Questions tagged [19th-century]
For questions about research in the period from 1801 to 1900.
404
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What does it mean if cause of death is listed as "Insanity" in late 1800s?
My great, great grandmother's cause of death is listed as "Insanity" on her death record, and I'm not sure what this means. She died in Winsted, McLeod County, Minnesota in 1872 at age 37, and had ...
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22
votes
1
answer
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What does three small rings in a triangle mean in a Swedish parish registers?
In Sweden during the 18th and 19th century each parish had a "Husförhörslängd", a book tallying the people in the parish keeping track of how well they knew their biblical history, and if they had ...
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1
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What constitutes Employment in Labour of a Child in England & Wales?
In 1883, a Requisition for a certified copy of birth for the purposes of the Elementary Education Act, 1876 was made for a youth born in 1872. Given he was 11, would the request have been for ...
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18
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4
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What is the earliest age a boy in England could get married in the 1800s?
My wife has an ancestor named Charles Davies. The 1841 and 1851 Wales censuses as well as his marriage record state that he was born in Flintshire, Wales between 1813 and 1816. A search for his ...
user47
17
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5
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Did son-in-law have a different meaning in mid-19th century England?
Most modern dictionaries define family relationships in a narrow sense. So that "son in law" refers to the husband of your daughter. However, I have encountered a very different use in the UK census ...
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16
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9
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Locating an elusive UK birth record (Mary Ann Harper born circa 1865 possibly Dudley, England)?
I have a female great grand-mother in England for whom I have her marriage certificate and her death certificate, plus census records from marriage until death. From these I know her unmarried name, ...
user104
15
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3
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668
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What is this Delaware marriage document?
I recently found (via ancestry.com) this document regarding the marriage of my great-grandparents (specifically my father's mother's parents) in 1883, from the Delaware Marriage Records, 1744-1912. ...
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14
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2
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Who established the Wagga Country Fire Brigade?
I am seeking information on the Country Fire Brigade in New South Wales and in particular the establishment of the Wagga Wagga unit. This relates to my search for information on Thomas (Tot) Linsell (...
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14
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1
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Locating New England telegraph man (Lemuel Keyser Preston) ca1850?
Charles H. Dillion, a 20th-century Texas telegraph man and author, called Lemuel Keyser "L. K." Preston the "pioneer of the telegraph in Texas."1
According to his earlier 1852 marriage record (...
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13
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2
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What does "Effects under" refer to on proving a will?
On proving of a will in 1866 in Ramsbury, England, the executors state 'Effects under thirty five thousand pounds'. Was this a general figure for wills or would this represent a rough net worth?
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13
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1
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Andrew Wilson remains an enigma
I am trying to find the parentage and immigration for Andrew Wilson my 2nd great grandfather. According to family search he was born on August 1, 1838 in Gulladuff, Maghera Parish in Londonderry ...
- 131
12
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3
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How to Trace Ancestors to Switzerland
Some of my Zimmerman ancestors emigrated from Switzerland to the United States (Tuscarawas, Ohio) in the mid 1800s. When I find them on U.S. Census records, there are a bunch of other Zimmerman ...
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11
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2
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What convict records for Australia exist?
Esther Emma Leach, born Sydney 15/5/1824, may have been the daughter of a convict transported to Australia in 1813. How do I find convict records not from the first 3 fleets?
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11
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1
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How did the lives of Worcestershire nail-makers change 1840-1880?
The 1851 Census of England and Wales shows my ancestors living in Forge Lane, Halesowen, Worcestershire. Not only are all the adult males on the page working as gun barrel forgers, but also every ...
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11
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2
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How can I distinguish between name changes and missing records?
Every now and again I come across a person, who seems to have changed their name. For example, a birth/baptism record may have one name, while subsequent records (marriage, census…) use another for ...
- 4,417
11
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1
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Breaking through brick wall with circumstantial evidence?
Wondering if there are techniques to break through a brick wall with circumstantial evidence rather than hard evidence. Drawing a blank on my 3rd great grandfather in my paternal line. He lived in an ...
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11
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1
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Could an Ohio resident be in the Indiana militia? (Timeline resolution)
It is part of my family's tradition that a particular ancestor of mine was a participant in the Battle of Tippecanoe, on November 19, 1811, but I am having a little trouble confirming it. Here are ...
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10
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2
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How likely is it that the England & Wales Census would be wrong about an age by ten years?
