Getting Organized
Keeping Track of Your Information
Good Ways To Start
Know Where You Are Researching
*This is perhaps the hardest for many people: ask your relations what they know. I almost promise that you will get differing, sometimes misleading, and often confusing information. But I also promise that there will be many valuable clues tucked away inside.
*Good questions to ask are;
^Ask if there are any relatives who have
done family research in the past?
^Ask the birth date and place?
^What county, town(s) and state(s) did
this person grow up in?
^Ask where and when the marriage took
place?
^Ask about their parents; names, birthdates
and places, hometown(s), marriage dates and locations, where deaths occured,
where burial took place (death and burial are not always in the same place)?
^Ask the above questions about siblings?
^Ask who are the oldest in the family,
still living, and try to interview them in person.
^Ask each one what they know about the
family?
^Ask if there are any stories about family
members (even if the connection to the family is not clear).
^Try to get the names of other living
relatives and where they live (even if the connection to the family is
not clear). Then interview them if possible.
^Ask to see and copy old letters, photographs,
diaries, legal papers, etc. that were stored away.
*I did not compare what one person said with another.
*I only listened rather than gave information.
*I treated everyone's information as if it were gold, no matter how strangely it may have sounded at the time.
* I didn't push, and make them uncomfortable. It took a long time with some, and there were others who curtly wondered what business it was of mine, but I wrote every word and kept it in a convenient loose leaf notebook, labeled with dates, names, and places. Do you know that after all these years, I still return to those initial notes occasionally and find clues and leads!
*Don't worry about specific information or whether it is making sense, just get down what the person remembers, writing it as they say it, and it will fall in line later on.
*I promised to share what I found with
those who asked to know, and I kept that promise. Start sending for documents.
*Now is the time to pinpont who was where
and when.
*Send for death certificates, marriage
licenses, church records, cemetery records, probate records, military registration
and/or service records, school district records, land settlement records,
birth registrations, wills, Native American enumeration rolls, state census
enumerations, and more. Contact
*Contact local historical and genealogical
societies and as about your families.
*You may want to subscribe to a Genealogy
Publication (monthly, quarterly, etc.) which are filled with ideas and
information.
*Use your computer to look for surname
web sites and mailing lists, post queries and surnames on appropriate sites,
look at county and state GenWeb sites for informationation about your family
branches. and check for sites with postings of information, such as census
enumerations and passenger lists. These sites are a great help, but remember
that you did not look up that information yourself, so varifying it later
with the original source is always a good idea. Mistakes can be made in
transcription.
*Use one of the many forms available free
on various internet sites, or in many books, or make your own.
*It is best to include full names, birth
dates, death dates, and marriage dates (or guesses that others have made).
*This is a "living" document and it will
grown and change in time, as discoveries are added.
*Keep careful track of where you got the
information (documents, letters, word-of-mouth, etc) because you will be
going through an awful lot of information, and will not be able to remember
just where you looked already.
*Some folks keep a research diary and jot
down where, what, when, and who in brief notations.
*Most programs have a "notebook" area where
you can write down those family stories about the various individuals that
you have heard for years. Stick to the story line and don't make them judgemental.
*It is easy to change what is necessary
as you go along, but not so easy to remember if you have not documented
it right away.
*It is a really big mistake to try to "keep
it all in your head".
*Enter your new found information as soon
as possible!
* Once I got the chart back to 1920, I
began to extensively use the US Census reports.
*The latest one released is 1920. These
will often give you the various spellings of your surnames (not all were
mistakes, many families wanted it changed), names and ages of members of
the family, place of residence, Head of household and relationship of others
to that person, jobs, places of birth (country), and sometimes languages
spoken, at least.
*Censuses were taken every 10 years by
the Federal Government, and at random times inbetween in most states.
*The 1890 US Census was almost totally
destroyed by flames and water, which presents a major obsticle for many
since much can happen to a family in 20 years.
*Many US Censuses are indexed, some are
not.
*US Censuses prior to 1850 did not give
a great deal of information, just head of household, gender, number, and
approximate age of the persons at the residence.
*Wisconsin became a state in 1848, but
had censuses as a Territory prior to statehood.
*Pay particular attention to sibling's
names. If you loose your direct line, often tracing a sibling has brought
me right back on tract.
*You can go to internet sites and run some
off, or ask the search engines to find the places, or you can get Atlases
and Gazetters.
*It is really important to know where you
are looking. Everything you will be finding will make much more sense when
you know where it happened.
