It's hard to overstate the value of the FamilySearch county wikis for US research. In the last few years, they have improved them from bare stubs to detailed articles with numerous links and sources and the locations of many record types. If you last looked at them a while back, you need to check back.
For example, in Jefferson County, Nebr., it tells you that the county clerk has marriage records from 1864 and that the county judge has probate records from 1870. It gives a link to a site for Nebraska newspapers and for county cemeteries. It gives you the address and e-mail for the county genealogy society and the public library. It describes county boundary changes and known record losses and has a table with the county population in each census. You can do a lot of research from home using its links, and it lets you know which courthouse office to visit for each record type when you make a genealogy visit.
Don't miss this resource.
Showing posts with label county courthouse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label county courthouse. Show all posts
Friday, October 6, 2017
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Finding John Glen/Jan Glein's Father
As I described in my previous post, I have been researching John Glen #319928 (1864-1939), a family friend of my maternal grandparents. I found his passenger manifest when he immigrated to New York City, but I wanted to find his parents, whose names were unknown.
First, I tried plugging in all the information that I had about him into Ancestry and FamilySearch, but I found nothing useful. I got a lot of family trees that had been put up by descendants of his wife's family [Aganetha Heidebrecht #319927 (1882-1947)], but they had no information about his parents. I decided to try his marriage license, death certificate, and obituary since those are common sources for parents' names.
Since he was Kleine Gemeinde, I figured that Christlicher Familienfrend, the denominational paper of the KG, would be the most likely place for an obituary. The nearby Mennonite Library and Archive at Bethel College in North Newton, Kans., has the Christlicher Familienfreund, and it was easy to find his obituary in the July 1939 issue, the month after he died.
Unfortunately, it gave no information about his parents.
From Grandma I knew that he had married on 7 May 1905, in Jansen, Nebr. Recently I was in Fairbury, Nebr., the county seat of Jefferson County where Jansen is located. The FamilySearch wiki for Jefferson County, Nebr., reports that the county kept marriage records from 1864, so I should be in luck. And the county clerk indeed had his marriage record to Aganetha Heidebrecht.
And the marriage license gave his father's name as Frank Glen but his mother's name was unknown. This made sense because John Glen's youngest son was named Frank as well - he must have named him in honor of his father. Even though I was a touch disappointed that it didn't give his mother's name, I was thrilled to find his father's name.
I'm sure that his father's real name was not "Frank Glen" because "John Glen" was the Americanized version of his Polish name, Jan Glein. So his father's surname was surely "Glein." And Franciszek is the Polish version of the name Francis or Frank, so I am sure his father's real name was Franciszek Glein.
I think it says something that he didn't know his mother's name. Most likely his mother died when he was young.
BTW, I haven't checked the death certificate yet, but it would be interesting to see if the informant knew his mother's name, although I doubt it.
First, I tried plugging in all the information that I had about him into Ancestry and FamilySearch, but I found nothing useful. I got a lot of family trees that had been put up by descendants of his wife's family [Aganetha Heidebrecht #319927 (1882-1947)], but they had no information about his parents. I decided to try his marriage license, death certificate, and obituary since those are common sources for parents' names.
Since he was Kleine Gemeinde, I figured that Christlicher Familienfrend, the denominational paper of the KG, would be the most likely place for an obituary. The nearby Mennonite Library and Archive at Bethel College in North Newton, Kans., has the Christlicher Familienfreund, and it was easy to find his obituary in the July 1939 issue, the month after he died.
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| J. H. Reimer, “Todesberichte Johann Glen,” Christlicher Familienfreund, July 1939, p. 4, Mennonite Library and Archives, Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas. |
From Grandma I knew that he had married on 7 May 1905, in Jansen, Nebr. Recently I was in Fairbury, Nebr., the county seat of Jefferson County where Jansen is located. The FamilySearch wiki for Jefferson County, Nebr., reports that the county kept marriage records from 1864, so I should be in luck. And the county clerk indeed had his marriage record to Aganetha Heidebrecht.
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| Marriage license, John Glen to Agnes Heidebrecht, 7 May 1905, Jefferson County, Nebraska, Marriage Record G:272, County Clerk, Courthouse, Fairbury. |
I'm sure that his father's real name was not "Frank Glen" because "John Glen" was the Americanized version of his Polish name, Jan Glein. So his father's surname was surely "Glein." And Franciszek is the Polish version of the name Francis or Frank, so I am sure his father's real name was Franciszek Glein.
I think it says something that he didn't know his mother's name. Most likely his mother died when he was young.
BTW, I haven't checked the death certificate yet, but it would be interesting to see if the informant knew his mother's name, although I doubt it.
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Tracking Elderly Ancestors
Sometimes it may seem that the retirement years of a person's life are unimportant - genealogically speaking. But tracking elderly ancestors can tell you a lot about family dynamics. And sometimes the only way to find an ancestor in old age in the census is to look for his children since he might have been living with them.
Here's an example of my great-great-grandmother, Katharina Bergmann #7126 (1834-1916). In 1894, her second husband Martin Barkman died. She continued to own an eighty-acre farm near Jansen, Nebr., that she had bought in 1879, shortly after her first husband died. But I suppose that her son-in-law, Klaas R. Friesen, farmed her land because he had purchased the neighboring eighty acres in 1892 in the inheritance settlement of her first husband. Klaas was married to her second daughter, Aganetha Barkman (1858-1931).
Here is a snippet from a plat map. The land in green to the south is the tract that Klaas R. Friesen had bought from the other heirs in 1892, while the land in blue to the north is the tract that Katharina had purchased herself in 1879 just after her first husband died.
Then in 1899, at age 64, Katharina sold her northern eighty acres to the same son-in-law, Klaas R. Friesen for $2000, which made sense because he owned the adjoining piece of land. Klaas gave his mother-in-law a mortgage for $1000, so he must not have been able to pay the entire amount at once. Here is a snippet from the deed:
A year later at age 65 in the 1900 census we find her living with her oldest daughter, Heinrich and Katharina Reimer, a couple miles away in Rock Creek Precinct just south of Jansen.
The census even gives her relationship as mother-in-law and her birth month of December 1834 - very helpful information in identifying her and confirming her birth date.
In the 1910 census at age 75, she was back in Cub Creek Precinct living with the Klaas R. Friesens, her second daughter's family. At least two of her daughters and their families, Heinrich and Katharina Reimer and Jacob and Anna Reimer, had moved to Meade, Kans., in 1908; so she moved back to her second daughter then. It was even a three-generation household, as her newly-wed granddaughter and husband, Henry and Aganetha Kroeker, were also living at home.
Then at age 80 in 1915, she was recorded living with her third daughter's family, Jacob and Anna Reimer near Meade, Kans. I wonder if she moved from Nebraska to Kansas because her son-in-law Klaas Friesen was getting sickly - he died in 1922 at age 65. But this is only speculation. Here is a snippet from the Kansas state census:
My grandmother has told my mother that both of her grandmothers lived in her parents' house at the same time and that sometimes they would argue so severely that her father, Heinrich Reimer, had to come in from the field to settle matters. I haven't found them living together in any census record, but this story sounds true.
Finally my grandmother Margaretha H. Reimer #321744 (1895-1993) recorded in her family register that her grandmother Katharina Bergman died on 25 November 1916 at age 81 at Jacob Reimer's, the same place she was staying in the 1915 census.
By tracing Katharina Bergmann through the documents in her retirement years, we can see that three of her daughters cared for her. I don't think we can say that she wasn't close to her other children - since the census records are only snapshots, perhaps they don't catch the times when she lived with them. We also learn that she sold her land to a son-in-law and that he wasn't prosperous enough to pay the full amount at once. It's important not to ignore the last couple decades of her life.
The key to tracing the last years of elderly ancestors is often to know the names of their sons-in-law. Most often, they lived with their married daughters, so you need to know the names of their husbands. If I hadn't known that her daughters married Klaas R. Friesen, Henry F. Reimer, and Jacob F. Reimer, I might not even have found some of the census or land records. This is probably the most important reason to follow the children of your direct ancestors at least until the parents pass away.
Here's an example of my great-great-grandmother, Katharina Bergmann #7126 (1834-1916). In 1894, her second husband Martin Barkman died. She continued to own an eighty-acre farm near Jansen, Nebr., that she had bought in 1879, shortly after her first husband died. But I suppose that her son-in-law, Klaas R. Friesen, farmed her land because he had purchased the neighboring eighty acres in 1892 in the inheritance settlement of her first husband. Klaas was married to her second daughter, Aganetha Barkman (1858-1931).
Here is a snippet from a plat map. The land in green to the south is the tract that Klaas R. Friesen had bought from the other heirs in 1892, while the land in blue to the north is the tract that Katharina had purchased herself in 1879 just after her first husband died.
