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Yes, it usually is, even if it requires a bit of searching. Depending on where you are from, it can be quite easily accessible, for example:
Here is the matching record from county records. It does appear that the couple received a license, but that their marriage was never recorded in Wayne County.
This says she'll need to activate her own kit, but can then give your account full access to view and manage it. My dad did that with his DNA test - it's under his account, but he gave me access as a manager. I believe that the DNA kit can only be linked to one tree, but it doesn't have to be the tree of the kit owner, it can be linked to the tree on your account.
Ancestry.com automatically interprets everyone under 100 years old as Living (therefore Private), unless a death date is entered. If there is no birth date entered, it estimates age based on other relatives with birth dates.
Ancestral DNA tests usually search for Jewish DNA. If your grandmother’s ancestors were genetically Jewish, a DNA test might be able to help you discover that. If her ancestors were recent converts to Judaism or if a recent ancestor was adopted into a Jewish household, for instance, the DNA test wouldn’t be able to show that.
Looking for church records for your grandmother, siblings, parents, and other close relatives can also be helpful. You can also look for relatives in DNA databases and research the religion of close common relatives. And if nothing specific can be found, religion can be guessed at by researching the general history of an area where an ancestor was from.
https://www.ancestry.com/dna/ethnicity/european-jewish
There are many other DNA tests you can use besides these two, but I just wanted to give you a couple of links to start.
Do you know anything about your British ancestry? It’s possible admixture from them.
Got Scandinavian? Why your DNA results may have unexpected ethnicities
“As you can see, even individuals with deep British pedigrees often have some Scandinavian and Central European ancestry.”
This is an index from the SS Application of Helen Sachs Cohn , listing her father as Max Sachs and her mother as Ida Sterling. You can request a copy of the application for a fee.
Page with info about Grace and family.
I apologize I couldn’t insert the pictures but those are the links.
If I’m understanding you correctly then you and that “somebody” you refer to are 2nd Cousins once removed.
I assume Ancestry has a version of this chart, but try looking at something like this:
https://lifehacker.com/second-cousins-once-removed-and-more-explained-in-1661572056/amp
On this chart go from “self” to parent, then go over to your parent’s 1st cousin (which is your “first cousin once removed” on that chart), then down two generations (because you said your dad’s first cousin is this person’s grandma). That gets you to “2nd cousin-once removed”.
I might’ve misinterpreted something here, but I think a good way to do it is to use Ancestry.com to create a small tree with you, your father, his cousin, then add the other relationships, a child then a grandchild— even if you don’t know names/dates, just add them in blank in their correct place on the tree, then save and tap ‘view relationship’, that’ll tell you what they are to you. (Hope that makes sense!)
I believe that Piotr lived in Johnstown (Pennsylvania or, less likely, New York). Here's a clearer copy of the manifest. Notice that other entries in that column have town and city names as well: Brooklyn, Salem, Chicopee Falls, etc. Notice also that last names are not always given for relatives.
Is the "small village in Germany" that you refer to only where your "great-great-great-grandfather" allegedly lived? Or is that also where your maternal grandmother was from? If it is just where your "great-great-great-grandfather" allegedly lived, then I would just hold onto that information for now and use it if and when you successfully trace back to him. (Family Search has some records available from there for when you are ready to take that step: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=75&placeId=30354&query=%2Bplace%3A%22Germany%2C%20Baden%2C%20Niederrimsingen%22&subjectsOpen=532898-50)
As for first steps, did she become a US citizen? You might look for her naturalization paperwork and see if it listed a birth location. Failing that, I would look through passenger lists for he immigration record. Did she come alone or with relatives? If she came with relatives, then I would definitely try to track down their descendants and see if any other branches of your family have more knowledge on the matter.
Another place to look would be her CHURCH marriage record in the United States. Sometimes churches included pieces of biographical information such as the birthplace in Germany in the marriage records. (The secular marriage records are far less likely to have that information, but it can't hurt to look.)
If you are certain of her birthdate, then you could also e-mail the Kirchengemeinde in Niederrimsingen and ask them to check for her on that date. Even if you don't think that she was born there, it is worth a shot since that is a town name that she provided you with.
Their website says you have up to 7 days after it renews to cancel it without incident. I'll see if I can find the link.