* Census records - this only helped in
that often people from the same village came here and lived together, so
if you find it for one, you may have found home for the guy next door,
too. *Family History Center Computer - Old world church records. (take
Coblenz, which is now spelled Koblenz. It is a city, and a region filled
with cities). Check every single surname you have, including all the women's
maiden names or previous marriage names, since people often lived near
each other.
* Sibling/cousins/uncles records - several
times I found the original home through a records (see above) when my direct
line came to a halt.
* Wills/probate records - will occasionally
have something about leaving items to a child/sibling/friend back in the
homeland city, or give a brief biography of the person.
* Death certificates - This is second hand
info (because the person does not provide their own information) but occasionally
the name of a city/town/district will show up with the country
* Passenger lists - Once in a while the
town or specific small area will be on the passenger list - not often,
but you only need once to help.
* Family documentation - letters, diaries,even
business papers, and don't forget to look for them at historical societies
and area research centers as well as local libraries. Great Aunt Murgatroid
was probably laughed at when she wrote the family history booklet in 1889
that sits unnoticed on the local library shelf, but you will be her greatest
fan when you find it!
* Other family names - look on things such
as the census reports and city directories for people with the wife's maiden
surname who live nearby. I got stuck on a family in DePere, Brown County,
WI and then realized that the neighbor had an older woman with the same
(maiden) name living with them. It was her mother living with another married
sister, and the husband's married sister lived directly across the road.
They all came here within 5 years and from the same 7 mile area of Rheinland
Prussia in the 1840's. When I found one, I found them all.
* Obituaries, funeral home records, old
school records, old newspaper articles (marriages/ births, accidental deaths,
etc) - these will sometimes yield the original hometown. Find them at Local
libraries (reference/genealogy/local history dept), historical societies
(local and state), local genealogical societies, area research centers,
local town halls, etc.
* Look for membership in social organizations
- the (usually) men who formed these "clubs" came from the same place originally.
See list for "Obituaries" for resources of these
* Use the search engine - look for family
sites dedicated to any of the names you have and then contact them and
post your query. Allow for different spellings of the same name (like Daily,
Daly, Daley). You do not have to be on their mailing list to post a query
(usually) so you won't get extra mail if you don't want it.
* Search the "Old Country" - Get the GenWebsite
for the country (or countries) that you think they came from and post a
query to the country. Now, some countries have changed hands many times
and borders are not written in stone, so take a chance anyway. Germany
was actually more that 240 tiny independent states and city states until
Napolean narrowed it down to 38 around 1800, and then those were untiled
in 1871 under Prussian rule. Hungary was even more fun, they got families
in from all over starting in the 1200's.
* Other Genealogical Societies - There
are very very many genealogical societies in the UK, Africa, Australia
and Europe (and elsewhere, too) so ask at the country sites for the names
and addresses in the mail. Get the general organizations and ask if there
are any specifically dedicated to a certain surname(s) you seek. Be specific,
brief and polite. These sites are in English and they can help you with
translations information and where to print off request forms in other
languages off the internet (you just fill in the blank and follow the direction
sent in English). MOST (99.9%) of the folks I have interacted with have
been just wonderful, and the others weren't difficult, just not helpful
(just like here).
******** Last, but not least - no matter
where you go or who you interact with, please be polite and grateful (even
when it's not what you are looking for - keep it, because you just never
know who you'll find around the corner).
And Keep negative opinions to yourself!
That way you will not burn bridges that you need to recross later (or you
may find yourself swimming alone in deep water - if you know what I mean).
Territorial 1836-42, 1846, 1847
State 1855, 1875, 1895, 1905
It is important to note that information on these census reports is
more limited than on Federal reports. The "Head of Household" was the only
specific name entered, with number of occupants in general age groups according
to gender, and race following was often all that was required.
Federal Census records for Oconto County began in 1860, since
the county was formed in 1851 from a northern section of Brown County.
A special county census was done in 1851 to establish the base number of
citizens at the time of county organizations. Many changes in the county
boundaries were made until 1879, which included putting the city of Peshtigo
into Marinette County and moving the Town of How from Shawano County
to Oconto County. There are US Territorial Census reports available for
northeastern Wisconsin from 1820, 1830 (under Michigan Territory), and
1840 (under Wisconsin Territory). You will find US Census reports available
of Oconto County for years 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920.
The US Census for 1890 was damaged, mostly by water, in a fire in Washington
DC and was eventually destroyed without an attempt to copy the results
that remained. There are a very few salvaged parts of this census year
but they do not include Oconto County. US Census reports more recent than
1920 have not been released to the public.