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| Plat Book of Jefferson County, Nebraska (Northwest Publishing Co., 1900) 7. Accessed at Fairbury Public Library, Fairbury, Nebraska. |
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| Warranty Deed, Katharina Bergmann to Klaas R. Friesen, 27 March 1899, Jefferson County, Nebraska, Deed Book 25:165, Register of Deeds, County Courthouse, Fairbury. |
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| Henry Reimer household, 1900 US Census, Nebraska, Jefferson County, Rock Creek Precinct, SD 4, ED 92, p. 15, family 301, lines 31-41. Accessed at Ancestry.com on 7 November 2012. |
In the 1910 census at age 75, she was back in Cub Creek Precinct living with the Klaas R. Friesens, her second daughter's family. At least two of her daughters and their families, Heinrich and Katharina Reimer and Jacob and Anna Reimer, had moved to Meade, Kans., in 1908; so she moved back to her second daughter then. It was even a three-generation household, as her newly-wed granddaughter and husband, Henry and Aganetha Kroeker, were also living at home.
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| Klaas R. Friesen household, 1910 US Census, Nebraska, Jefferson County, Cub Creek Precinct, SD 4, ED 90, p. 11, family 117, lines 37-45. Accessed at Ancestry.com on 7 November 2012. |
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| Jacob Reimer family, Kansas state census 1915, Meade County, Logan Township, p. 9, lines 10-21. Accessed at Ancestry.com on 26 June 2016. |
Finally my grandmother Margaretha H. Reimer #321744 (1895-1993) recorded in her family register that her grandmother Katharina Bergman died on 25 November 1916 at age 81 at Jacob Reimer's, the same place she was staying in the 1915 census.
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| Freundschaft Register Buch (Relatives Register Book), Family records of Margaretha H. (Reimer) Siemens, book begun in 1923, covers years 1808 – about 1980, held by Anna (Siemens) Fast, Hillsboro, Kansas. |
The key to tracing the last years of elderly ancestors is often to know the names of their sons-in-law. Most often, they lived with their married daughters, so you need to know the names of their husbands. If I hadn't known that her daughters married Klaas R. Friesen, Henry F. Reimer, and Jacob F. Reimer, I might not even have found some of the census or land records. This is probably the most important reason to follow the children of your direct ancestors at least until the parents pass away.
Thursday, September 28, 2017
Sorting Land Transactions by Date
When I go to a courthouse to do land research, I make spreadsheet of the land transactions that I find for each couple to summarize the information that I find. Here's the link to a sample spreadsheet. I feel it's important to sort the transactions by effective date - sometimes you see connections between transactions this way.
(Note that the effective date, the date that the document was signed, may differ significantly from the recording or filing date. Occasionally someone delayed taking the deed to the courthouse for a long time. The effective date is when the transfer of ownership and money actually happened - not the date when it was recorded in the courthouse to inform the public.)
When my great-grandfather Heinrich Reimer #317342 (1856-1923) moved from Jansen, Nebr., to Meade, Kans., in September 1908, he sold his land in Nebraska and bought land in Kansas. Some of the transactions line up neatly. For example:
In another example, my great-grandfather Jacob Suderman #319370 (1856-1906) and his family moved from Buhler, Kans., to Fairchilds, Tex., in 1898.
(Note that the effective date, the date that the document was signed, may differ significantly from the recording or filing date. Occasionally someone delayed taking the deed to the courthouse for a long time. The effective date is when the transfer of ownership and money actually happened - not the date when it was recorded in the courthouse to inform the public.)
When my great-grandfather Heinrich Reimer #317342 (1856-1923) moved from Jansen, Nebr., to Meade, Kans., in September 1908, he sold his land in Nebraska and bought land in Kansas. Some of the transactions line up neatly. For example:
- He sold 80 acres in Nebraska for $5000 on 27 May 1908.
- Then he proceeded to buy 160 acres in Kansas for $4500 on 22 August 1908
- And he bought another 80 acres in Kansas on 20 October 1908 for $2000.
In another example, my great-grandfather Jacob Suderman #319370 (1856-1906) and his family moved from Buhler, Kans., to Fairchilds, Tex., in 1898.
- In preparation for the move, he bought 334 acres in Texas for $3343 on 1 December 1897, using a lien from the seller for the purchase.
- But he paid that lien in full by 18 August 1898.
- Then he sold his Kansas land three weeks later on 8 September 1898 for $5700.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Deeds of Sale May Give More Information
Sometimes when you are doing land research in the courthouse, you may run across a deed with your ancestor's name but you're not sure if this is your ancestor or a person of the same name. This situation usually occurs when you are searching the grantor-grantee (or direct-indirect) indices and find a tract of land that you didn't know that your ancestor owned.
Here is an example. I found a tract of land in Jefferson County, Nebr., where my great-grandfather Heinrich F. Reimer #317342 lived. It was purchased by "Henry Reimer," but this piece of land was several miles from where he lived, so I wasn't sure if it was he or another Henry Reimer. Here is a scan of the grantor-grantee information:
But if I check the tract index at the courthouse, I can find where "Henry Reimer" sold this piece of land. In many, if not all, states, the sales deed shows the wife's name as well as the husband's. This is because in most states a married couple owned property jointly if it was acquired while they were married. So the wife would need to agree to sell her interest as well. Here is the sales deed:
The same tract of land was next sold by "Henry Reimer and Katharina Reimer, husband and wife." BINGO! My great-grandmother's name was Katharina, so the sales deed shows that the purchase is his. For some reason, he bought eighty acres of land some distance from his farm and home.
Another time, I found a tract of land purchased by Katharina Fast in McPherson Co., Kans. I knew that my great-grandmother Katharina (Penner) Fast #86813 (1852-1940) had actually lived in that section, so without question I believed it was she. But many years later when I decided to go back to the county courthouse, I found that that tract was sold in the 1950s by a Katharina Fast living in California. Since my great-grandmother died in 1940 and never lived in California, I realized that she was not the seller and therefore not the buyer and that I had made a faulty assumption. Then I found a deed where her daughter Minnie Fast, my great-aunt, actually bought a nearby tract of land in that section. So my great-grandmother never actually owned land there. But again it was the sales deed that gave me the clue I needed.
Here is an example. I found a tract of land in Jefferson County, Nebr., where my great-grandfather Heinrich F. Reimer #317342 lived. It was purchased by "Henry Reimer," but this piece of land was several miles from where he lived, so I wasn't sure if it was he or another Henry Reimer. Here is a scan of the grantor-grantee information:
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| Warranty Deed, Sarah J. & Abr. F. Rempel to Henry & Katharina Reimer, 6 June 1903, Jefferson County, Nebraska, Deed Book 29:636, Register of Deeds, County Courthouse, Fairbury. |
But if I check the tract index at the courthouse, I can find where "Henry Reimer" sold this piece of land. In many, if not all, states, the sales deed shows the wife's name as well as the husband's. This is because in most states a married couple owned property jointly if it was acquired while they were married. So the wife would need to agree to sell her interest as well. Here is the sales deed:
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| Warranty Deed, Henry & Katharina Reimer to Frank L. Rain, 27 May 1908, Jefferson County, Nebraska, Deed Book 37:431, Register of Deeds, County Courthouse, Fairbury. |
Another time, I found a tract of land purchased by Katharina Fast in McPherson Co., Kans. I knew that my great-grandmother Katharina (Penner) Fast #86813 (1852-1940) had actually lived in that section, so without question I believed it was she. But many years later when I decided to go back to the county courthouse, I found that that tract was sold in the 1950s by a Katharina Fast living in California. Since my great-grandmother died in 1940 and never lived in California, I realized that she was not the seller and therefore not the buyer and that I had made a faulty assumption. Then I found a deed where her daughter Minnie Fast, my great-aunt, actually bought a nearby tract of land in that section. So my great-grandmother never actually owned land there. But again it was the sales deed that gave me the clue I needed.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Evidence for a Father - In a Surprising Place
Several months ago I wrote about my surprise when I found that my great-great-grandmother Katharina Bergmann's #7126 (1834-1916) father was listed as Jacob Barkman on her death certificate. I described how I weighed the evidence and concluded that her death certificate was probably wrong and that her father was really Peter Peter Bergmann. But I still had some doubts.
I found some evidence about her maiden name, and thus the surname of her father in a surprising place - the land records in the Jefferson County, Nebr., courthouse. Katharina was widowed twice, when her first husband and my great-great-grandfather Johann Barkmann died in 1879 and again when her second husband Martin Barkmann died in 1894. And each time while she was a widow, she conducted land transactions using the surname Bergmann. In contrast, she used her married surname of Barkmann each time she was involved in a land transaction while she was married, so this is evidence of her maiden name.
A few weeks after her first husband Johann died, she used the surname Bergmann when she bought eighty acres of land that adjoined their home place.
Her first name is cut off because it was in the crease of the deed book, but her last name is clear - "Bergmann."
After she was widowed a second time, she sold seventy-seven acres of land to her son-in-law Klaas R. Friesen and used the surname Bergmann.
She didn't use the surname "Bergmann" consistently - on two other deeds as a widow she used the surname "Barkmann." But I think it's unlikely she would have used the name of Bergmann at all if it weren't her maiden name.
This is another good piece of evidence that her father's surname was Bergmann and not Barkmann. When I analyzed her death certificate earlier, I felt that the evidence, while contradictory, was stronger that her father was Peter Peter Bergmann and not the Jacob Barkman listed on the death certificate. Now the evidence is even stronger for Peter Peter Bergmann being her father. And I certainly didn't expect to find it in the land records of Jefferson County, Nebr.
Collecting all the documents you can find and thinking about the implications of each one is crucial for doing good genealogy research.