ETA: Well this is confusing. Apparently their refund policy is different for certain users. If you purchased a subscription with your DNA kit (as in a bundle), you may cancel within 7 days of the renewal date and receive a full refund. For everyone else, there's this.
Seems sketchy.
My goodness, I can't thank you enough for this. You've given me so much to think about and so much to explore.
Today I sent an email to Montours Presbyterian Church, where several of the Liggitts, including Joshua Sr. and Washington are buried to see if they have any records, or if they know where records may be.
One thing which stood out to me is that there are two 27-year-old Joshua Liggitts (though one spells it Liggett while the other Ligett) on the 1860 Census. One on Pg 43 lists Stewart as the child and is who I've traced to. The other, on Pg 37 of the same set of pages lives with Joshua Sr, Washington, and the others. Is it possible that Joshua was mistakenly recorded twice? Once in his own right and then maybe as a mistake still in his father's household? I'm kinda puzzled by it, because at the time of the 1850 Census, the Joshua who would later have Stewart would only be 17, and there aren't any other Liggetts in the area who could be his ancestors that I could find.
Thank you for all of this, it's been a ton of find and you've only made it better.
Go to the FamilySearch wiki and plug in the name of the county where the property is. Look for a heading for "land and property records." If the records are available online, or if a GenWeb Project for the jurisdiction has transcribed them, you may be able to find them by searching for deeds by the names of the owners (you can go back in time by seeing who the grantors and grantees were) or by doing a search based on the property description. If they aren't available online, you'll have to contact the recorder of deeds for the county where the property is located or maybe ask for a Random Act of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK) from someone in the area.
A good place to start is the Familysearch wiki. https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Emigration_and_Immigration
​
Also in the 1900 and 1930 census there are questions about immigration, which can help you place the year that they immigrated.
My understanding is that you don’t need to do either or those, and can access records ‘freely’ (provided here is a family history center near you).
Check out this link, and if there is one near you they should have a webpage. Best of luck! https://www.familysearch.org/locations/centerlocator?cid=hp2-1047
My local library has access to ancestry.com for free if you go in, maybe there’s something like that near you. Also, there are family research centers in lots of cities that are free to use (I haven’t used it myself but I keep meaning to). https://www.familysearch.org/locations/centerlocator?cid=hp2-1047
Her son George's amended birth certificate was filed in 1945, and Viola was the informant. She said that her maiden name was Viola Taylor Nickell, and that she was born in Ellis County, Texas.
Cheapest is usually $69. Also if you have a code you can get $10 off. If you want one I have one. If you use it we each get $10 from AncestryDNA.
Edit: they are actually on sale for $59 rn.
Have you looked at sources on the FamilySearch wiki? I presume they are from Gujarat or at least India. https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/India_Genealogy
The leap across the ocean can be a big challenge. Some thoughts I have:
The surname is your first hint at where they came from. Find as much as you can here since records in other countries - especially the further back you go - can be sparse. And in another language.
Confirm if this guy was born here. Look for a baptism. Hopefully they didn't move around much. Many German immigrants in the 1700s, for example, moved to an area where there were others of their religion and culture and settled down for a few generations.
Look for passenger lists. While the US government mandated ship captains and shipping companies provide a manifest from 1820 onward, there were passenger lists before that date. There are books that have transcribed them too. The Transcriber's Guild has quite a few, but not all by far.
Look for siblings. Some people left a better paper trail than others. My 3x gr-grandmother was called Nancy her whole life but her birth name was Hannah. Found that in her younger sister's obit. Also found all of their siblings from that 1890s obit. Be sure they are siblings but definitely consider researching their history.
Non-vinyl, acid-free, sheet protectors with holes for a three-ring binder. Available on Amazon.
Second cousin once removed in this situation.
So the level of cousins is how far you are from your mutual ancestor. In this case your great great grandparents. Your grandmothers parent and her uncle would be siblings, your grandmother and the 1c2r are first cousins to each other, and you are two generations removed from your grandmother which makes her 1c2r. When you go another generation to the daughter then your parent and the daughter are second cousins and we start counting levels of removal from there. A child of the daughter would be your third cousin.