In 1850 the information required by the Federal Census was greatly expanded
to include the names of each person residing in a household and their relationship
to the head of the household (son, daughter, mother-inlaw, boarder, cousin,
etc), occupations, time spent in school, property value, birth place (country
or state), specific ages and gender, and more.
1890 Civil War Union veterans and widows - Oconto County is included
in this enumeration.
1905 War Veterans and enumeration - Oconto County can be found
posted at this
site .
Civil records are found in two catagories:
Index and Registration of Births pior to 1907 - Although there
was a law, prior to 1907, that required the registration of births with
the local government in actuality, the practice was spotty. In 1907 an
amended law was passed that "gave teeth" to requiring the registration
of births. Often, the early new settlers to Oconto County came from other
places where birth registrations were not required by the government. Since
literally everyone was affiliated with a church, those governments would
copy church records of births/christenings and other information about
citizens. Regardless of the the government of country that was in charge,
the churches remain relatively unchanged and were generally a good souce
for governments to use. Once in this country, neither the people nor the
clergy were aware of needing to register with the government. There was
often also a feeling of suspicion towards giving information to government
officials that was carried over from unpleasant "old world" experiences.
It is definitely worth your while to check these records for family births,
but if they are not found, it does NOT mean that the birth did not take
place, or took place somewhere else. It may just not have been registered
with the government. You will also find incomplete records, and records
that were registered many years after the event, when government representatives
copied local church records as a way of finding past information.
Registration of Births after 1907 - Since birth records are public,
it is possible to obtain these for the years following 1907 from government
agencies. These records generally give the name of the child, name of parents,
place of birth, date of birth, (often) time of birth, attending physician,
nurse, or midwife, name of person registering the birth, mother's maiden
name, family residence.
Church - Depending on the custom and traditions practiced by
the specific religion, information may vary regarding the birth date. If
baptism
or
chistening of the young child is practiced, often it was done as
soon after birth as possible. Even before the mother was strong enough
to attend. Since these records were often written at the time of the ceremony,
when a birth date is included, it is usually an accurate source. Marriage
and death entries found in church records will commonly have birth
dates included, and can be very valuable and accurate. These records can
also contain father's surname, mother's maiden name, town of residence,
occupation of parent or birth person, grandparent's names, country and
town of birth.
Civil records are found in two catagories:
Registration of Marriages pior to 1907 - Although there was a
law, prior to 1907, that required the registration of marriages with the
local government in actuality, the practice was spotty. In 1907 an amended
law was passed that "gave teeth" to requiring the registration process.
Often, the early new settlers to Oconto County came from other places where
birth registrations were not required by the government. Since literally
everyone was affiliated with a church, those governments would copy church
records of marriages and other information about citizens. Regardless of
the the government of country that was in charge, the churches remain relatively
unchanged and were generally a good souce for governments to use. Once
in this country, neither the people nor the clergy were aware of needing
to register with the government. There was often also a feeling of suspicion
towards giving information to government officials that was carried over
from unpleasant "old world" experiences. It is definitely worth your while
to check these records for family marriages, but if they are not found,
it does NOT mean that the marriage did not take place, or took place somewhere
else. It may just not have been registered with the government. You will
also find incomplete records, and records that were registered many years
after the event, when government representatives copied local church records
as a way of finding past information.
Index and Registration of Marriages after 1907 - Since marriage
records are public, it is possible to obtain these for the years following
1907 from government agencies. These records can give the names of the
bride and groom, name of parents, place of birth, date of birth, date of
the marriage, place of the marriage, attending wittnesses, name of person
registering the marriage, mother's maiden name, family residence.
Church - Since these records were often written at the time of
the ceremony, it is usually an accurate source. Marriage and entries
found in church records will commonly have birth dates included for bride
and groom (or age). These records can also contain father's surname, mother's
maiden name, town of residence, occupation groom, grandparent's names,
country and town of birth.
Please note:Very early in the history
of Wisconsin's white settlement there were few, if any governmental agencies
representing France, England, or even the US. Mission churches were spotty
and records were not always kept or were lost over the years. However,
some early 1800's marriages of the men who worked for J.J. Astor's American
Fur Company in the Great Lakes, including what is now Oconto County, were
sometimes recorded (usually in French) in the company papers of the Tading
Post Managers, such as those of Mr. Grignon in Green Bay.