I found some evidence about her maiden name, and thus the surname of her father in a surprising place - the land records in the Jefferson County, Nebr., courthouse. Katharina was widowed twice, when her first husband and my great-great-grandfather Johann Barkmann died in 1879 and again when her second husband Martin Barkmann died in 1894. And each time while she was a widow, she conducted land transactions using the surname Bergmann. In contrast, she used her married surname of Barkmann each time she was involved in a land transaction while she was married, so this is evidence of her maiden name.
A few weeks after her first husband Johann died, she used the surname Bergmann when she bought eighty acres of land that adjoined their home place.
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| Source: Warranty Deed, Peter & Anganetha Heidebrecht to Katharina Bergmann, 4 November 1879, Fairbury, Nebraska, Deed Book P:202, Register of Deeds, Courthouse, Fairbury. |
After she was widowed a second time, she sold seventy-seven acres of land to her son-in-law Klaas R. Friesen and used the surname Bergmann.
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| Source: Warranty Deed, Katharina Bergmann to Klaas R. Friesen, 27 March 1899, Jefferson County, Nebraska, Deed Book 25:165, Register of Deeds, County Courthouse, Fairbury. |
This is another good piece of evidence that her father's surname was Bergmann and not Barkmann. When I analyzed her death certificate earlier, I felt that the evidence, while contradictory, was stronger that her father was Peter Peter Bergmann and not the Jacob Barkman listed on the death certificate. Now the evidence is even stronger for Peter Peter Bergmann being her father. And I certainly didn't expect to find it in the land records of Jefferson County, Nebr.
Collecting all the documents you can find and thinking about the implications of each one is crucial for doing good genealogy research.
Getting Out of the Doldrums
I've been in the genealogical doldrums lately. I had an enjoyable time working on my Fast 1776 census project that I summarized here. I made of lot of progress on other Fast families that so far are not connected to my own, but it also wore me out. Thus, I haven't posted for quite a while.
I decided the best way to get out of my genealogical doldrums would be to do a fun project that would likely yield some good results. I haven't researched my Reimer family (maternal grandmother's family), who lived at Jansen, Nebr., so I decided to make a trip to the Jefferson County courthouse. And it proved to be just what I needed.
Just seeing the beautiful and unique Jefferson County courthouse would be enough to get any person out of the doldrums.
I decided to focus on land and probate records because my great-grandfather Heinrich F. Reimer #317342 (1856-1923) had gone from being a simple farmer who owned 120 acres of farmland in 1900 (per 1900 Jefferson County plat map) to a man who gave two quarters of farmland to each of his eight children (2560 acres total) by the time he died in 1923. Clearly there is an interesting story here.
I also wanted to find the probate for my great-great-grandfather Johann Barkmann #317873 (1827-1879). He died of typhoid fever in Jefferson County, Nebr., only a year after arriving from Russia. I knew very little about what he did after he arrived in America, so I thought that his probate file might answer some of those questions.
I'll share the results of my trip in following posts.
I decided the best way to get out of my genealogical doldrums would be to do a fun project that would likely yield some good results. I haven't researched my Reimer family (maternal grandmother's family), who lived at Jansen, Nebr., so I decided to make a trip to the Jefferson County courthouse. And it proved to be just what I needed.
Just seeing the beautiful and unique Jefferson County courthouse would be enough to get any person out of the doldrums.
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| Source: Wikipedia |
I decided to focus on land and probate records because my great-grandfather Heinrich F. Reimer #317342 (1856-1923) had gone from being a simple farmer who owned 120 acres of farmland in 1900 (per 1900 Jefferson County plat map) to a man who gave two quarters of farmland to each of his eight children (2560 acres total) by the time he died in 1923. Clearly there is an interesting story here.
I also wanted to find the probate for my great-great-grandfather Johann Barkmann #317873 (1827-1879). He died of typhoid fever in Jefferson County, Nebr., only a year after arriving from Russia. I knew very little about what he did after he arrived in America, so I thought that his probate file might answer some of those questions.
I'll share the results of my trip in following posts.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Getting US & Canadian Vital Records
I've been haphazardly sending off for a death certificate or a marriage license or a birth registration when I was working on a certain ancestor or just happened to think of it. I realized it would be more efficient to send all the Kansas requests, for example, at one time so that I just have to make one copy of my identification, write one check, mail one envelope, etc. That led to making a spreadsheet for all my ancestors who had lived in North America to show whether I had their government birth, marriage, death, and probate records so that I would know which ones to send for. I added a column for naturalization since it is a government record and one for burial location since it is so closely linked to the death record.
Here's the link to my spreadsheet if you want to download it and do something similar.
This exercise really helped me see 1) which records I can send off for right away and 2) which things require more research. I was also surprised how many I had already gotten.
I learned a number of things in doing this work.
a) Many counties kept vital records long before states did. Some of these have been scanned and indexed online by Ancestry or FamilySearch (images are rarely online) and some images are available on microfilm from the Family History Library. The originals are in county courthouses.
b) The FamilySearch Wiki for individual states and counties is becoming a great resource. Not long ago, most of the pages were stubs, but now this resource has become a quick way to find start dates for county and state vital records, as well as links and other information. Just google the state or county that you want, e.g. "Oklahoma FamilySearch Wiki" or "York County Nebraska FamilySearch Wiki."
c) If you google the name of the state and "vital records genealogy," you usually get the state's web site for ordering vital records. You need to add the word "genealogy" because most of the work of these agencies relates to current birth, marriage, and death certificates. (I'll never forget standing in a line of very affectionate couples waiting to get their marriage licenses so that I could request a 1906 death certificate in Fort Bend Co., Tex.) You have to download, print, and sign and mail a form and include a copy of identification
d) The process for Manitoba and Saskatchewan is quite a bit simpler - you can search an online database, add the records you want to the cart, and download a request form with the file numbers you are requesting already printed on it. Oklahoma is moving to a system like this in 2017.
e) Don't forget that there are other sources for these events as well that substitute for missing government records. Church records usually give birth, marriage, death, and burial information; so it's important to find those as well. Newspaper obituaries give death dates and often burial information. Diaries and letters are good sources as well.
I've got a list of vital records to request now and a more efficient way to do it. And hopefully this will motivate you to make a list of your own.
Here's the link to my spreadsheet if you want to download it and do something similar.
This exercise really helped me see 1) which records I can send off for right away and 2) which things require more research. I was also surprised how many I had already gotten.
I learned a number of things in doing this work.
a) Many counties kept vital records long before states did. Some of these have been scanned and indexed online by Ancestry or FamilySearch (images are rarely online) and some images are available on microfilm from the Family History Library. The originals are in county courthouses.
b) The FamilySearch Wiki for individual states and counties is becoming a great resource. Not long ago, most of the pages were stubs, but now this resource has become a quick way to find start dates for county and state vital records, as well as links and other information. Just google the state or county that you want, e.g. "Oklahoma FamilySearch Wiki" or "York County Nebraska FamilySearch Wiki."
c) If you google the name of the state and "vital records genealogy," you usually get the state's web site for ordering vital records. You need to add the word "genealogy" because most of the work of these agencies relates to current birth, marriage, and death certificates. (I'll never forget standing in a line of very affectionate couples waiting to get their marriage licenses so that I could request a 1906 death certificate in Fort Bend Co., Tex.) You have to download, print, and sign and mail a form and include a copy of identification
d) The process for Manitoba and Saskatchewan is quite a bit simpler - you can search an online database, add the records you want to the cart, and download a request form with the file numbers you are requesting already printed on it. Oklahoma is moving to a system like this in 2017.
e) Don't forget that there are other sources for these events as well that substitute for missing government records. Church records usually give birth, marriage, death, and burial information; so it's important to find those as well. Newspaper obituaries give death dates and often burial information. Diaries and letters are good sources as well.
I've got a list of vital records to request now and a more efficient way to do it. And hopefully this will motivate you to make a list of your own.
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Going to the Courthouse - Other Records
There are many more minor groups of records in courthouses that can still be of great interest to genealogists. You may not be able to find all of these in all counties, but they are all worth pursuing.
Cemetery Records. Most courthouses have a list of cemeteries in the county, including small and private cemeteries and single burials, most commonly in the county clerk's office. Don't miss the chance to find your ancestor's grave.
School Records. As recently as half a century ago, counties were blanketed with rural school districts. The county clerk may have records from these school districts, including censuses of school-age children, board meeting minutes, and even children's grades, although many have been lost or destroyed. Was your ancestor on the school board? You'll need to find a map of school districts for the county to figure out which school your ancestor attended. Here is an example I found when my grandmother Elisabeth (Suderman) Fast was listed among the school-age children of Paris School District #23 in Harvey County, Kansas, in 1898.
This school census showed that the Suderman family was still living in Kansas in the middle of 1898, even though their father had bought land in south Texas in December 1897.
Criminal and Civil Court Records. I suspect that far more of our ancestors were involved in criminal and civil cases than we realize today. Occasionally these records are indexed, but far more often they are unindexed and located in dusty volumes in a vault. If there is an index, I always check it for my ancestors. On the rare occasion that I know that they were involved in a case, I will search for it, but this is usually a hard set of documents to search.
