by: Lauren Jonik

Sometime in 1866, a fourteen year old girl named Elizabeth boarded a ship alone. Her parents had passed away and her step-mother decided to send her to America from their native land that later would be called Germany. That summer had brought the Austro-Prussian War, which lasted for about seven weeks and elicited changes of those in power and of territorial boundaries—as so often happened in Europe whenever a war broke out. Perhaps, Elizabeth’s stepmother felt that she would be safer in a new land. Or, perhaps, as a widow, she didn’t have the funds to care for Elizabeth. Either way, Elizabeth boarded the ship and like many immigrants of her era, never saw her homeland again.

As the story goes, the journey across the Atlantic was harrowing. Passengers lit candles and prayed for their safety. When Elizabeth arrived on the shores of Philadelphia, the nation still was mourning the loss of 620,000 of its sons and daughters who fought in the Civil War. Both the country and Elizabeth were getting a chance at a new beginning. It wouldn’t be easy.

Elizabeth went to work for the uncle with whom she was now living. His name was Henry. He was a tailor who specialized in suits for men. Quite literally, with her hands, she was building her future, stitch by stitch.  By 20, she was a married woman. But, just eight years later, she had lost a husband and an infant son and had two young daughters to care for. Her resilient spirit found kinship with the man who would become her second husband, Martin. Martin was no stranger to loss. At 45, he found himself widowed for the second time—his wives perished from conditions that would be treatable by today’s standards. Martin, too, was a father with several young children to care for. He had a profession that always would be in demand—he was a shoemaker. Martin and Elizabeth wed in 1880 and together, formed an old-time version of the Brady bunch—only with no housekeeper named Alice and with significantly more kids. (None named Marcia, Marcia, Marcia, that I know of. . .). They also had children together, including Anna Regina, my great grandmother, just twenty years after Elizabeth made that fateful journey to the United States.

Data always tells a story and conversely, stories about family are made up of information—ideally, details that are factual as possible. Much of what I know about Elizabeth and Martin either came from or was confirmed by documentation in the form of old records.

Names, dates and locations may seem to refer only to an individual, but when placed alongside other family members, often a story emerges. When I began gazing up at the branches of my family tree while standing at its base, I didn’t realize that it would require me to climb up into it in order to see both the light from the stars and to understand my place upon the earth. The more research I did about my family, the more I understood that our story is the same story that every family has to tell—one of resilience. But, the individual tales still have fascinated me.

As any genealogist—amateur or pro—will tell you, there is something a little bit addicting about the search. Because of my training as a journalist and media professional, I am a bit militant about sourcing. To the greatest degree possible, I prefer to find primary source documents that confirm or refute the information that I have. Census records, marriage, baptismal and death records are all good examples of primary sources. While they are not always 100% accurate—mistakes do happen—and it may not always be possible to find them, it is worth the initial search. Records have a way of leading you to other records. It is like following a trail of breadcrumbs through the family forest. And, finding records is way to find out the truth—or to find out what has been “embellished.” For example, if Aunt Myrtle said that her Great Uncle Wilbur fought in the Civil War and came home claiming he was a high-ranking, decorated soldier, it would be good to take that information and then double check it against military records on a site like Fold3.com or through the National Archives.

Here are some quick tips for how to approach digging through old records:

Approach things logically

When assessing the veracity of old records, it is useful to keep in mind context. Is it likely that Great Uncle George fathered a child when he was 72? Possibly. But, it may be more likely that Great Uncle George had a son also named George. It was common in eras gone by to name children after parents or after other family members.

I always thought that if I had a son, I would want to name him Thomas because I think it just happens to be a great name. But, it wasn’t until recently that I discovered that there are 18 ancestors/relatives named Thomas on both sides my family combined. And, those are just the ones I have found out about! Many of them have the same last name—a name that is not uncommon—which makes researching the ancestors much farther back in the lineage its own special brand of fun. I know to put on my deerstalker cap securely when looking for more Thomases.

Though there are sometimes aberrations, many family structures in the past followed societal patterns. In 1900, the median age for one’s first marriage was 22 years old for women and 26 for men. This is useful to know because childbearing often followed within one to two years of marriage. Knowing the historical events of the time you’re researching can also provide clues—wars and times of economic strife can have a direct impact on marriage and the birth of children. Disease outbreaks—like the so-called Spanish flu—can affect mortality. The more you know about history, the more you can see how it may have affected your family.

Use your intuition

While researching, more times than I can count, I’ve gotten gut feelings about things to look up or leads to chase down. Because I have committed to be as thorough as possible, I try to leave no stone unturned. A family tree that is not accurate isn’t quite a tree, but more like an artificial tree. If something just seems off or if there is a question that arises, I either search more or I resolve to accept that there may be a permanent question mark beside the name of that particular ancestor or date or place. Genealogy requires one to be accepting of what is both known and unknown.

On my personal journey, researching has proven to be a bit meditative. When I get still and quiet enough, the whispers of my ancestors echo through. As much as I can sense when to delve deeper, I also have been developing a sense of when to stop looking. I approach all of my research with a kind of reverence. Much like all of my ancestors, I know that I’m only here for a moment too against the backdrop of eternity.

