Denney. Date (front): 3 May 1764. Date (back): 3 June 1764 Clerk: Miliken . Bridegroom: Milligan Clerk (top of page): Crichton . Same clerk (middle of same pg): Creighton. Same clerk, front page: 24 June 1758. Same clerk, back page: 24 April 1758 Clerk: Gillson . Bridegroom: Gilstean Clerk (front): McWhonner . Clerk (back): McWhannel (hysterical name, LOL) Clerk (front): Rowland Parke and Isabel Hide. Same clerk (back): Rowland Park and Isabel Hyde Clerk (front & back): Bower . Groom (front & back): Booer Unreal, huh!

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Quite so! Unreal is a perfect descriptor.

[@feliciagaffney1998]

@@annw1395 Your list of examples is fascinating. It is actually quite useful in helping with pronunciation isn't it? I find it interesting that Waugh would be an alternate spelling for Waff at that time. Even now, Waugh is generally pronounced with the -gh silent. More like rhyming with Law, as opposed to /f/ like laugh. Are you British? I can see that kind of work as being equally fun/fascinating and frustrating. Both with trying to decipher handwriting and frustrations at lackadaisical clerks who don't care that they are recording misinformation (wrong dates, blatantly obvious wrong names, etc) on an important record. Thank you for sharing!

[@guypicard2262]

Hello enjoyed the video, Will this work for Canadian records?

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

That's the beauty of it. It's not location specific. It's database dependent. Try it out on any online database and see what results you get. Some databases return better results than others. FamilySearch and Ancestry work best, in my experience, and they both have Canadian Relatives.

[@not_today_satan_7]

So i had searched for anadoptee for about a year and a half with no luck. She was adopted in virginia when she was about 9 years old. She had a very unique name. I thought id find her right away. A year and a half later i thought id never find her. I did a search with no name but searched her birthdate and place of birth. BINGO virginia had a delayed birth record list. The bio mother couldnt remember forsure but thought the people who adopted her daughter had a last name like bullet or bullock. Well dont you know there was a girl born on the right bd right place of birth and whos last name sounded similar to the name the mother mentioned. The adoptee had completely changed her entire name at 9 years old. But it was her daughter. And today they live together happily ever after

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Wow. I hadn't even thought about that use of the search. That's exciting.

[@not_today_satan_7]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics it was so exciting!!

[@FaviansWorld]

Thanks for the tips. I can clearly see you love this as much as I do.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Absolutely!

[@pennyanderson2153]

Finding my Virginia and West Virginia ancestors is a little easier before 1863 since there was no West Virginia. My problem is that everybody named their kids after everybody else!!

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

I didn't realize the West Virginia divide would make it easier to research before 1863. Why is that? Yes... all the same named kids is challenging. If it were easy, would be love the challenge?

[@barbarahawkins7930]

Hi Devon ! You are so right about ancestor surname not spelled correctly. Let,s see, hmm, ok, well, I had run out of options looking for my 4th great grandpa William Blalock. He was born about 1780 in SC .. 1806 William was bound out to a Samuel Harris to learn the trade of Furniture making etc. I do know that usually BOUND OUT meant a male 12-16 until the age 21 to learn a trade or whatever the reason was for. My guess is that either both parents are deceased or just the mother is left all kinds of things may have happened. To mention what you stated about loss of records .... William,s son Wesley Blalock was born 1825 Bowling Green, KY. I called the Warren County, KY Historical Society and found that they do not have that many records. They are all in books. Oh Brother ! Not to mention a lot of records are destryed as of 1864. ( Probably the Civil War and/or Arson may have happened. Therefore, we will never know now who William Blalock married ! Lastly, I may have to look at the Blalock name spelled BLAYLOCK AND EVEN BRALOCK Any further suggestions Devon ?????? Take Care, Barb.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

newspapers, land records, and probate records for the South are your best bet. Not every brick wall is solvable, but that's where I would go with Southern Genealogy (KY and SC). Channel members can view this video about southern genealogy research kzbin.info/www/bejne/gnbdnJdurbxko5I or you can read this blog post for free. www.familyhistoryfanatics.com/post/southernancestors If that doesn't work, contact my friends at Legacy Tree genealogists for a consultation. Here's a link where you can tell them I recommended them. www.legacytree.com/fhfanatics

[@ljcl1859]

When a person (male typically) of that age was bound out, their parents weren't usually deceased. It was a way for their child to get training, in return for indentured servitude. They essentially belonged to the person and worked for them in return for a skill/trade. They did not get paid, and they couldn't quit. Although, I have heard of people running away.