Vital Records. Sometimes counties kept vital records of births, marriages, and deaths before the official state-mandated recording began; so these may be the only official source for these events. For example, I found the marriage license for my great-grandparents Heinrich F. Reimer #317342 (1856-1923) and Katharina Barkman #317343 (1856-1943), who were married on 5 February 1880. Nebraska did not keep state marriage records until 1909, but Jefferson County started in 1864.
This document gave me the date and place of their marriage, their parents, the witnesses, and the minister who performed the wedding. And it was issued by the county a full twenty-nine years before the state required them to do so. Writing to Lincoln would not have produced this gem.
While you are in town, make sure to visit the genealogy room at the city or county library and the local historical museum. They may have city directories, farm directories, newspaper clippings, town and county histories, family histories, collections of local letters and diaries, photographs, and much, much more. Go to the church where your ancestor worshiped to look at their records. If you still have relatives, even distant cousins, in the county, connect with them as they may have valuable records and stories that need to be written down as well.
By now you should have at least a week's worth of research to do in any county where your ancestor lived. Good luck and happy hunting!
Cemetery Records. Most courthouses have a list of cemeteries in the county, including small and private cemeteries and single burials, most commonly in the county clerk's office. Don't miss the chance to find your ancestor's grave.
School Records. As recently as half a century ago, counties were blanketed with rural school districts. The county clerk may have records from these school districts, including censuses of school-age children, board meeting minutes, and even children's grades, although many have been lost or destroyed. Was your ancestor on the school board? You'll need to find a map of school districts for the county to figure out which school your ancestor attended. Here is an example I found when my grandmother Elisabeth (Suderman) Fast was listed among the school-age children of Paris School District #23 in Harvey County, Kansas, in 1898.
 |
| Census of School Population, 30 July 1898, Paris School District #23, Harvey County, Kansas, Register of Deeds, Courthouse, Newton. |
Criminal and Civil Court Records. I suspect that far more of our ancestors were involved in criminal and civil cases than we realize today. Occasionally these records are indexed, but far more often they are unindexed and located in dusty volumes in a vault. If there is an index, I always check it for my ancestors. On the rare occasion that I know that they were involved in a case, I will search for it, but this is usually a hard set of documents to search.
Vital Records. Sometimes counties kept vital records of births, marriages, and deaths before the official state-mandated recording began; so these may be the only official source for these events. For example, I found the marriage license for my great-grandparents Heinrich F. Reimer #317342 (1856-1923) and Katharina Barkman #317343 (1856-1943), who were married on 5 February 1880. Nebraska did not keep state marriage records until 1909, but Jefferson County started in 1864.
 |
| Marriage license of Heinrich Reimer and Catharina Barkmann, 5 February 1880, Jefferson County, Nebraska, No. 473437, County Clerk's Office, Courthouse, Fairbury. |
While you are in town, make sure to visit the genealogy room at the city or county library and the local historical museum. They may have city directories, farm directories, newspaper clippings, town and county histories, family histories, collections of local letters and diaries, photographs, and much, much more. Go to the church where your ancestor worshiped to look at their records. If you still have relatives, even distant cousins, in the county, connect with them as they may have valuable records and stories that need to be written down as well.
By now you should have at least a week's worth of research to do in any county where your ancestor lived. Good luck and happy hunting!
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Going to the Courthouse - Naturalization Records
Amazingly to those of us living in the early 21st century when immigration and citizenship is highly contentious and tighly controlled by the federal government, until the 1920s, a state of laissez-faire existed. Congress had given the authority to almost any municipal, state, or federal court to make immigrants citizens of the United States once they had lived in the US for five years. Until 1906, courts even used whatever forms they wished. Since state district courts were the most accessible to residents, these were the most common destination for the immigrant who wished to become an American citizen. Thus, if you are going to a county where an immigrant ancestor lived, you should definitely check for naturalization documents. But note that if you don't find it there, they may have been naturalized in a municipal or federal court or even in some other place. And a fair number of immigrants never naturalized.
The naturalization process. The process changed over time, but for most of the time we are concerned about (post-1874), the prospective citizen could file a declaration of intention (or "first papers") once he had been in the United States for two years. He received a document that he had to submit to the court when he filed his petition for naturalization ("final papers"), which he could file with a court once he had been in the US for five years. Once approved, the court would give him a certificate of naturalization. Until 1906, the only documents were held at the court that naturalized the citizen. After 1906, a copy was forwarded to the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington, but the original file stayed at the court.
Until 1940, wives and children under age 21 were automatically naturalized when the husband/father was naturalized. Only after 1906 are they even listed on the documents. Single women and widows might undergo a separate naturalization, but this is quite rare. And minor children who came to the US would only have a naturalization file if their father (or perhaps widowed mother) was not naturalized. For example, my great -grandfather David Fast #86812 (1858-1932) arrived as a 16-year-old boy with his parents. His father never naturalized, so he did file for naturalization as an adult when he wanted to homestead land.
Getting Ready. Doing some research ahead of time will speed up your work at the courthouse. The 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses asked the year of immigration and citizenship status for each foreign-born person, so it can tell whether or not you should look for naturalization documents for a certain person (assuming that the census information is correct). The citizenship status is indicated with three abbreviations, Al (alien), Pa (submitted first papers), and Na (naturalized). The 1920 census added a question about the year of naturalization. By 1940, the only question asked was the citizenship status of the foreign-born. Some state censuses also asked about naturalization.
For example, in the 1900 census, my great-grandfather Heinrich F. Reimer #317342 (1856-1923) was reported to have immigrated in 1875 and was still an alien "Al". Absent any other information from other censuses, it's probably not worth searching for his naturalization papers. But another great-grandfather Jacob Suderman #319370 (1856-1906) reported that he had immigrated in 1882 (it was actually 1878) and had been naturalized (I haven't been to the courthouse to search for his file yet). Since he had lived in two counties (Harvey County, Kansas, and Fort Bend County, Texas) between his immigration and the 1900 census, I should check the district courts in those two counties first.
You should also search in Ancestry.com for naturalization information. There is an extensive card file from the INS that has brief information about many naturalizations, so it can give you a place to start. Here is the index card for David Fast, my great-grandfather:
Although brief, every piece of information is pure gold, including the date of naturalization, the court, date of immigration, port of arrival, residence, birth date, and names of two witnesses. Most give a certificate number. You can take this card to the courthouse and go right to the file, using the certificate number or date of naturalization.
At the Courthouse. The naturalization records are generally stored with the clerk of the district court. Most clerks know little or nothing about these records because they have not done naturalizations for several decades, although some clerks do know about them. These records are usually not indexed but are in bound volumes by date - if you don't know the date, you may have to go through them page by page, which is why the census records and the INS card index are so helpful.
In the Texas County, Okla., courthouse, the clerk knew nothing about them until she recalled that her predecessor had mentioned boxes of old records stored on the top floor in the old jail. I rode the elevator up with the clerk to the abandoned jail where we went to a cell being used to store records. I climbed on a desk to get a box of papers from the top of a shelf, and there were bound volumes of naturalization records! Later once I told the ladies at the genealogy room at the city library, they rescued the records.
Examples of Documents. Here is the petition that I found in that old jail cell for my great-grandfather David Fast. Actually, he had filed the petition in Fort Bend County, Texas, in 1906, where the court had given him this document as proof. Then he submitted it to the court in Texas County, Oklahoma, with his petition for naturalization.
My favorite part is the personal description: auburn beard, height of 5'4", weight of 151 pounds, etc.
Next is the petition that he filed three years later in 1909:
Finally there was the plain-looking certificate that the court issued seven months later:
The new citizen got a more formal certificate to keep as proof, and my family is fortunate to have that in its possession. My aunt gave me a copy:
Since this was a post-1906 naturalization, there is more information in the file, but even the pre-1906 files have good information. Plus it's just fun to have the proof of your ancestor's naturalization in your hand. So make it a priority to look for your immigrant ancestor's naturalization records any time you go to a county where he lived.
The naturalization process. The process changed over time, but for most of the time we are concerned about (post-1874), the prospective citizen could file a declaration of intention (or "first papers") once he had been in the United States for two years. He received a document that he had to submit to the court when he filed his petition for naturalization ("final papers"), which he could file with a court once he had been in the US for five years. Once approved, the court would give him a certificate of naturalization. Until 1906, the only documents were held at the court that naturalized the citizen. After 1906, a copy was forwarded to the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington, but the original file stayed at the court.
Until 1940, wives and children under age 21 were automatically naturalized when the husband/father was naturalized. Only after 1906 are they even listed on the documents. Single women and widows might undergo a separate naturalization, but this is quite rare. And minor children who came to the US would only have a naturalization file if their father (or perhaps widowed mother) was not naturalized. For example, my great -grandfather David Fast #86812 (1858-1932) arrived as a 16-year-old boy with his parents. His father never naturalized, so he did file for naturalization as an adult when he wanted to homestead land.
Getting Ready. Doing some research ahead of time will speed up your work at the courthouse. The 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses asked the year of immigration and citizenship status for each foreign-born person, so it can tell whether or not you should look for naturalization documents for a certain person (assuming that the census information is correct). The citizenship status is indicated with three abbreviations, Al (alien), Pa (submitted first papers), and Na (naturalized). The 1920 census added a question about the year of naturalization. By 1940, the only question asked was the citizenship status of the foreign-born. Some state censuses also asked about naturalization.
