17
votes
Accepted
Reading given name of German great-grandaunt?
The name is Agnes.
You can compare each of the letters to those shown in this BYU Script Tutorial for German handwriting.
I extracted the relevant letters from the alphabet image on that site, and ...
- 18.5k
15
votes
Accepted
What is this place in County of York on UK War Office Marriage Record?
It says "Leeds in the County of York"
- 1,306
11
votes
Accepted
What is uniform worn by Herr Schedler in photo taken late 19th century in Hannover?
Based on the following the photo is by H. Richers who operated from at least 1878 to 1913 in Hannover (the link has his street address).
Looking at the ears, chin, eye sockets, nose and mouth ...
- 5,531
10
votes
Accepted
Was William Chichester recorded as Judge in 1841 Census at Dymock, Gloucestershire, England?
Annoying...!
I think the word is "Indep", meaning "Independent", as in "Of Independent means".
"I" and "J" do seem to be very similar in many hands and I'm not sure what to say the difference is. I'...
- 11.3k
10
votes
Accepted
What is written over some of these Irish birth records?
I can't read the script yet. But we can say what it meant - if you look at the vertical annotation to the right, it explains that the registrations were cancelled because the qualification of the ...
- 11.3k
9
votes
Lunacy - what does it mean?
While the exact diagnosis is almost certainly impossible without data from elsewhere that probably doesn't exist, we should at least attempt to see how the words were used at that time.
Anyone ...
- 11.3k
9
votes
Accepted
Identifying cause of death on Scottish record
Paralysis.
Determining the underlying cause is pure speculation, but suffice it to say that the person had some sort of neurologic disorder. Causes could range from trauma to infectious or ...
- 18.5k
9
votes
Accepted
What newspapers/magazines would people have used in Solloghodmore Ireland around 1850?
Most countries have what was called a "Union List of Newspapers", published by their National Library. These are now being migrated to online catalogues and databases. As SOLLOGHODMORE is in ...
- 106
8
votes
Accepted
Washington County, Ohio in the 1810 Census
Ancestry.com's about the database article for the 1810 United States Federal Census asserts:
Partial losses included Illinois Territory, which had only two
counties (Randolph is extant, St. Clair ...
- 24.4k
8
votes
Accepted
Forced Emigration of Zipf ancestors from South-West Germany (Baden/Wurtenburg) in mid 19th century?
This answer provides some historical context, but does not completely answer the question.
Baden & Württemberg experienced large emigrations in the 1820s to 1850s, to Hungary (recruited by ...
- 7,926
8
votes
Accepted
Finding vital records in Upper Silesia (Prussia/Germany)?
If they were catholic or protestant
Statistically (based location, given names and surname), as ethnic Poles and living in rural Upper Silesia, your great-great-grandparents were Catholic. (Catholics ...
- 7,926
8
votes
Finding vital records in Upper Silesia (Prussia/Germany)?
I wanted to address a point that originally came up in the comments to bgwiehle's answer.
Places are known by different names throughout their history. If a place was called by a particular name ...
- 24.4k
8
votes
Accepted
Was it common for parents to baptise a baby/child if they knew he was sickly and likely going to die soon?
To answer the question about baptising sickly children - yes, absolutely. The Church of England has an abbreviated form of the Order (i.e service) of Baptism to be used in homes etc. in such ...
- 11.3k
8
votes
Providing evidence of Consent of Parents for Marriage by minor in England in early 1800s?
The rules had been set out in Hardwicke's Marriage Act 1753.
The Act required that, for a marriage to be valid, it had to be performed in a church and either after the publication of banns or the ...
- 5,167
7
votes
Determining parents of 19th Century Swiss ancestor?
I think your "Lauraine" is Lausanne, which is a city in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. (There is also the French region of Lorraine, if someone's understanding of European geography was especially ...
- 7,926
7
votes
Accepted
Could photo be Edward Nettell (1812-1879) and Maria Hocking (1811-1902) of Illogan, Cornwall?
This was fun and here is my current theory, which I believe supports your hypothesis.
The style of clothes are 1860s style per the vintage style guides listed further below and in the 1870s styles ...
7
votes
Accepted
Determining if family member was Freemason in 1800s?
A lot of what I have been able to determine can be eloborated on this page.
Note: I will add the caveat that I personally am not a Mason, but several generations of my ancestors, including living, ...
- 5,531
7
votes
Accepted
Reading handwriting of David L. Aldrich's Occupation in 1860 Census?
Tin Pedlar - that is, an itinerant trader of tin.
- 18.5k
7
votes
How can I find information on a nineteenth century marriage in Denmark?
First, have your looked in Nørresundby Kirkebøger (churchbooks) for their marriage (Viede)? Was your father a first child? Or were there older children? That has a bearing on your timeline. (Consider ...
- 133
7
votes
What records of smallpox vaccination exist?
Registers were indeed compiled at the individual child level. Survivals (of registers!) are patchy - what there is, seems to be in county record offices. See http://www.genguide.co.uk/source/...
- 11.3k
7
votes
Original Spelling(s) of Polish surname anglicized as Shemynski?
It could be 'Szemiński' (that's male form, female would be 'Szemińska') but that's quite an approximate guess.
Things to consider is that 19th Century Warsaw had at different times, Prussian, Polish, ...
- 628
7
votes
Accepted
What is German translation of this Marriage record written in Kurrent?
Header in Gothic typeface & German language; some words use archaic spelling:
[Seite] 114, Trauungs=Buch
Jahr Monath und Tag der Trauung.
Bräutigam
-Wohnort
-Haus Nro.
-Taufnahme [sic], Familien=...
- 7,926
7
votes
Was this common usage of "mother-in-law" in late 19th century in US census?
Consider that the "mother-in-law" could actually be a stepmother. It would not be unusual for those two terms to be used interchangeably.
Also consider that mistakes happen, and it may not ...
- 18.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Interpreting tours of duty on British Army service records?
I have been trying to check up on one of my Army pensioners (Private Samuel Bateman, 834, 49th Regiment of Foot) - he is recorded as 2y 10m on "China / Eastern Expedition" (the embarrassing-to-us-now ...
- 11.3k
6
votes
Finding original Polish surname of 19th Century immigrant to United States?
The basic premise in family history is to start with what you know, and work backwards and outwards from that point in small increments to discover more. You want to be able to say with confidence, ...
- 24.4k
6
votes
Where to find information about Grünberg and Rosenbaum relatives from Danzig?
First, look at records in Australia. The Australian National Archives would be the first place to try and track down some record of your grandmother entering the country - they are likely to have ...
- 1,366
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