Vital Records

Collecting Death Certificates–Payoffs and Pitfalls

Who, what, where and when are key questions that are answered by genealogical records. In the following discussion, we are adding two more questions: why and how. Who to collect death certificates for: ● Direct ancestors are a top priority. ● Ancillary ancestors are a second priority. ● Obtaining death certificates is becoming more costly.

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New-Found Marriage Record Creates a Mystery

A couple of days ago I posted about FamilySearch pointing me to a marriage record for Frank Nikkari who married my Aunt Edith in 1915. The record match stated that they were married in Mayfield, Fulton County, New York, some 400 miles from where at least Edith was living in Ashtabula, Ashtabula County, Ohio, according

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My Parents Were Wed in a “Gretna Green Marriage”

During his presentation on “Until Death Do Us Part: An Examination of Marriage and Divorce Records” at the Cuyahoga Valley Genealogical Society meeting on May 6, Tom Neel, Ohio Genealogical Society library director, mentioned “Gretna Green marriages.” He cited marriages that occurred in locations other than where you might expect, often involving young couples. Specifically,

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What Are Double Cousins? Wikipedia to the Rescue

I just ran across a reference to double cousins and didn’t know what the reference meant. To find out, I went to Wikipedia, my go-to source of information when I have access to a computer or other digital device. I wasn’t sure what I would find or how detailed the explanation would be. But wow,

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In Memoriam: Frederick L. Holzhauser, 1920-2018

Frederick L. Holzhauser Jr passed away 5 Feb 2018 while residing in Admiral’s Pointe skilled nursing facility in Huron, Ohio. He was 97 years old. Fred was the husband of Meta Scheppelmann, the step-father of Mary Jane Huskonen (born Van Court) and Sidney Van Court, step-grandfather of Karen Frame (born Huskonen) and Kurt Huskonen, and

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Evaluate Those Hints from Ancestry.com

Yesterday, I received via Ancestry.com’s messaging service an email from a cousin. Here’s what she said: Hi Wally, I started my family tree on Ancestry.com, but am not sure of the best way to balance info vs. privacy. Also what is the protocol for entering female’s names…maiden vs. married. Also, from hints I am finding

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Hooray! Ancestry.com Adds New York Death Records

If you have ever tried to research death records in New York State, you know it was a big pain. The state death index existed only on microfilm and was accessible only in a half dozen libraries across the state. You had to know the year of death to be able to browse these records

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Uncle Walter’s Marriage Found Online

Today, I opened one of the hints on Ancestry.com and it led me to the marriage record of my great uncle Walter Chase Dingman. I had visited the Archives for Trumbull County, Ohio, in Warren, more than 15 years ago to obtain a paper copy of this marriage record. Now it is available online. If

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Finland Record Selection Table from FamilySearch Wiki

I have been doing genealogical research for about 20 years, and since my paternal grandparents came from Finland, I have spent a good amount of time trying to do Finnish research. FamilySearch.org has provided a table that helps organize your approach to what records to seek and how to access them. I have copied the

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Learning About Gertrude Stoll

I was working on my collateral relative Albert Bryan Wagner, Al for short, gathering any information available on Ancestry.com and from other online database providers. He was the husband of Faye F Dingman, my 1st cousin once removed. I never met the man, but he was discussed by family members because he ended up owning

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