For example, in the 1900 census, my great-grandfather Heinrich F. Reimer #317342 (1856-1923) was reported to have immigrated in 1875 and was still an alien "Al". Absent any other information from other censuses, it's probably not worth searching for his naturalization papers. But another great-grandfather Jacob Suderman #319370 (1856-1906) reported that he had immigrated in 1882 (it was actually 1878) and had been naturalized (I haven't been to the courthouse to search for his file yet). Since he had lived in two counties (Harvey County, Kansas, and Fort Bend County, Texas) between his immigration and the 1900 census, I should check the district courts in those two counties first.
You should also search in Ancestry.com for naturalization information. There is an extensive card file from the INS that has brief information about many naturalizations, so it can give you a place to start. Here is the index card for David Fast, my great-grandfather:
 |
| Naturalization index card for David Fast, 26 October 1909, Western District Court of Missouri, ARC: 572253; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at Kansas City, Missouri, accessed at Ancestry.com on 10 January 2014. |
At the Courthouse. The naturalization records are generally stored with the clerk of the district court. Most clerks know little or nothing about these records because they have not done naturalizations for several decades, although some clerks do know about them. These records are usually not indexed but are in bound volumes by date - if you don't know the date, you may have to go through them page by page, which is why the census records and the INS card index are so helpful.
In the Texas County, Okla., courthouse, the clerk knew nothing about them until she recalled that her predecessor had mentioned boxes of old records stored on the top floor in the old jail. I rode the elevator up with the clerk to the abandoned jail where we went to a cell being used to store records. I climbed on a desk to get a box of papers from the top of a shelf, and there were bound volumes of naturalization records! Later once I told the ladies at the genealogy room at the city library, they rescued the records.
Examples of Documents. Here is the petition that I found in that old jail cell for my great-grandfather David Fast. Actually, he had filed the petition in Fort Bend County, Texas, in 1906, where the court had given him this document as proof. Then he submitted it to the court in Texas County, Oklahoma, with his petition for naturalization.
 |
| Declaration of intention of David Fast, 12 October 1906, District Court of Fort Bend County, Texas, no. 1, Clerk of District Court, Texas County Court House, Guymon, Oklahoma. |
Next is the petition that he filed three years later in 1909:
 |
| Petition for naturalization of David Fast, 4 March 1909, District Court of Texas County, Oklahoma, no. 67, Clerk of District Court, Court House, Guymon, Oklahoma. |
Finally there was the plain-looking certificate that the court issued seven months later:
 |
| Certificate of naturalization of David Fast, 26 October 1909, District Court of Texas County, Oklahoma, vol. 4126, no. 66275, Clerk of District Court, Court House, Guymon, Oklahoma. |
The new citizen got a more formal certificate to keep as proof, and my family is fortunate to have that in its possession. My aunt gave me a copy:
 |
| Certificate of naturalization of David Fast, 26 October 1909, District Court of Texas County, Oklahoma,no. 66275, original held by Viola (Fast) Funk of Corn, Oklahoma. |
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Going to the Courthouse - Tax Records
Given the inevitability of death and taxes, it is also inevitable that taxes had to be recorded at the courthouse. Most counties levied property tax on those who owned real estate and livestock and on other assets as well. Property tax records are valuable for two reasons - first, they are annual, so they fill in the gaps between the decennial censuses and purchases and sales of land. Second, they show the major property that a person owned. So definitely don't skip the property tax records.
Usually the older property tax records are no longer in the county assessor's office but archived somewhere. These records are less used, so they are a bit harder to find. But ask at the county assessor's office first. I've really dug into them one time, and that was for Fort Bend County, Texas, and there they turned out to be in the Fort Bend County library's genealogy room on microfilm. I've also found them at the county seat's historical library. And they are probably not indexed, so it will take a bit of time to search them.
Here is an example of a property tax record for my great-grandfather David Fast #86812 (1858-1932) when he lived in Fort Bend County, Texas, in 1903.
There are three brothers, Gerhard, Peter, and David, who are living next to each other in the Mennonite settlement. It gives the legal description for their land, the number of acres and the value of the land, and how many head of each kind of livestock and their value. The second page, which I have not included here, shows the number and value of wagons and carriages, the value of stocks and bonds, the value of business inventory and other taxable property, and the amount of each type of tax due. So even one property tax assessment shows a lot about a family.
But even more interesting is to compare the three brothers over time since I found tax assessments for them for 1898 to 1906. David was the oldest brother, and he had significantly more than the other two. But all of them improved over time. David started with 2 cows in 1898 but had 23 by 1905. Brother Gerhard started with 1 cow and built up to 11 by 1906. Brother Peter started with 2 cows and eventually had 8. But my other great-grandfather who lived there, Jacob Suderman #319370 (1856-1906), started with 13 cows in 1899 and had 61 at his peak in 1903. He had three times as much land as David Fast did and many more cattle, so he was clearly a wealthier man. In fact, he had the largest piece of land in the Mennonite settlement.
Here's a little piece of a spreadsheet I made to analyze the tax information from all my ancestors and relatives in the county. Putting it all together like this really showed the contrasts between them.
I was living in Houston, Texas, at the time, so it was easier to go to Richmond and spend 3-4 afternoons there digging the property tax records out of the microfilm. The records will help to show residence and socioeconomic status for each year that the family lived in the county and owned taxable property. No doubt, they will take some time, but they are well worth finding.
Usually the older property tax records are no longer in the county assessor's office but archived somewhere. These records are less used, so they are a bit harder to find. But ask at the county assessor's office first. I've really dug into them one time, and that was for Fort Bend County, Texas, and there they turned out to be in the Fort Bend County library's genealogy room on microfilm. I've also found them at the county seat's historical library. And they are probably not indexed, so it will take a bit of time to search them.
Here is an example of a property tax record for my great-grandfather David Fast #86812 (1858-1932) when he lived in Fort Bend County, Texas, in 1903.
 |
| G. J. Fast, Peter J. Fast, and David Fast, lines #8-10, Form B, Tax Rolls, 1903, Fort Bend County, Texas, no page, Fort Bend County Tax Rolls 1838-1910, George Memorial Library, Richmond, Texas, reel #1079-03. |
But even more interesting is to compare the three brothers over time since I found tax assessments for them for 1898 to 1906. David was the oldest brother, and he had significantly more than the other two. But all of them improved over time. David started with 2 cows in 1898 but had 23 by 1905. Brother Gerhard started with 1 cow and built up to 11 by 1906. Brother Peter started with 2 cows and eventually had 8. But my other great-grandfather who lived there, Jacob Suderman #319370 (1856-1906), started with 13 cows in 1899 and had 61 at his peak in 1903. He had three times as much land as David Fast did and many more cattle, so he was clearly a wealthier man. In fact, he had the largest piece of land in the Mennonite settlement.
Here's a little piece of a spreadsheet I made to analyze the tax information from all my ancestors and relatives in the county. Putting it all together like this really showed the contrasts between them.
I was living in Houston, Texas, at the time, so it was easier to go to Richmond and spend 3-4 afternoons there digging the property tax records out of the microfilm. The records will help to show residence and socioeconomic status for each year that the family lived in the county and owned taxable property. No doubt, they will take some time, but they are well worth finding.
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Going to the Courthouse - Probate Records
The second area I like to research in a courthouse is the probate records. Probate is the legal process of settling the affairs of a deceased person. Probate isn't usually mandatory, but it does provide the approval of a court and law on the decisions made by the heirs in dealing with the assets and liabilities of the deceased and gives legal protection to those decision-makers. So if someone did not own real estate or financial assets such as stocks and bonds, his heirs may not have felt the time and expense of probate were justified. Nonetheless, there are probate records for most deceased ancestors.
Mennonite Inheritance Traditions. Mennonites had very strong and clear beliefs about inheritance, which were based on I Peter 3:7: "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers." (NIV) Since husbands and wives were joint heirs of the gift of new life in Christ, the Mennonites believed that they should share equally in the inheritance of mere material possessions. They had followed this rule in Poland and Prussia; and when they moved to Russia, they had negotiated a special exemption so that they could continue to regulate their own inheritance matters. There a Waisenamt (orphans' office) in each colony regulated inheritance matters. In Canada, the Mennonites set up Waisenamter in Manitoba, but not in other provinces. But in the United States, they were not able to do so, so they followed state inheritance laws or made wills. Only in the 20th century did it become common for US Mennonites to prepare wills. So many of our ancestors died intestate, i.e. without a will.
The Mennonite tradition dictated that the surviving spouse, if any, should inherit one half of all the property and that the children of the deceased spouse should divide the remaining part. So children from a deceased spouse's previous marriage(s) and of the current marriage would inherit, but children of a surviving spouse's previous marriage(s) would not. As an exception, if the wife had acquired real estate before the marriage in her own right, it would go only to her children. Mennonites practiced impartible inheritance, so the farms were not divided into smaller tracts. Instead a family auction was held and the winning bidder owed the other heirs for their share of the winning bid. Often the winning bidder could not pay the full amount immediately; so in Russia and Canada, the Waisenamt would ensure that payments were made to the other family members annually. Unfortunately the other heirs were left with no farm land of their own and only an annual payment of their share. This practice of impartible inheritance was one of the main drivers of the frequent migrations to new places to find cheap farm land for young families.
