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Family History information available the 1790 United States Census.

8/20/2015

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Introductory information includes County, City, and Page. 

1. Names of heads of families: This is the only written information on the record, it lists the head of the family and the rest of the fields are counts in each of the categories.

2. Free white males of 16 years and upwards, including heads of families.

3. Free white males under 16 years.

4. Free white females including heads of families.

5. All other free persons.

6. Slaves.


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Family History information available in the 1800 United States Census.

8/20/2015

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Introductory information includes State, County, City, and Page.

1. Names of heads of families: This is the only written information on the record. It lists the head of the family. This field also lists free black heads of households. The rest of the fields are totals in each category.

2. Free white males under 10

3. Free white males 10 thru 15

4. Free white males 16 thru 25

5. Free white males 26 thru 44

6. Free white males 45 and over

7. Free white females under 10

8. Free white females 10 thru 15

9. Free white females 16 thru 25

10. Free white females 26 thru 44

11. Free white females 45 and over

12. All other free persons, except Indians, not taxed

13. Slaves

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Get yourself a new map...

7/21/2015

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If you are having trouble locating a person or event that you just KNOW happened around a certain time period, take a step back and look around. There might be a newspaper in a neighboring town or even a different state that can shed light on your topic. Recently, I was looking very hard for something that happened in Davenport, Iowa...I found it in the Rock Island, Illinois.

Get yourself a new map indeed.
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German name discovery...

11/25/2014

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I was working on a project for a client recently and was having difficulty finding basic records that I felt should have been easy to find. The person's name was Fritz and I hadn't found him consistently in census or other public records. As I did a little more searching I stumbled across the fact that Fritz is short for Friedrich, which is Fred in our United States. This opened up some doors to find many of those documents I had been expecting to see.

This seems like a really simple solution that I should have been on top of from the start, but my experience is certainly not as good in German, though I am learning! I guess the moral of the story is to remember the variants of names as you start digging! Here's a nice link to some German names and their variants. http://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/german

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Using University Transcripts and Registration Records for Family History 

11/4/2014

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One great resource often held in College or University Archives are transcripts of student work. You can find expected information such as when an ancestor attended a school, what their major was, what classes they took, what grades they received, and whether or not they graduated. This information can help round out what an individual was actually like in their daily life.

Registration records and transcripts can also offer some less obvious information. Some may come with a card that lists the student's birth date, home town, Father or Mother's name, Father or mother's occupation, previous schools attended and when, sometimes religion, and perhaps a major. If you're really lucky, there might even be a picture that was taken on registration day.

The only problem with Transcripts and Registration records is that they are student records and are therefore restricted. It is likely that the researcher will need to contact the University's registration and records department in order to get permission to see and/or copy a transcript. Generally, the older the transcript, the easier it is. Just call and ask. The general public can obtain "directory" information without getting copies and without permission from the University. Directory information is Name, dates of attendance, major, and graduation status.

So, if you're interested in what your ancestor studied in college, track down their transcripts either in the Archives or in Registration and Records. The stories of their college years are waiting to be discovered.
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Improve your family history research by using Google more effectively

9/18/2014

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I stumbled across a good infographic about how to use Google more effectively when doing research. We can always learn new and better ways of doing things, so I thought I'd share.

It's not specifically about Genealogy or Family History, but it's helpful nonetheless.


http://bit.ly/1yizzZS

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How do I start family history research?

7/1/2014

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Image courtesy of mack2happy / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Getting started in family history or genealogy research isn't terribly difficult, it just requires a little bit of information. It's often best to interview relatives that you know about ancestors that they can remember. Start by making a list of your grandparents and their pertinent information, including birth, death, and marriage dates, etc. Hopefully you can find out the names of their parents too and you'll have a great start.

After you have a base of info, find a family tree software package or site of your choice and enter that information. I like to use family tree maker and ancestry.com, but there are a multitude of other great options out there. The advantage of using software like family tree maker, is that it is linked to ancestry.com and will help you make discoveries automatically.


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Are your memories on VHS? Time to think about solutions...

5/5/2014

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I was at a workshop last week about preserving 20th Century visual materials and was shaken by a little nugget that was mentioned. VHS tapes may have as little as a 15 year lifespan if not stored in good conditions. Yikes! Now, that's not to say that all tapes are going to be junk and there's nothing we can do about it, but it is a wake up call to start thinking about migrating them to a new medium. I still have a vcr, so I haven't worried about the vhs tapes at all...I can still play them so, what do I have to worry about? Well, it may be that I can't play them...I haven't tried to play them in some time and I really don't know where they all are. Also, have I been keeping my vcr clean? Do I have a vcr head cleaner? All of these questions are relevant and can effect how our tapes play, if they play at all. So, I'm not going to panic, but I will be taking immediate action to move things I have on video soon. It looks like there are some ways to digitize video without spending an arm and a leg. Stay tuned and as I start to work on this process, I'll update here.

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Work Life: Brink's Hatchery

4/30/2014

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Thinking and about work on this Wednesday. This is Willard N. Brink II, my grandfather, posing with his Brink's Hatchery truck. I remember him as a retired Postman, but before he carried the mail, he was raising chickens. His wife, my grandmother Leona, was a librarian in her later years. I also have a great grandfather on my Mom's side of the family who raised chickens for awhile. I may have missed my calling.

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A Sod House...the Ultimate Earth Day Dwelling

4/22/2014

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My Gr-Grandmother with her siblings and her parents in front of their sod home near Mason City, Nebraska. 1880's. This was the initial dwelling on what would become a successful ranch. Happy Earth Day!
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