Author Archive
27 Sep 2020
Analyzing an Unsourced Image of an Unsourced Manuscript
By Aaron Goodwin On 27 September 2020 In Uncategorized
I’ve referred briefly to one of my great-great-grandfathers before in NGS Monthly: Addison Harris Day of Toomsboro, Wilkinson County, Georgia. I was writing about ways to hear our ancestors’ voices and included an 1889 letter to the
28 Jun 2020
Inconvenient Facts
By Aaron Goodwin On 28 June 2020 In Uncategorized
As genealogists, we strive to gather any and all information we can that might have a bearing on the research question at hand. Sometimes that information includes conflicting data that must then be resolved. And sometimes that
28 Jun 2020
The Zeitgeist and Serendipity
By Aaron Goodwin On 28 June 2020 In Uncategorized
In light of current events and the preceding article (“Inconvenient Facts”), the most recent issue of NGSQ is of particular interest. It’s also particularly timely, an almost impossible achievement for any journal with a production schedule that
31 May 2020
How to Find Passenger Lists for Databases without Images
By Aaron Goodwin On 31 May 2020 In Uncategorized
Sometimes we run into a simple problem. We find an index with data that does not link to an image that we can examine. As basic as that problem may be, surmounting it can be a significant
30 May 2020
Moving Beyond Published Abstracts
By Aaron Goodwin On 30 May 2020 In Uncategorized
For years, genealogists have depended on published abstracts of records to gather data they would otherwise have difficulty accessing. As we get greater access to digitized original records, however, the weaknesses of abstracts are becoming more apparent.
30 Apr 2020
Runaway Advertisements
By Aaron Goodwin On 30 April 2020 In Uncategorized
In colonial America’s earliest years, those with runaway slaves, indentured servants, apprentices, military deserters, escaped prisoners, husbands, wives, or children had to rely on broadsides or word of mouth to advertise a reward for their return. Unsurprisingly,
30 Apr 2020
The 1870 Federal Census’s Second Enumeration
By Aaron Goodwin On 30 April 2020 In Uncategorized
By all reports, the 1870 federal census was a mess. It was the last census for which U.S. Marshals were used as census takers. As there weren’t enough Marshals, a number of men were made Assistant Marshals
26 Mar 2020
Fee Tails and Entailment
By Aaron Goodwin On 26 March 2020 In Uncategorized
In her 1989 NGSQ article, “The Adeustone-Rogers Families of Virginia: Tracing a Colonial Lineage through Entailment and Naming Patterns,” the late Margaret Hickerson Emery provided a definition of the term that was key to solving her genealogical
26 Mar 2020
Taking Your First Steps Around the 1870 “Brick Wall” in African American Research
By Aaron Goodwin On 26 March 2020 In Uncategorized
For African Americans who were enslaved until the 13th Amendment was passed in 1865, the 1870 census was the first federal census to name them. Since the slave schedules of the 1850 and 1860 censuses only referred
29 Feb 2020
The Creation of Leap Year and Its Effects on Genealogy
By Aaron Goodwin On 29 February 2020 In Uncategorized
This Saturday is February 29th, a relatively uncommon occurrence as days go. It’s a leap day in a leap year. Unless you’re like Dinah Shore, Tony Robbins, or Ja Rule, all of whom share a birthday that