Watch for any deviation from this inheritance pattern. In particular, English common law, on which both US and Canadian inheritance laws are based, only gave a surviving wife a one-third life interest (not even complete, or fee simple, ownership) in the estate. This was a serious deviation from Mennonite beliefs, so when it happened it indicated either that the deceased husband was not aware of the need to make a will or that the family had only a tenuous connection with the Mennonite community left.
Where to Look for Records. Another question is in which county (or state) probate records might be filed. Usually the probate is done in the county where someone was resident when he died, which be might different than the county in which he died. If someone owns property in another county, there may be a small file in that county showing the final disposition of property, but it is usually not the main probate file. For instance, my maternal grandmother died in McPherson County, Kansas, in the nursing home, but she had lived for seven decades in Meade County, Kansas, and all her real estate was in Meade County. The probate was done in McPherson County because that is where she was resident when she died. There were some probate records in Meade County, though, because her land had to be taken care of. However, my paternal grandmother died in Washita County, Oklahoma, in the nursing home; but she owned real estate in Texas County, Oklahoma. But her probate was done entirely in Texas County, Oklahoma. So it's worth checking for probate records both where the person was resident when he died and where he owned real estate.
Probate records are usually held by the Clerk of the District Court, but sometimes there may be a separate family or probate court. You will need to look in an index for your ancestor's name to get a file number, and then you request that file. Old records may be bound in books or on microfilm. If you have to search without an index, probate cases are usually ordered by the date when the case was opened, which may be from a few weeks to a few years after a person's death.
Which Records to Copy. The case file may be voluminous, so you usually don't want to copy the whole thing. Here are the items that I like to copy:
a) Appointment of the Executor or Administrator. It's interesting to see which person is appointed, whether other people refused, or whether there was a legal fight over the appointment - all of these things can tell you a lot about family dynamics. (In discussions of probate, there is usually a lot made of whether a person died testate [with a will], in which case an executor is appointed, or intestate [without a valid will], in which case an administrator is appointed, but this need not concern us here.)
b) Bond - In general an executor or administrator must put up a bond, commensurate with the size of the estate, as a guarantee that he will properly handle his responsibilities. Usually, a will contains a provision that the executor need not put up a bond. But there is no such provision to exempt the administrator of an intestate estate - since most Mennonites died intestate, the relative size of the bond can tell you a lot about the wealth of the deceased. For example, when my great-great-grandmother Katharina Fast #51804 (1814-1890) died in Nebraska, the bond for her administrators was only $200, while the bonds for most other estates at that time in that county were $3000-6000. This is a strong indication that she did not leave a large estate.
c) Will - Usually the only place you will find someone's will is in the probate file because family rarely keep a copy of a probated will.
d) Estate Inventory - There should be a listing of all the assets and liabilities owned by the estate, including valuations. This can tell you about the socioeconomic status of the deceased and what kind of business or employment he had. Sometimes an inventory has great detail and other times it is quite simple.
e) Determination of Descent - This should give you a list of all a person's children. Take note if there are any documents relating to disputes about whether or not a person is an heir. Note that in the list below the wife got only a one-third share (not one-half). I think this happened because my great-grandfather had only recently moved from Manitoba, where there were Waisenamter, to Saskatchewan, where there were not; so he had not thought to make a will.
f) Final Determination - This will be the document that shows how assets are divided among the heirs. Take note if anyone doesn't get his expected share or if particular pieces of property goes to a particular person (instead of an equal share of money).
Of course, keep an eye out for other documents of importance. Also, note when the case was opened and when it was closed - this can tell you about the legal and business acumen of the executor and the complexity of the estate.
By now you should have learned a lot about the socioeconomic status of your ancestor and about the dynamics of his family.
Mennonite Inheritance Traditions. Mennonites had very strong and clear beliefs about inheritance, which were based on I Peter 3:7: "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers." (NIV) Since husbands and wives were joint heirs of the gift of new life in Christ, the Mennonites believed that they should share equally in the inheritance of mere material possessions. They had followed this rule in Poland and Prussia; and when they moved to Russia, they had negotiated a special exemption so that they could continue to regulate their own inheritance matters. There a Waisenamt (orphans' office) in each colony regulated inheritance matters. In Canada, the Mennonites set up Waisenamter in Manitoba, but not in other provinces. But in the United States, they were not able to do so, so they followed state inheritance laws or made wills. Only in the 20th century did it become common for US Mennonites to prepare wills. So many of our ancestors died intestate, i.e. without a will.
The Mennonite tradition dictated that the surviving spouse, if any, should inherit one half of all the property and that the children of the deceased spouse should divide the remaining part. So children from a deceased spouse's previous marriage(s) and of the current marriage would inherit, but children of a surviving spouse's previous marriage(s) would not. As an exception, if the wife had acquired real estate before the marriage in her own right, it would go only to her children. Mennonites practiced impartible inheritance, so the farms were not divided into smaller tracts. Instead a family auction was held and the winning bidder owed the other heirs for their share of the winning bid. Often the winning bidder could not pay the full amount immediately; so in Russia and Canada, the Waisenamt would ensure that payments were made to the other family members annually. Unfortunately the other heirs were left with no farm land of their own and only an annual payment of their share. This practice of impartible inheritance was one of the main drivers of the frequent migrations to new places to find cheap farm land for young families.
Watch for any deviation from this inheritance pattern. In particular, English common law, on which both US and Canadian inheritance laws are based, only gave a surviving wife a one-third life interest (not even complete, or fee simple, ownership) in the estate. This was a serious deviation from Mennonite beliefs, so when it happened it indicated either that the deceased husband was not aware of the need to make a will or that the family had only a tenuous connection with the Mennonite community left.
Where to Look for Records. Another question is in which county (or state) probate records might be filed. Usually the probate is done in the county where someone was resident when he died, which be might different than the county in which he died. If someone owns property in another county, there may be a small file in that county showing the final disposition of property, but it is usually not the main probate file. For instance, my maternal grandmother died in McPherson County, Kansas, in the nursing home, but she had lived for seven decades in Meade County, Kansas, and all her real estate was in Meade County. The probate was done in McPherson County because that is where she was resident when she died. There were some probate records in Meade County, though, because her land had to be taken care of. However, my paternal grandmother died in Washita County, Oklahoma, in the nursing home; but she owned real estate in Texas County, Oklahoma. But her probate was done entirely in Texas County, Oklahoma. So it's worth checking for probate records both where the person was resident when he died and where he owned real estate.
Probate records are usually held by the Clerk of the District Court, but sometimes there may be a separate family or probate court. You will need to look in an index for your ancestor's name to get a file number, and then you request that file. Old records may be bound in books or on microfilm. If you have to search without an index, probate cases are usually ordered by the date when the case was opened, which may be from a few weeks to a few years after a person's death.
Which Records to Copy. The case file may be voluminous, so you usually don't want to copy the whole thing. Here are the items that I like to copy:
a) Appointment of the Executor or Administrator. It's interesting to see which person is appointed, whether other people refused, or whether there was a legal fight over the appointment - all of these things can tell you a lot about family dynamics. (In discussions of probate, there is usually a lot made of whether a person died testate [with a will], in which case an executor is appointed, or intestate [without a valid will], in which case an administrator is appointed, but this need not concern us here.)
 |
| Extract from Appointment of Cornelius K. Siemens Administrator, Gerhard Siemens probate file, probate case 154, Surrogate Court, Moose Jaw Judicial District, Saskatchewan. Accessed at FamilySearch.org, database Saskatchewan, Probate Estate Files, 1887-1931, 9 Jun 2014. |
 |
| Extract from Administrator's bond for Henry Penner, Estate of Franz Penner and Catharine Penner, 28 February 1891, Case #247, Page 494, County Court files, York County, Nebraska, Courthouse, York. Accessed on LDS film #2168519. |
c) Will - Usually the only place you will find someone's will is in the probate file because family rarely keep a copy of a probated will.
 |
| Extract from Will of David D. Fast, 15 August 1967, Texas County, Oklahoma, Probate Records, Clerk of District Court, Courthouse, Guymon. |
d) Estate Inventory - There should be a listing of all the assets and liabilities owned by the estate, including valuations. This can tell you about the socioeconomic status of the deceased and what kind of business or employment he had. Sometimes an inventory has great detail and other times it is quite simple.
 |
| Extract from Estate inventory, C. K. Siemens probate, case no. 1466, filed 1950, Meade County, Kansas, Clerk of District Court, Courthouse, Meade. |
e) Determination of Descent - This should give you a list of all a person's children. Take note if there are any documents relating to disputes about whether or not a person is an heir. Note that in the list below the wife got only a one-third share (not one-half). I think this happened because my great-grandfather had only recently moved from Manitoba, where there were Waisenamter, to Saskatchewan, where there were not; so he had not thought to make a will.