[@ljcl1859]

Benjamin Franklin's father couldn't afford to educate him (tenth son) so he bound him to his brother. He learned the printing trade and was indentured to his brother Joseph until he was 21.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

LJ, thanks for that additional insight.

[@esmeraldapooner751]

I was not trying to find a relative. My mystery was the meaning of the name which is harder to find answers to. I know my last name Pooner was changed from Puner at Ellis Island, but I don't know what the name means. The only hit I have is someone said ner are rivers.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Researching the meaning of the name is fun, to be sure. However, would you take time to watch this video about the Ellis Island Name Change myth? kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGezf2ueidmpbMU

[@deborahcohen4623]

I have been looking for a fernando cohen for 10 years, do you think his name could be ferdinand

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

It's worth a try. It could also be under Ferd. Also look for odd spelling due to the indexer not being able to read the handwriting on various documents.

[@godisloveireland]

Haha nice blooper! Sorry missed it live. Stressing over my own homework for tonight's last skype session

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

No worries!

[@pamelaanders6286]

What about a great grandfather who landed as a refugee? Mine was only 16 when he stowed away on a ship to England from France. However, he was originally from Russia. When he arrived on British soil, the Immigration Official could not spell or pronounce his name, so assigned the name of John Brown to him, which he used from thereon in. He did arrive alone, as opposed to a group of immigrants, so I would imagine that would make a search easier. Where would I begin to find his correct name, or is this at all possible?

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

You actually need to look for clues from his life and his descendants. Often, immigrants will pass on their names or clues from their homeland to their children's name. Sometimes family stories or letters will offer the connection to the past. You're in the same situation as me with my 2nd great-grandfather Joseph Geiszler who is from Baden. He seems to have immigrated alone. I'm stuck for now, but DNA and/or German Catholic church records going online in the future could help me out. I at least have a likely clue.

[@pamela5947]

Recently have run into many issues regarding Catholic church birth, christening, marriage records that are not so available thru genealogy sites. Most reference the Family Search Library in SLC, Utah. I would love to visit there one day, but do you have any suggestions on how or where would be another option to locate records? The years are from 1860 - 1930s. Really hard as some churches from that era actually burned down. Just another challenge for researchers. 😉

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

A handful of Catholic Church records are on Findmypast kzbin.info/www/bejne/pILJnGSJfcakbbc. Others aren't available online due to the Catholic Church's privacy restrictions in addition to record loss. The Catholic Church restricts access to the records to 100 years. However, some local units will look up records for you. I had one in Ohio look up my ancestors, if I wasn't in a rush or didn't contact them during holidays (Easter and Christmas are definitely not the time to ask.) Finally, when the FHL opens up in SLC, ask in Facebook groups to see if someone will do a look-up for you. While many will do such things for free. I often get their address and send them a gift card. You can also get an email address and send them an Amazon gift card that way as well.

[@pamela5947]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics thank you so much, you have a wealth of information that is so helpful. I visited my mother's hometown in Minnesota several years ago and they were very tight lipped. The 100 year rule explains alot! They would only tell me where the Catholic burial ground was at, and I did find some headstones. It was a real treasure hunt. Thanks again!!!

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Any time. I know I don't have all the answers but I do try to point folks in the right direction.

[@frankhooper7871]

I don't think I'd have filtered on gender in _this_ case. I'd be inclined to think that if the record transcription states that an "Elizabeth" is male, it's more likely that the gender is wrong than the name :-)

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

While that may be the case, sometimes databases will return variations of Elizabeth that look like Ezra or E Smith, and so forth. That's why gender is a beneficial filter to add.

[@pjsisseck915]

Got a good one for you! I found two records that state my second great grandpa was named Elizabeth! Both were Death Certificates of his sons. I suppose if my loved one died unexpectedly, and I was the Informant, I may not have spoken clearly. Or if I were the harried clerk collecting the information, I might not have listened carefully, or bothered to clarify. Well, eventually I found 2ndGG listed as LB, which much later led to his name being LISBON, with possible middle name of Benjamin. That was a relief! Otherwise, I was thinking "poor kid". The whole experience did help me notice that names I would ordinally think of as fitting just one gender might have been used for the other.