Or is it just a gap in the records?
My 3xgreat-grandmother, Sarah Rule, is shown in the 1851, 1871 and 1881 Censuses for England and Wales with ages that would indicate a date of birth around 1809–...
- 2,988
10
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5
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Merchant marine - how to research people who worked on ships?
I am researching a relative who disappears from conventional genealogical records. He married and fathered children regularly until his wife died but does not appear in census records with his family ...
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10
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2
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Did 19th century English women sometimes change the first name they used?
I have some confusing, conflicting sources that suggest that the one woman went by two different names. They relate to the parents of Cyril Albert Victor House, born in 1897. His christening record ...
- 2,988
10
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2
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Tracing Elizabeth Watson of Winchelsea, Sussex after 1815?
Elizabeth Watson was born about 1793 at Winchelsea, Sussex, England. She is listed as mother to William Bourne Russell Watson, born 30 June 1815 at Winchelsea, Sussex, England. Family folk lore says ...
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9
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3
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Is there a comprehensive repository of pre-1841 local censuses in Britain available online?
The first national Census in Britain was in 1841, but there are several local enumerations of populations of particular parishes and towns, for example:
The parish censuses listed in the answers to ...
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3
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Lunacy - what does it mean?
My 39 year old great great grandfather died of "lunacy" in 1845. He was married with two small children. He was a tailor. He lived in Leith, Edinburgh.
What would or could be the meaning of "Lunacy" ...
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9
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2
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Finding vital records in Upper Silesia (Prussia/Germany)?
I am looking for info about my great-great-grandparents. The info I'm looking for is:
Dates and locations of their birth, marriage and death
Go back further in time and find their ancestry
Whether ...
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9
votes
3
answers
255
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Who are the Ancestors of William Yensull?
William Yensull (also spelled Yensule or Yencule) became a Naturalized Citizen of the United States on April 20th, 1896. Based on his Naturalization Certificate, issued in the Illinois county of ...
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9
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1
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What is uniform worn by Herr Schedler in photo taken late 19th century in Hannover?
I have a scan of this photo. It is believed to be the brother of Pauline Schedler (1860 - 1937). She was born in Thann, Alsace, France and family legend has it she fled to the UK in the 1870s during ...
9
votes
2
answers
141
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What would 'not educated' mean?
In her memoirs, an aunt writes of her nephew having no education. The time is late 1860s, an immigrant lad from England aged 20 when written. He arrived in Australia when 3 years, the son of a station ...
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9
votes
2
answers
211
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Finding evidence for divorce of Hugh Sillars and Agnes Macculloch in mid-19th Century Scotland?
This question involves some of the same family as an earlier question of mine (Finding New York City/State records relating to Sellars family (British subjects) births/deaths mid 19th century?) but is ...
- 11k
9
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1
answer
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Identifying Lemuel K. Preston's 1830s-era birth place of "Broome, L. C."?
In his 1852 Providence, Rhode Island, marriage record,1 Lemuel Keyser "L. K." Preston (ca1828-ca1881) was reported born "Broome, L.C.," the son of Michael and Mary Preston.
I interpret the reference,...
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9
votes
1
answer
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Who would someone in convict shipping to Australia (ca 1830s-1840s) have worked for?
My great-great grandfather, Walter Cole, was born at Ottery St.Mary, Devon, England in 1810. The family oral history is he shipped convicts to Australia approximately in the 1830's and 1840's. He ...
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9
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1
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Sources for late 19th and early 20th century Belgium and France?
I have in my tree an interesting, if hard to pin down, individual named Francis (sometimes François) Unwin who was apparently born in Brussels around 1885.
I first encountered him in the 1891 Census ...
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9
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1
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Would there be 1830-1850 US naturalization records for children born Canada to parents born in US when relocating back to US?
Michael Preston (1792-1849) was born in New Hampshire; his first wife, Mary Merrill, was born there in 1795. This couple removed to Canada not long after their marriage, ca18 June 1816. Most or all of ...
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9
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1
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How were the beneficiaries of the 1872 Will of Mary Rogers related?
My fourth great grandmother was Elizabeth Crawley, born 1791, probably in London. She married William Stretch in 1819 in Whitechapel. The witnesses to their marriage were D. Rogers and Mary Rogers, ...
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8
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4
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Was Ellis Island the only immigration inspection station in New York in the 1880's?