Hopefull that's not too confusing and if it is then this should help - https://lifehacker.com/second-cousins-once-removed-and-more-explained-in-1661572056
I mean, here's the dictionary - https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/step-sibling
a child of your stepfather or stepmother with another person who is not your parent: Step-siblings have no parents in common, whereas half-siblings share one parent.
I think I’ve found his father on ancestry John Bohannon 1580 and his mother name is Sarah Cassidy 1610- please tell me thier birth dates https://www.ancestry.com/search/?name=John_Bohannon&birth=1580_stirlingshire-scotland-united+kingdom_5354&death=_gloucester-virginia-usa_1153&child=Duncan_Bohannon+Sr.&gender=m&priority=usa&searchType=t&spouse=Sarah_Cas...
Hey I may have found something I was looking at Duncan Bohannon in Ancestry Family Trees and there is this one that matches my Duncan that is in 10,000 family trees and it has his father in it but the dob of Duncan’s father is 1595 and his mothers is 1610 thing is I can’t see the name listed cuz I don’t have ancestory could you check it out and tell me what it’s says https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/42/?name=Duncan_Bohannon+Sr.&birth=1635_stirlingshire-scotland-united+kingdom_5354&death=1704_gloucester-virginia-usa_1153&child=Duncan_Bohannon+Jr.&gender=m&priority=usa&searchTyp...
If you don't have your ancestors in 1920 or 1910 where you found your maternal grandmother it's likely that her family moved (or she did). If her birthplace column - or her parents' - indicates a different state from where she lived then you're looking for a move.
If she's passed then look for an obituary. Or any other newspaper articles or mentions. 19th and 20th century newspapers often had local "news", which was little more than 1 or 2 sentence gossip about who was visiting who, people with a new car, etc. Well, early to mid 20th century. The later decades gave up on that detail. Chronicling America can help figure out what newspapers were available.
FamilySearch.org has different record collections than Ancestry so that might be a place to look. Also there are "usgenweb" websites for many states and counties around the country. You can search for "usgenweb" followed by the name of the state or county to find the site you need. Some areas are better than others.
Local historical societies might also have info, but that's likely to be offline so an email might be the first step unless you're in the area so you could stop in.
I've been scouring the 1850 and 1860 Census and cannot find anyone that remotely fits the bill. I suspect Daniel may not have been completely honest with the census taker in 1900. I found a young man on the 1870 Census who might be him though: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHHC-CYV
I highly recommend The Genealogy Do-Over Workbook by Thomas MacEntee https://smile.amazon.com/Genealogy-Do-Over-Workbook-Thomas-MacEntee/dp/1523266961
It's really useful helping out with where to start and all of that. You could probably find the suggestions online for free and all of that, but sometimes it helps to have a plan already laid out that you can just work through.
Okay I think I got it to work (I use the free version so it’s harder to do) here’s the link to my European Royals Tree https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/pt/RSVP.aspx?dat=MTc1NjY4MDQzOzswODAwY2ZiMS0wMDA2LTAwMDAtMDAwMC0wMDAwMDAwMDAwMDA7MjAyMTA5MjIwODQwMTI7MzI3Njk=&mac=qYhnKFURY6C8Q89bDF5cXg==
> You could always put a watermark on your pictures?
This is my plan. I've created an email address specifically for Ancestry.com communications and put that, along with a copyright notice as a watermark on the photo in an obvious but not obtrusive way. That doesn't override Ancestry's T&C, but it does ensure credit.
> I actually think I just read recently that anything uploaded to Ancestry actually becomes Ancestry's to do with what they want.
You are correct about that.
Ancestry Terms and Conditions > Effective Date: 3 Aug 2021
> [B]y submitting User Provided Content through any of the Services, you grant Ancestry a perpetual, sublicensable, worldwide, non-revocable, royalty-free license to host, store, copy, publish, distribute, provide access to, create derivative works of, and otherwise use such User Provided Content to the extent and in the form or context we deem appropriate on or through any media or medium and with any technology or devices now known or hereafter developed or discovered. This includes the right for Ancestry to copy, display, and index your User Provided Content. Ancestry will own the indexes it creates.
