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 ...
Harry V.'s user avatar
  • 18.7k
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"
AntonyM's user avatar
  • 1,356
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 ...
AdrianB38's user avatar
  • 11.5k
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 ...
AdrianB38's user avatar
  • 11.5k
9 votes
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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 ...
Harry V.'s user avatar
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9 votes
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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 ...
Maureen West's user avatar
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 ...
Jan Murphy's user avatar
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8 votes
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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 ...
bgwiehle's user avatar
  • 7,946
8 votes
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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 ...
AdrianB38's user avatar
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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 ...
sempaiscuba's user avatar
  • 5,166
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 ...
JeanO's user avatar
  • 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/...
AdrianB38's user avatar
  • 11.5k
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, ...
skolima's user avatar
  • 743
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=...
bgwiehle's user avatar
  • 7,946
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 ...
Harry V.'s user avatar
  • 18.7k
6 votes

Did other countries have the concentration of first names that England had in past centuries?

Oooh, I like this question. And I have data to contribute! This data set is from the Israel Genealogy Research Association's "All Israel Database" (http://genealogy.org.il/AID/index.php) which, as ...
Asparagirl's user avatar
  • 1,860
6 votes

Reading given name of German great-grandaunt?

I also found it useful to have this PDF around for comparing the letters. The benefit being you can zoom it in quite a bit: https://feefhs.org/sites/default/files/guide/german-gothic.pdf Once you get ...
Luke Quinane's user avatar
6 votes

Finding church records for the Kuck family in Grudziądz, Bydgoszcz, Poland?

You have the wrong administrative description of Grudziądz in 1879, which is possibly contributing to your difficulty in finding records. Per Wikipedia, "Following the First Partition of Poland in ...
bgwiehle's user avatar
  • 7,946
6 votes
Accepted

Where is the Friedrichsbruch near Kokotzko in West Prussia / Poland?

According to Familienforschung in Westpreußen, which maps German and Polish names in West Prussia, Friedrichsbruch today is Bruki Unisławskie. Checking with Google Maps shows it's a bit over 7km ...
Stephie's user avatar
  • 176
6 votes
Accepted

What records of smallpox vaccination exist?

Some records do exist, although what I found is much later than the introduction of the Act in 1853. The National Archives catalog has General Register Office: Smallpox Vaccination Returns as part of ...
Jan Murphy's user avatar
  • 25.3k
6 votes

What records of smallpox vaccination exist?

The Dyfed Family History Society has an extensive collection of transcribed vaccination records of several parishes in the Carmarthen area and the Welsh counties of Cardiganshire (Ceredigion), ...
Eric Davies's user avatar
6 votes

Locating records of a man employed by Rufford Abbey for 70 years?

Regrettably such records could be almost anywhere or nowhere. The County Record Office is the obvious place to start. Then any other archives in the area. Depending on the history of the place, it's ...
AdrianB38's user avatar
  • 11.5k
6 votes

Resources for researching family from Greene County, Tennessee?

Try to look on this problem as an opportunity for learning something new instead of a roadblock to overcome. You can't find your person in the 1840 Census because it doesn't list him by name. What ...
Jan Murphy's user avatar
  • 25.3k
6 votes
Accepted

Reading words on old document relating to share of Will?

...the said share and an insurance of Two pounds and Sixteen shillings... ...(and the receipt of which Alfred born... ...for their own respective use the said share... I agree with the ...
Harry V.'s user avatar
  • 18.7k
6 votes

Ostrow, Ostrowez, or Ostroweic Russia before 1907- where now?

"Ostroweic" doesn't seem like a plausible name in Polish language, very likely it is "Ostrówiec" or "Ostrowice". There is dozens of villages all over Poland with that name, including one relatively ...
Bregalad's user avatar
  • 1,407
6 votes

Records of miners in the California Gold Rush?

When we can't find a person in a collection of historical records, or don't have enough information to know if it is our ancestor or not, it helps to widen the search -- and the same is true for ...
Jan Murphy's user avatar
  • 25.3k

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