This question was brought about by the fact that some of my ancestors immigrated from Russia to New York in the 1880's. The source I have for that fact is a citizenship application. Was Ellis Island ...
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3
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Migration route from New Hampshire to Ohio ca1810-1816?
My ancestor, William Preston, resided Rumney, Grafton County, New Hampshire in 1808. By about 1816, he had removed to and settled at Fort Winchester in the area of now Defiance, Defiance County, Ohio.
...
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8
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2
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What does "Do agt for" mean in Georgia Property Tax Digests?
While reviewing the digital image of a record from the Ancestry.com collection, "Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1893," I found this phrase several times on the page:
"Do agt for" followed by a ...
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8
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1
answer
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Searching for registries of persons who were born in Portugal or Brazil 1850-1930? [closed]
Are there good public sites available that have information about Portugal and Brazil ?
They don't need to be in portuguese, I just need information about genealogy and registries of persons who were ...
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8
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3
answers
606
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Old German script. What is the wife's name in this 1837 baptismal ledger from Stark County, Ohio?
The partial image below is from an 1837 baptismal register of a church located in Paris Township, Stark County, Ohio. It is written in old German script. At least to our knowledge, these ledgers have ...
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2
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What is the significance of a "right of dower" in this 1830s era deed (Ohio/New Hampshire, USA)?
Working with 19th-century deeds, I often find the wife has executed the deed in what is described as an act of relinquishing her "right of Dower." (Corrections to the way I have described that ...
- 8,507
8
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2
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Interpreting a Freemasons' Lodge Register
According to the records available on Ancestry, Edward Harper of Kidderminster joined the Lodge of Hope and Charity on 30 April 1836 aged 35 (so born approx 1801, which ties up with the 1841 census ...
user6485
8
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2
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How much did people travel in the early 1800's?
Our family bible tells me that my gx2 grandfathe3 Robert Chapman was born in Cornwall in 1811 but despite searching for 20 years (and building up a tree containing 7,000+ ancestors I can't locate him ...
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8
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2
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What were the rules about Massachusetts town marriage intentions ca 1811?
They say sex and scandal sells. Maybe an updated question that adds a little of both will spice up and clarify my question.
For years I have recorded Massachusetts marriage intentions in my family ...
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8
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1
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What proportion of the births or baptisms of children were recorded in early nineteenth century England?
It's usual to search for a baptism record as a substitute birth record in England in the period prior to the start of Civil Registration (i.e. pre-1837.) (Baptism records may also include birth ...
user6485
8
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1
answer
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What happened to the 1896 London census records?
A little known fact is that a census of London was performed in 1896.
On GENUKI it states:
A quinquennial census was held covering the London County Council area
on 29 March 1896, paid for by ...
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8
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1
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Where is Mary Elizabeth Richardson in the UK 1891 Census?
My 2nd great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth ("Mary"), was born to Richard and Penelope Hill in Islington, London, on 01 Jan 1857. She is found with Richard, her stepmother Annie, and brother Richard D in ...
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How can I link (or separate) the Civil War soldier and the photographer?
In 1862, John S Shipman advertised in the Brooklyn Standard Union that his services included "pictures taken of deceased persons" as well as "views made of private dwellings."
How might I gather ...
8
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2
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How can I assess the statistical probability that an individual is the one I seek?
I have an ancestor Caroline Ellen Brown (also mentioned in this question: How might a "nurse-child" have been placed with their carers?) for whom the marriage and birth records are elusive. ...
user104
8
votes
1
answer
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Elinor is a Hassall (identifying a Welsh woman born in the late 18th century from a single record)
In 1805, according to the Bishops Transcripts for Little Newcastle in Pembrokeshire, Wales, Elinor Hassall married John John. John, his descendants and relatives of the family were predominantly ...
user104
8
votes
1
answer
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19th Century Debtors Prison Records, London
I have found (I think) two records for Demetrius Rogers in Ancestry's Marshalsea (London) debtors prison records.
The first has "Dematris Rogers" brought into custody on 11 Sep 1812:
(This record ...
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8
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1
answer
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How to find Indentured Servants in Buffalo, NY or Canada?
I've tried the City Hall on my last trip to Buffalo with no luck. All I know is my great grandmother was given to a family as a young girl. She came to the USA sometime around 1880 to 1884, and I ...