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| Determination of descent, Gerhard Siemens probate file, probate case 154, Surrogate Court, Moose Jaw Judicial District, Saskatchewan. Accessed at FamilySearch.org, database Saskatchewan, Probate Estate Files, 1887-1931, 9 Jun 2014. |
f) Final Determination - This will be the document that shows how assets are divided among the heirs. Take note if anyone doesn't get his expected share or if particular pieces of property goes to a particular person (instead of an equal share of money).
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| Extract from Final Account of Executors of Elizabeth Fast Estate, 5 November 1983, Texas County, Oklahoma, Probate Records, Clerk of District Court, Courthouse, Guymon. |
Of course, keep an eye out for other documents of importance. Also, note when the case was opened and when it was closed - this can tell you about the legal and business acumen of the executor and the complexity of the estate.
By now you should have learned a lot about the socioeconomic status of your ancestor and about the dynamics of his family.
Friday, November 25, 2016
Going to the Courthouse - Land Records - Case Study
Volumes of land records piled high on a counter in the vault in a county courthouse can be a monumentally boring thing. Or they can bring a family history to life. Let me give an example of how I found them to put flesh on the bones of my family's history.
By 1921, my grandfather David D. Fast #112786 (1884-1974) was 37 years old, single, and owned a section of good farm land near Hooker, Oklahoma. On 28 February 1921, he borrowed $10,000 from C. H. Bailey of Hutchinson, Kansas, something that I found in the land records at the Texas County courthouse (Mortgage, D. D. Fast to C. H. Bailey, 28 February 1921, Texas County, Oklahoma, Deed Book 96:128, County Clerk's Office, Courthouse, Guymon). When I showed the mortgage to my uncle, he said Grandpa used that money to buy new John Deere farm equipment; and here is a picture from a local history book showing my grandfather using that equipment to harvest wheat.
He never paid off the loan, instead paying the interest yearly and rolling it over in 1926. By this time he was married with four children. When the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl hit, he couldn't pay the mortgage; and on 4 August 1931, he sold his section of farm land, which included the family home to the same C. H. Bailey, apparently for a bargain price. My dad had been born on 10 July 1931, less than a month before the family lost the farm, so it must have been an incredibly stressful time. Here is a copy of the deed, which I found in the courthouse, when Grandpa had to sell his farm:
My grandfather lost the farm equipment as well, and the family moved about ten miles away to an old house near Hardesty, Oklahoma, built in the 1880s of blocks cut from soft chalk rock. My oldest aunt remembers the family belongings piled into a horse-drawn wagon while the family drove their car to the "new" home, known as the Rock House. The following years of the Great Depression were incredibly trying with four small children and another one on the way and not enough food or coal to heat with.
But my grandfather was an indomitable optimist, and he managed to save a few head of cattle out of the debacle. He had always wanted to be a rancher instead of a farmer and had made a few attempts to get into ranching. But now he had no choice since he needed to make a living and all he had left were a few cattle. He rented some ranch land around the Rock House and eventually built up a good herd. By the 1950s, he owned 680 acres of excellent ranch land and rented another 1320 acres. At the age of 78 in 1962, when most men his age were retired or already dead, he built his dream home on his ranch. He lived in it another 12 years, until he died in 1974 at age 90.
Here is the deed, again from the courthouse, for the first 80 acres of land that he bought in 1947, the first time that he had owned real estate in 16 years:
Why was it important to find the mortgages and deed in the courthouse? My aunt had written up her recollections in an excellent family history, but she was a young girl at the time and didn't know many of the financial and business details. When I showed them to her and to my uncle, it sparked memories of the farm equipment, the bill collectors, and the move to the Rock House. Neither of them had known exactly why their father had lost the farm, the amount borrowed, the many years spent rolling over the loan without repaying it, and exactly when it had been foreclosed. But combining documents and memories added to the family history that my aunt had already done.
Courthouse documents alone can be fashioned into an interesting story if you think what it must have been like to experience the events that they represent. And adding memories and family histories to the mix can make it truly exciting.
By 1921, my grandfather David D. Fast #112786 (1884-1974) was 37 years old, single, and owned a section of good farm land near Hooker, Oklahoma. On 28 February 1921, he borrowed $10,000 from C. H. Bailey of Hutchinson, Kansas, something that I found in the land records at the Texas County courthouse (Mortgage, D. D. Fast to C. H. Bailey, 28 February 1921, Texas County, Oklahoma, Deed Book 96:128, County Clerk's Office, Courthouse, Guymon). When I showed the mortgage to my uncle, he said Grandpa used that money to buy new John Deere farm equipment; and here is a picture from a local history book showing my grandfather using that equipment to harvest wheat.
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| Source: Hardesty History (Hardesty, Okla.: Hardesty Extension Homemakers Group, 1973) 2. |
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| Warranty deed, D. D. & Elizabeth Fast to C. H. Bailey, 4 August 1931, Texas County, Oklahoma, Deed Book 170:366, County Clerk's Office, Courthouse, Guymon. |
But my grandfather was an indomitable optimist, and he managed to save a few head of cattle out of the debacle. He had always wanted to be a rancher instead of a farmer and had made a few attempts to get into ranching. But now he had no choice since he needed to make a living and all he had left were a few cattle. He rented some ranch land around the Rock House and eventually built up a good herd. By the 1950s, he owned 680 acres of excellent ranch land and rented another 1320 acres. At the age of 78 in 1962, when most men his age were retired or already dead, he built his dream home on his ranch. He lived in it another 12 years, until he died in 1974 at age 90.
Here is the deed, again from the courthouse, for the first 80 acres of land that he bought in 1947, the first time that he had owned real estate in 16 years:
 |
| Warranty deed, Minnie Binkley to D. D. & Elizabeth Fast, 27 May 1947, Texas County, Oklahoma, Deed Book 277:451, County Clerk's Office, Courthouse, Guymon. |
Courthouse documents alone can be fashioned into an interesting story if you think what it must have been like to experience the events that they represent. And adding memories and family histories to the mix can make it truly exciting.
Friday, November 18, 2016
Going to the Courthouse - Land Records
One of the most interesting things to research at a courthouse is the land records. In the United States, land records are public; so they are made available for public inspection. You can see and use the records for free, although you usually have to pay if you want copies. Thus, anyone can walk into the courthouse during business hours and view them.
In the county clerk's office (the holder of the land records might be called something else in your state), you should tell them that you are doing family history research and when and where your family lived in the county. Usually an employee in the clerk's office will briefly show you where the record books are and explain how they can be used. There is not usually much hand-holding, although most employees are glad to answer a few questions; but they do have their own work to do and guiding researchers is not part of it. Try to be a good citizen to smooth the way for future genealogists.
If you don't have a legal description of the land, then you should tell the employee where your family lived and ask them to show you on a map the township and range. Or if you are looking for town lots, tell them the address, and they should show you where to look for those.
If you have a legal description, go to the tract book for that township and range. Once you locate the township and range, then find the correct section. Usually there is at least one page for each section. Starting about the time your ancestor bought land, scan the list of grantors and grantees for the right name. All types of transactions are listed together - warranty deeds, quit claim deeds, mineral leases and releases, mortgages and releases, etc. Jot down the volume and page for the transactions that interest you.
Here is a snippet from a tract book from Texas County, Oklahoma. Notice the section, township, and range numbers across the top. Then there are columns for the grantor (seller, mortgagor, lessor, etc.) and grantee. Next is an abbreviation for the type of instrument, such as WD for warranty deed and QCD for quit claim deed. Next are columns with tick marks for each quarter-quarter this is involved in the transaction. Finally, columns for the number of acres involved and most importantly the volume and page where you can find the recorded copy of the instrument.
Usually you can pull the books off the shelves yourself, but sometimes you have to ask an employee to get it for you. You may have to ask about the organizational scheme of the books - sometimes they are shelved strictly by number but other times warranty deeds are together, mortgages are together, etc. Sometimes the old books that are rarely used are in a vault somewhere. When you find the instrument, enter all the data into your spreadsheet. If you want a copy, ask an employee how it works and the cost. They may make copies for you, or you may need to make them yourself. Prices vary widely. Digital photographs are usually forbidden.
Once you have all the transactions on the known tracts of land that your family owned, I like to check the grantor-grantee index to see if they owned land that I didn't know about. This would also be the place to start if you don't know where they lived in the county. This is an index for a period of years where all the transactions are indexed by last name. So you might have a book for 1908-1920, 1921-1932, etc. You should look in both the grantor and grantee sections in all the years that your family lived there. It usually doesn't take too long because the book has many sections, for example, not just an F section but Fa, Fe, Fi, Fo, and Fu. The grantor-grantee index is also called the direct-indirect index, with the direct portion being that indexed by grantor and the indirect by grantee.
Sometimes it may be hard to find the right tract of land. My grandfather Cornelius K. Siemens #7529 (1884-1950) lived at Satanta, Kansas, with his family from 1916-1918. When I went to the Haskell County courthouse, I knew approximately where they lived; so I searched in the tract book for that township but found nothing. Then I went to the grantor-grantee index, but again I found so Siemens. So I went back to the tract book and searched again. Then it dawned on me - there was a Jacob L. Plett listed as an owner of half a section. That was Cornelius' father-in-law! Apparently, Jacob Plett had purchased two quarters, one for each of his daughters in the Kleine Gemeinde community there. That was why there were no Siemens in the records. But this added an interesting dimension to the family story that I had not known.