Registration of Deaths pior to 1907 - Although there was a law,
prior to 1907, that required the registration of deaths with the local
government in actuality, the practice was spotty. In 1907 an amended law
was passed that "gave teeth" to requiring the registration process. Often,
the early new settlers to Oconto County came from other places where death
registrations were not required by the government. Since literally everyone
was affiliated with a church, those governments would copy church records
of deaths and other information about citizens. Regardless of the the government
of country that was in charge, the churches remain relatively unchanged
and were generally a good souce for governments to use. Once in this country,
neither the people nor the clergy were aware of needing to register with
the government. There was often also a feeling of suspicion towards giving
information to government officials that was carried over from unpleasant
"old world" experiences. It is definitely worth your while to check these
records for family deaths, but if they are not found, it does NOT mean
that the marriage did not take place, or took place somewhere else. It
may just not have been registered with the government. You will also find
incomplete records, and records that were registered many years after the
event, when government representatives copied local church records as a
way of finding past information.
Index and Registration of Deaths after 1907 - Since death records
are public, it is possible to obtain these for the years following 1907
from government agencies. These records can give the name of the deceased,
name of parents, place of birth, date of birth, date of the marriage, name
of spouse, attending doctor, name of person registering the death, cause
of death mother's maiden name, family residence.
Church - Since these records were often written at the time of
the ceremony, it is usually an accurate source. Marriage Entries
found in church records will sometimes only give the name of the deceased
date and place of burial. Records can also contain father's surname, mother's
maiden name, town of residence, occupation of deceased, name of spouse,
country and town of birth.
Please note: Women did not apply
for US Citizenship until after their were granted the right to vote in
Federal elections in 1919. In 1921 women entering the US were required
to file separate naturalization forms. Until that time, women "received"
their citizenship through a male only. This could be a father, step-father,
brother, step or half-brother, uncle, cousin, or husband. If a woman did
not have a male family member, such as the many who came to work in the
mid 1800's from Ireland, a male employer would act as her sponsor for citizenship.
This was initially a bonus, but lasted only as long as she was employed
by that male. If she lost the job due to poor economic conditions, illness,
or injury, the sponsorship was withdrawn and citizenship was lost. The
unrelated male sponsor had no obligation to her beyond her initial employment.
The woman had to immediately find another sponsoring employer, marry a
citizen, or face deportation without the funds to purchase food for the
trip back. The prospect of such a return "home" was a frightening one indeed.
Even a woman who was born in this country and had full citizenship would
automatically loose her own citizenship if she married a man who was not
a US Citizen. The reason was to protect US female residents from "unscrupulous
foreign elements" who would marry them to gain immediate citizenship, then
abandoning the women "to live in poverty". Examples of early Letter Of
Intent Petitions follows (permission given for viewing only, by Rita Neustifter)
Passenger lists for ports can be found on microfilm, on the internet,
where there is an effort to have them transcribed and posted, and and through
various societies. Not all records were accurate, not all survived, and
not all have been found. But they can contain some interesting and useful
information, as well as clues to where the family lived, ages, family relationships,
craftsmen and professions, among other things. There are also volumes listing
passengers found in various research libraries.
THIS PAGE IS STILL BEING RESEARCHED AND ADDED TO.
Getting Organized
* I started a family tree graph, going from
the present back in time, with my husband and I as the first. This poor
old thing has been changed 1000 times, but I have the very first one, and
looking at it now always gives me a thrill at how much has been gained
and shared.
Keep Track of Your Information and Sources.
*Get a good computer program and start adding
things in right away (and make a backup!!). There are several very good
and easy to use ones on the market for reasonable prices. Most have the
ability to exchange information with other programs.
Good Ways To Start
Using the Census
Know Where You Are Researching
* Now is the time to invest in some quarlity
maps of the places you will be searching.
DOCUMENTS HELPFUL TO FINDING
THE "HOMELAND"
Although there may be exceptions, I have personally never found information
regarding parent's names or specific place of residency on any "Intent"
of Naturalization papers. Here are some documents where I found place of
residence (in the "old country) which has always been one of the most challenging
pursuits; (Warning: it is not usually found even
on these documents)
* Church records/civil records of marriages
(incidentally "Borussia" is Latin for Prussia so don't be mislead that
you found THE town.) Often, if you find where any member of the church
is from, especially in old records, you may also have found where your
ancestor is from, since people often left the same place to settle in the
same place here.
Using Computer to Assist the Search
* Post your names - Take one good chunk of
time and do a little posting of all the names connected with the "Old Country"
branch that you are researching Husband's surname, wife's maiden name,
son-in-law or daughter-in law's surname, etc). Put them on Rootsweb, post
surname and queries on the county were they first lived, and last lived.
