? for the genealogy experts

[abh218]

Aside from Disney, genealogy is number 2 on my hobby/surfing list. I also use rootsweb.com - no subscription required. You might also search for the specific county's genealogy. In some areas, folks with genealogical interests have transcribed and posted data.

Also, if you're interested, you can PM me. I have access to census records on Heritage Quest via my local library online. 1940 census records are now available (they are "released" at the 70 year mark). So if you have someone born in 1930 but not sure if it was before/after the census was taken, the 1940 one might be a better bet! These are actual census records images and can provide you with a wealth of info. Please PM me if you're interested. I don't always check in on the dis - but can give you my genealogy email addy!

Good luck to you!

 

[buckler]

Aside from Disney, genealogy is number 2 on my hobby/surfing list. I also use rootsweb.com - no subscription required. You might also search for the specific county's genealogy. In some areas, folks with genealogical interests have transcribed and posted data.

Also, if you're interested, you can PM me. I have access to census records on Heritage Quest via my local library online. 1940 census records are now available (they are "released" at the 70 year mark). So if you have someone born in 1930 but not sure if it was before/after the census was taken, the 1940 one might be a better bet! These are actual census records images and can provide you with a wealth of info. Please PM me if you're interested. I don't always check in on the dis - but can give you my genealogy email addy!

Good luck to you!

Actually we have to wait 2 more years until April 2012 for the 1940 census. The privacy laws have a 72 year waiting period. The 1930 census is the most recent available. Unfortunately, Heritage Quest doesn't have the 1930 census loaded for all states yet. Massachusetts is one of the missing states.

I checked the Ancestry index for the 1930 census even though I don't have a subscription any longer. I didn't see her husband's father in there with a quick search, but it's a common last name and I'm not 100% sure the birth place they have for him is correct. Plus he was born right around the time the 1930 census would have been taken. He might have not been included. Right now I think requesting the SSI record and a death certificate for her DH's father will be the next step to see if they have the names of the father's parents on it and verify the place of birth. From there she could also request a birth certificate. Once she has the parent's names she should revisit the 1930 and earlier census records.

 

[New England Eeyore]

I see what you mean about the birthplace question. Our source was my husbands birth certificate. That city is right on the border of MA and Rhode Island, which the SS referenced , so the family may have been living in either state.

I can see why you all get so into this - it really is like detective work! More fun than I thought it was going to be!

 

[buckler]

I see what you mean about the birthplace question. Our source was my husbands birth certificate. That city is right on the border of MA and Rhode Island, which the SS referenced , so the family may have been living in either state.

I can see why you all get so into this - it really is like detective work! More fun than I thought it was going to be!

It's quite interesting what you can come up with. The Civil War pension records for one of my ancestors revealed all kinds of interesting info, right out of a soap opera. One of my ancestors was married to one man but he ran off and left her. After a few years he came back and gave her some papers to sign telling her they were a divorce, but she didn't know how to read so she couldn't be sure. He didn't give her a copy. He left again and she heard a rumor years later that he had died. She assumed she was divorced, so she remarried to another man (my ancestor, the Civil War veteran). The government was not convinced the marriage was valid since they couldn't prove the divorce. It's possible my ancestor had committed bigamy. My mother insists this woman was a school teacher. Umm...mom...SHE COULDN'T READ! . I decided to not push that point with my mother.

 

[abh218]

Actually we have to wait 2 more years until April 2012 for the 1940 census. The privacy laws have a 72 year waiting period. The 1930 census is the most recent available. Unfortunately, Heritage Quest doesn't have the 1930 census loaded for all states yet. Massachusetts is one of the missing states.

Thanks for setting me straight on the census records. Just offering to help here -sorry, didn't mean to step on someone's toes. Best of luck to you, NEE, in your mystery.

 

[buckler]

Thanks for setting me straight on the census records. Just offering to help here -sorry, didn't mean to step on someone's toes. Best of luck to you, NEE, in your mystery.

I wish you had been right! No toes stepped on. I was surprised to see that Heritage Quest was so incomplete for 1930. There are only a handful of states loaded. It was only after entering a name like "Smith" and not finding any in Massachusetts that I got suspicious.