[@janhoable]

I'm trying to find my ancestors but everything older than 1870 is so hard.. Specially if you don't know exactly where they were born

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

That's the challenge for every genealogist. It's important to leverage descendancy research to see if anyone has clues to point you in the right direction. You never know. Here's one example Using Descendancy Research for Clues to Bust a Genealogy Brick Wall kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpq4ZJdnrriIoZI

[@BrandonSmith84]

Off Topic: I found out that I'm related to the Infamous serial killer H.H. Holmes through my Scribner family line. My 2nd Great Grandfather is Orison Scribner Smith Jr. his Great Grandparents are John Scribner and Thankful Shaw of Augusta, Maine. H.H. Holmes Grandfather is Scribner Mudgett. Holmes 3rd Great Grandmother is my 8th Great Aunt. Her brother and my 7th Great Grandfather is Edward Scribner. (H.H. Holmes) Dr. Herman Webster Mudgett 1861-1896 5th cousin 5x removed Levi Horton Mudgett 1827-1911 Father of (H.H. Holmes) Dr. Herman Webster Mudgett Scribner Mudgett 1801-1831 Father of Levi Horton Mudgett Samuel B Mudgett 1776-1858 Father of Scribner Mudgett Edward Scribner Mudgett 1745-1826 Father of Samuel B Mudgett Susannah Scribner 1707-1764 Mother of Edward Scribner Mudgett John Scribner 1657-1738 Father of Susannah Scribner Edward Scribner Sr. 1693-1756 Son of John Scribner John Scribner 1732-1815 Son of Edward Scribner Sr. Thomas Parker Scribner 1763-1849 Son of John Scribner John Scribner 1789-1840 Son of Thomas Parker Scribner Ordine Scribner 1818-1892 Daughter of John Scribner Orison Scribner Smith Sr. 1845-1921 Son of Ordine Scribner Orison Scribner Smith Jr. 1889-1981 Son of Orison Scribener Smith Sr. Lester Carl Smith Sr. 1920-1996 Son of Orison Scribener Smith Jr. Shirley Ann Smith 1942-2020 Daughter of Lester Carl Smith Sr. My Dad Me

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Wow. Are you writing stories about this or just keeping it on your branches?

[@BrandonSmith84]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics got most of my information off of Scribnerfamilies.org Its ran by the Descendants of the Scribner/Scriven They trace the family back to the 1500's. Sir Thomas Scriven 1584-1643 is my ancestor and he was a Loyalists to King Charles I during the English Civil War.

[@BrandonSmith84]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics and looks like the Scribner line is connected to the Gilman line. Gilman line is part of Abraham Lincoln's line. Abraham Lincoln's 5th Great Grandmother is Bridget (Gilman) Lincoln and she is my 12th Great Aunt. Her brother Edward Gilman is my 11th Great Grandfather.

[@BrandonSmith84]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics My Scribner line is connected to surnames Leavitt, Gilman, Shaw, Whitmarsh, Briggs, Phillips, Studley, Holbrook, Pierce, Tilden and Lapham

[@Moonylovegood]

Im finding ways to find my ancestry without surnames because well- I don't have a surname 😂 in Muslim countries kids are usually just given random last names or their mother/ father's first name as their last.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Wow. I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing. Good luck on your research quest.

[@patriotsongs]

I don't get it. How can increasing the year range from 1818 to 1800 lessen the number of records? That seems counterintuitive at best.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Did I misspeak in the video? No one has mentioned that yet. Regardless, you are correct, increasing a range would increase the results.

[@rreditor100]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics Can you please explain what Patriotgames was asking?? I'm not getting what changing Birth Range to 1800 actually means either! It has nothing to do with mispeaking!! You're just saying what's on the screen...and it makes no sense. I'm trying to find an ancestor in the same way and I need to understand what you're talking about!!!

[@Richard-zm6pt]

I'd like to know why Ancestry doesn't filter by race. It filters by gender. I tried White and W, but with W and exact, it returned no results. With White, it returned results but did not filter for race.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

That's a great question for Ancestry Support.

[@tanyakasim3988]

The bad handwriting leads to misspellings of surnames, too.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

That's a great point. Thanks for sharing this reason to add to my list.

[@authorfrancesmarie8242]

Is there a site recommended for black people? Understanding our track records are much harder to pin point down. Thank you.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

No matter the location, many genealogical principles are the same regardless of group. And, in genealogy, particularly in the US, the various ethnic populations are mixed in the same databases (i.e. census records, tax records, city directories, etc.). While there isn't a genealogical website that's better for specific ethnic groups, in your case black, there is a KZbin channel that might interest you. kzbin.info/door/DfGEwZ7P8kHvvr-9iChExA

[@robgeib1723]

Handwriting and hard of hearing people. I found an ancestor by looking at the census book for where they lived because they were in 1860 and 1880 but not 1870. And sure enough the last name was spelled with p instead of a b.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Yep. So many reasons names could be written incorrectly. Thanks for offering addition reasons.

[@johnrogan9420]

Platitudes

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

okay?

[@garybiggs4614]

The word itself is a platitude. Get out your thesaurus.