Find the address(es) for the local genealogical society for their US home(s)
and ask them to announce your names at a meeting and then ask them to publish
your query in their newsletter (sometimes there is a very small fee for
publishing). I even know people who have send old photos to be published
in regional newspapers in the UK and Europe asking if anyone knows the
people (and I know two that were identified).
TYPES OF DOCUMENTS
and A BRIEF DEFINITION OF WHAT THEY ARE!
CENSUS ENUMERATIONS
There are two basic types of census reports for Oconto County
FEDERAL
and STATE. Wisconsin, as both a Territory
(prior to 1848), and State (1848 onward), took independent census
enumerations as follows;
BIRTH RECORDS
There are two basic approaches to gathering birth records. The most direct
is to look for CIVIL records throught the
state government, the other way is to look for
CHURCH
records that will contain birth information.
MARRIAGE RECORDS
There are two basic approaches to gathering birth records. The most direct
is to look for CIVIL records throught the
state government, the other way is to look for
CHURCH
records that will contain birth information.
DEATH RECORDS
Civil records are found in two catagories:
LETTER OF INTENT
Residents who lived in what later became Oconto County probably filed with
the local Territorial County (before 1848 in Wisconsin) or State County
Clerk. Prior to 1851, those residents who lived in what is now Oconto County
would probably have filed papers with the Brown County Clerk of Court's
Office. Oconto County was separated and established from northern Brown
County in 1851.
The first document signed by a prospective US citizen was called
the ""Petition for Citizenship" and also was known as "The Letter
of Intent". Early examples of these papers gave the Name of County,
name of prospective citizen, year of birth, month and year of entry into
the US, port of entry, country of origin, solvern ruler of country of origin,
signature of sponsor (not always necessary), signature of petitioner (prospective
citizen), signature of government official (usually the county clerk).
Men were encouraged to sign this document and it was sometimes co-signed
by a sponsor who was already a resident of this country. The "Petition"
or "Letter" expressed the desire of the prospective citizen to go forward
with the "Naturalization" process, thus becoming a "naturalized"
citizen or one who was not born here. The Letter of Intent is no longer
used in the process of obtaining US Citizenship, since this first step
was dropped in 1938. Often the "Letter of Intent" was the only step a man
took toward citizenship, especially if he had a male child born in this
country, who then became his automatic "sponsor". "Letter of Intent" papers
were filed with federal, state, or county goverments. There was no central
depository for keeping these records and they were held at whatever agency
they were filled at.
NATURALIZATION PAPERS
Naturalization was the final step in going from immigrant to US Citizen.
After 1938, filing Naturalization papers became the only step, when the
"Letter
of Intent"was dropped from the procedure. Papers could be filed with
federal, state, or county goverment where the person resided, and there
was no central depository for keeping records. The final naturalization
papers were kept in the filing agencies records. In was is now Oconto County,
the filings usually took place in Brown County Court Clerk of Records Office
from territorial time before Wisconsin statehood in 1848 until 1851, when
Oconto County was established by an act of State Congress. After 1851 they
were probably filed with the Oconto County Clerk of Court Office in Oconto,
WI.
PASSENGER LISTS
Eventually laws were passed in the United States to refuse entry to passengers
who did not pass a standard physical examination upon arrival, and the
shipping company was held responsible for immediately returning the passengers.
Enough food for survival and drinkable water were then added to the ship's
"services", for a price.
For many years, passengers, especially steerage or third class,
had to provide all their own food for the 3 to 6 week voyage, which could
actually last as long as 4 months. Many of the first passenger ships to
carry people to the US were former slave ships called "windjammers", for
their sails, that had been "refitted". This meant simply that the chains
and manicals had been removed and the hold had been shoveled out. It was
not uncommon for entire boatloads of passengers to arrive half starved
and gravely ill, the dead having been thrown overboard. Many passengers
where not aware of the need to bring food until just before boarding. This
made them easy prey for those who took thier possessions and money for
very little food in return. Those people who were aware of the hardships
prepared very carefully in advance with dried or smoked fish and meats,
hard tac bread, rice, dried fruits and vegetables, and probably most importantly,
vinegar to be used to clean and especially to put in the drinking water
that had "gone bad" aboard ship. Vomitting, diarreha, and the resulting
dehydration due to food and water poinsoning by bacteria, were the major
causes of death during the early days of travel. Even with careful preparation,
their food was often stolen by other passengers, or crew members who would
"sell" it back to them during the trip. The ship's master, the Captain,
often did not "concern himself" with such matters and many were financially
rewarded for this oversight with a share of the profits.