Before you leave the county clerk's office, you should do two things. First, check that you have a purchase and a sale transaction for every piece of land that your family owned. Do the same for mortgages and mineral leases if you are keeping track of those. However, often if land is transferred to heirs by probate, an instrument is not recorded, so note those items to check for in the probate records that you are going to get. Second, ask an employee if they have any other interesting records - this could include school records, cemetery records, city directories, and many other things.
Before leaving the county, I like to go see the land in person that my ancestors owned and take a picture of myself at the site. It gives me an appreciation for the physical environment in which they lived. If some or all of the original buildings are there, it is even more interesting. I also try to go by the Mennonite church where they worshiped and the cemetery if family members are buried there.
By now you should have a good idea of the socioeconomic status of your ancestors from the land they owned. You may also have gained some insight into family dynamics based on transfers of land between family members. I hope you will find research on land record at county courthouses to be as valuable as I have.
In the county clerk's office (the holder of the land records might be called something else in your state), you should tell them that you are doing family history research and when and where your family lived in the county. Usually an employee in the clerk's office will briefly show you where the record books are and explain how they can be used. There is not usually much hand-holding, although most employees are glad to answer a few questions; but they do have their own work to do and guiding researchers is not part of it. Try to be a good citizen to smooth the way for future genealogists.
 |
| Typical shelves of deed books, from Renssellaer County, New York. Source: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/reverter-clause-ties-up-sale-3785686.php |
If you don't have a legal description of the land, then you should tell the employee where your family lived and ask them to show you on a map the township and range. Or if you are looking for town lots, tell them the address, and they should show you where to look for those.
If you have a legal description, go to the tract book for that township and range. Once you locate the township and range, then find the correct section. Usually there is at least one page for each section. Starting about the time your ancestor bought land, scan the list of grantors and grantees for the right name. All types of transactions are listed together - warranty deeds, quit claim deeds, mineral leases and releases, mortgages and releases, etc. Jot down the volume and page for the transactions that interest you.
Here is a snippet from a tract book from Texas County, Oklahoma. Notice the section, township, and range numbers across the top. Then there are columns for the grantor (seller, mortgagor, lessor, etc.) and grantee. Next is an abbreviation for the type of instrument, such as WD for warranty deed and QCD for quit claim deed. Next are columns with tick marks for each quarter-quarter this is involved in the transaction. Finally, columns for the number of acres involved and most importantly the volume and page where you can find the recorded copy of the instrument.
Usually you can pull the books off the shelves yourself, but sometimes you have to ask an employee to get it for you. You may have to ask about the organizational scheme of the books - sometimes they are shelved strictly by number but other times warranty deeds are together, mortgages are together, etc. Sometimes the old books that are rarely used are in a vault somewhere. When you find the instrument, enter all the data into your spreadsheet. If you want a copy, ask an employee how it works and the cost. They may make copies for you, or you may need to make them yourself. Prices vary widely. Digital photographs are usually forbidden.
Once you have all the transactions on the known tracts of land that your family owned, I like to check the grantor-grantee index to see if they owned land that I didn't know about. This would also be the place to start if you don't know where they lived in the county. This is an index for a period of years where all the transactions are indexed by last name. So you might have a book for 1908-1920, 1921-1932, etc. You should look in both the grantor and grantee sections in all the years that your family lived there. It usually doesn't take too long because the book has many sections, for example, not just an F section but Fa, Fe, Fi, Fo, and Fu. The grantor-grantee index is also called the direct-indirect index, with the direct portion being that indexed by grantor and the indirect by grantee.
Sometimes it may be hard to find the right tract of land. My grandfather Cornelius K. Siemens #7529 (1884-1950) lived at Satanta, Kansas, with his family from 1916-1918. When I went to the Haskell County courthouse, I knew approximately where they lived; so I searched in the tract book for that township but found nothing. Then I went to the grantor-grantee index, but again I found so Siemens. So I went back to the tract book and searched again. Then it dawned on me - there was a Jacob L. Plett listed as an owner of half a section. That was Cornelius' father-in-law! Apparently, Jacob Plett had purchased two quarters, one for each of his daughters in the Kleine Gemeinde community there. That was why there were no Siemens in the records. But this added an interesting dimension to the family story that I had not known.
Before you leave the county clerk's office, you should do two things. First, check that you have a purchase and a sale transaction for every piece of land that your family owned. Do the same for mortgages and mineral leases if you are keeping track of those. However, often if land is transferred to heirs by probate, an instrument is not recorded, so note those items to check for in the probate records that you are going to get. Second, ask an employee if they have any other interesting records - this could include school records, cemetery records, city directories, and many other things.
Before leaving the county, I like to go see the land in person that my ancestors owned and take a picture of myself at the site. It gives me an appreciation for the physical environment in which they lived. If some or all of the original buildings are there, it is even more interesting. I also try to go by the Mennonite church where they worshiped and the cemetery if family members are buried there.
By now you should have a good idea of the socioeconomic status of your ancestors from the land they owned. You may also have gained some insight into family dynamics based on transfers of land between family members. I hope you will find research on land record at county courthouses to be as valuable as I have.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Going to the Courthouse - Getting Ready
Most people dread going to the courthouse. In the worst case, you could be going for a criminal trial. But even going to pay your property taxes or renew your driver license is no fun. But genealogists love going to the courthouse because it is a treasure trove of documents.
My experience will be based on courthouses in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. I suspect that most states west of the Mississippi are similar, but you should be aware that each state and even each county is different.
Preparation is key - there are lots of records to look at, so you will want to know what you're looking for. First, have family group sheets ready for all your ancestors who lived there because you'll want to know all the family members and their birth, marriage, and death dates.
Make sure you know what churches they attended and where they are (or might be) buried.
Check when they were naturalized as those records are often at the county courthouse.
Make a list of ancestors who died while resident in that county (not necessarily the place of death) and be ready to look for the probate of their estates. Generally people who owned real estate went through probate, and even some people who only had personal property did so as well.
Next, look on the county website to see what records are available electronically. I once went to the Fort Bend County, Texas, courthouse only to learn when I got there that they charged a dollar a page to print land records in the courthouse but that they could be printed for free if you accessed them online. Other places charge a dollar a page online but a quarter in the courthouse, so you never know.
Determine as exactly as possible when and where your ancestors lived and owned land - the more precisely you know the location, the less time it will take to find their deed records. If they were within city limits, try to get the street address. If they lived in the country in state-land states (most of the states west of the Mississippi), you need the section, township, and range. Or if you know how many miles they lived from a certain town, you can figure out the section, township, and range from maps at the courthouse. The courthouse should have maps available to locate their property exactly if you know the address or the legal description.
I have an Excel spreadsheet for each couple where I write the land transactions they were involved in. This way I don't forget any details, and I don't have to sort through chicken scratches in a notebook when I get home. I've uploaded the template to Google Drive so that you can download it.
Look at the county website to see which departments have which records. For instance, in Oklahoma the county clerk has the deed records, but in Kansas they are held by the register of deeds. Check the department hours and holidays while you are on the website. And then a day before you leave, give them a call to see if they will be open - if the county judge's funeral is the day you plan to go, your entire trip may be wasted.
In the next post, I will explain how legal descriptions work.
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| A random county courthouse from commons.wikimedia.org |
My experience will be based on courthouses in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. I suspect that most states west of the Mississippi are similar, but you should be aware that each state and even each county is different.
Preparation is key - there are lots of records to look at, so you will want to know what you're looking for. First, have family group sheets ready for all your ancestors who lived there because you'll want to know all the family members and their birth, marriage, and death dates.
Make sure you know what churches they attended and where they are (or might be) buried.
Check when they were naturalized as those records are often at the county courthouse.
Make a list of ancestors who died while resident in that county (not necessarily the place of death) and be ready to look for the probate of their estates. Generally people who owned real estate went through probate, and even some people who only had personal property did so as well.
Next, look on the county website to see what records are available electronically. I once went to the Fort Bend County, Texas, courthouse only to learn when I got there that they charged a dollar a page to print land records in the courthouse but that they could be printed for free if you accessed them online. Other places charge a dollar a page online but a quarter in the courthouse, so you never know.
Determine as exactly as possible when and where your ancestors lived and owned land - the more precisely you know the location, the less time it will take to find their deed records. If they were within city limits, try to get the street address. If they lived in the country in state-land states (most of the states west of the Mississippi), you need the section, township, and range. Or if you know how many miles they lived from a certain town, you can figure out the section, township, and range from maps at the courthouse. The courthouse should have maps available to locate their property exactly if you know the address or the legal description.
I have an Excel spreadsheet for each couple where I write the land transactions they were involved in. This way I don't forget any details, and I don't have to sort through chicken scratches in a notebook when I get home. I've uploaded the template to Google Drive so that you can download it.
Look at the county website to see which departments have which records. For instance, in Oklahoma the county clerk has the deed records, but in Kansas they are held by the register of deeds. Check the department hours and holidays while you are on the website. And then a day before you leave, give them a call to see if they will be open - if the county judge's funeral is the day you plan to go, your entire trip may be wasted.
In the next post, I will explain how legal descriptions work.
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