Orient to the records

I have had a lot of success researching old church records. Some religious institutions kept excellent records and what can be found in them sometimes differs from civil records. And, instead of looking just at indexed information, which sometimes can be the case if what you are viewing is online and not actually at an archive location, church records show the exact old document. I have paged through so many Catholic Church records in Philadelphia and Lutheran records in south Jersey that I have come to recognize the handwriting of different people who wrote the records.

The styles of penmanship sometimes differ from that of today’s common scripts.  The letter c might look like an l or an f might look like a p. Some old-time handwriting looks almost like calligraphy, so in some cases, it might take time to understand what was written. Looking at other words on the page that you can ascertain can aid in deciphering that mystery letter or word.

If you find yourself really stuck, get out a piece of paper and a pen and write the alphabet as you normally would. Below it, copy the letters from the document in the style in which they were written underneath of your alphabet. This will allow you to see what letters you know for sure. Think of it as a low-tech means of cracking the code.

Additionally, the genealogy community is an exceptionally friendly one. There are Facebook groups in which other amateur genealogists will be more than happy to help you figure out that word you’re stuck on. My personal rule of thumb has been that for every instance in which someone helps me, I pay it forward by helping another person researching their ancestry.

Some old Catholic church records use Latin terminology. I discovered that Henry was Henricus and Mary was written as Maria.  Some words are easy to guess– mother is mater and father is pater. But others can be a bit trickier. This list offers common terms you might see in Latin while doing genealogy research.

Other records might reflect the common language of the neighborhood in which the church was located. The records for the German Lutheran church some of my ancestors belonged to in New Jersey were written in German. At first, it can seem intimidating if you don’t speak the language, but stay with it. The more I looked at the records, the more I got a feel for what they were saying and how the information was structured.

If your family has Jewish heritage, this site offers tips for how to research successfully.

Learn old-time terminology

In addition to understanding commonly used terms in old records, there’s no time like the present to brush up on other terms you may not know. Language is fluid and ever-changing. When I began finding death certificates for my ancestors, one piece of information jumped out at me when it was available: the cause of death.  The only small problem was that I didn’t know what some of the causes of death meant. Dropsy doesn’t sound so horrible until you learn that in today’s language it means edema. A person who had severe edema might have had congestive heart failure—or a litany of other underlying causes.

Peritonitis—which a female ancestor of mine died from while in her mid-30s—was an infection in the lining of the abdomen. When I noticed that she died just days after the birth of her baby, I realized that her death was linked to having given birth. It wasn’t the first time I noticed that women in my family died from causes related to the medical care (or lack thereof) they received before, during and after bearing children. It broke my heart to know that these women passed away from things that likely would be preventable today in the Western world. It breaks my heart to know that there are still places in the world where pregnancy and post-partum care is lacking.

If there is a medical condition that shows up in your research and you’re not sure about its meaning, this list can help you figure it out.  It’s not exactly fun reading (unless you’re into reading up about old diseases), but it is useful.

Know what exists

If you find yourself hitting a brick wall and you can’t seem to get beyond a certain point when researching a particular relative, it is useful to know what records exist to begin with, so you know whether you are searching for something that truly can be found.  United States Census records begin in 1790. Data collected on Census records through the decades varied—as time went on, more specific questions (for example, about whether people were literate and what their occupations were) were added. The 1930 Census was the first to ask if people owned “radio sets.”

Terms used to denote race varied for certain groups on different Censuses. It is good to remember that history can’t be changed, only learned from. Terms that would not be appropriate to be used now were once common. The Pew Research Foundation explains this complicated topic.

Some records, like the 1890 Census which mostly was destroyed in a fire, no longer exist.

Death certificates weren’t standardized in the US until about 1910. Some of the information on death certificates was likely provided by a relative or friend who knew the deceased. In my experience, this can make them both more AND less accurate at the same time. I was able to confirm my great grandmother’s birth year based on one death certificate, but on another for a different relative, the father’s name was different from what was listed on every other kind of record I’d found.

What to do when you’re stuck

If records aren’t giving you what you need to know, try alternate means of research—old newspapers may have obituaries or articles about your ancestor. Findagrave.com has cemetery photos taken by volunteers. Sometimes, seeing who is buried together can offer clues. I’ve even tried just plain Googling ancestors’ names. That was how I discovered that my great grandfather wrote a book about his travels from the east coast to San Francisco and back again. I just found a copy online and purchased it. Genealogy can bring up all kinds of surprises.

Above all, don’t give up. Genealogy requires a certain amount of patience. If you’re focused on gathering accurate, well-researched information, it will feel more like a marathon than a sprint.

Behind every name, date, location and detail is a life story. Through my own genealogical adventures, I’ve discovered that there is something a bit magical when part of your biography includes knowing that of your ancestors. In the end, it is the stories that live on.

For more tips about family history research, check out part one in our series about genealogy.

Main image at the top of the page by: Joanna Kosinska

 

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Lauren Jonik is a writer and photographer in Brooklyn, NY. Her work has appeared in 12th Street, The Manifest-Station, Two Cities Review, Amendo, The Establishment, Bustle, Calliope and Ravishly.

When she is not co-editing TheRefresh.co, she is working towards her Master’s degree in Media Management at The New School. Follow her on Twitter: @laurenjonik.