Edit : Here's a nice third-party analysis
Ancestry.com’s New Terms Allow it to Use Your Family Photos for Anything
Building on this Joseph in case he is the right father of Edward - this seems to be his ship manifest from 1910 as it says he is going to Laurel Hill and has a wife Anna - their home town seems to be Moczyska
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7488/images/NYT715_1604-0346
As /u/antonia_monacelli said, it can be difficult or even impossible. You do have some options, though.
-Ancestry has some databases of immigration records from the 1600s and 1700s. They're not exactly comprehensive, but they're worth checking out.
-From what I've seen, church records (at least, the Virginia parish registers I've occasionally looked at) would sometimes mention where an individual originally came from.
-Don't forget about wills and other sources like court minutes that might mention an immigrant's origin in passing. For example, I was looking through some North Carolina wills from the mid-1700s the other day and found one where the testator mentioned his brother who still lived in Scotland.
Not sure. There is a William Frizzell, the only one that that would be old enough to be his father, and living in Jefferson county in 1860. But he's born in Massachusetts. We'd have to find an obituary in the Michigan papers (no luck online, have to go to a library). Or some sort of deed or marriage record in NY.
I found them in the census, then used that info to find the death record.
I can’t really help much then, although hopefully somebody knows!
This link might be helpful, it’s regarding church records: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/West_Prussia_Church_Records#Poland
If you find out the name of the town, you might be able to find a reference to the town’s family records.
The passenger manifest for Giovanni Cerrito and Rosaria Avara (correct spelling) states that Rosaria was from Cefalu (Sicily) in about 1882 and that her mother was Maria Marsiglia. Given that information, this is most certainly her birth record:
Born 8 Jul 1882 to Mariano Avara and Maria Marsiglia in Cefalu.
I'm still working on Giovanni. I'm not sure if he was born in Cefalu.
Hello, I totally forgot to come back to you, but hopefully better late than never.
Here's the link: https://www.ancestry.com/stories. Ancestry does require you be logged in though.
>Yes that is her thank you so much for your help and where did you find the marriage record?
Page 1 Page 2 (which lists her father)
6 Sept 1868 in Groß Plauth, WestPreussen
So the only reason I know he went to prison is from old newspaper records.
https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/164450090/person/222139002192/facts
I don't mind sharing openly - he went to prison for being the getaway driver in a bank robbery (which is pretty awesome to learn). No photos though just mentions.
Alright, I didn't at first since I decided to ask the more general question, seeing as this isn't the first time I've noticed this issue.
But the specific page I'm concerned with at the moment is this one. As you can see there are 3 consecutive households without an (X) attributed to any member, and several others on other pages close by.
This is the closest I can get to the document unfortunately
Here's his Findagrave entry. Try contacting the person who posted it.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6344648/henry-j_-haas
Edit: here's an ancestry.com public tree that's well documented.
https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/61230075/person/40174543550/facts
The info on his son's birth shows him as Wilhelm Haas
Cant screen shot from the computer I am on right now.
This link 'might" take you to her profile.
Tree is named "Quigley, Werner, Thomas, Thorsen, Gamwell Family Tree"
They have her named Aurah Lorraine Quigley.
Guessing they got her info from the same census you found, but just in case, this is what they have for her parents.
Father: Earl Johnson Quigley Mother: Hilda Evelyne Scully
99.6% of Driggers are in the US. It could have gone extinct in its country of origin, or is an American invention.
I looked up his death certificate and it doesn't list a place of birth for him (marked as unknown) but I may be able to get you a little closer. In the immigration manifest for the Marron family, Jacob's last known place of residence is Pluden:
The town of Pluden is now called Pludry, and is located in SW Poland. Until 1945 it was still part of Germany, and it has two official languages, German and Polish.
Oddly, his father and several of his younger siblings are listed as last having lived in Keltsch, now Kielcza in SW Poland. Again, this town was German until 1945 and speaks both German and Polish.
OP you can usually use that film number to find it over at https://www.familysearch.org you can make an account there for free. Be forewarned that a lot of their documents are not indexed, so get ready for some digging if they do have it.
A George and Sara Pain were enumerated just before Emmett and Laura in the 1920 census. They were enumerated just before the Myers family in 1940 as well.
Spain kept pretty meticulous records and there would certainly be a birth certificate. That should point you in the direction of further family members (where they were from, what they did, if her parents were married, etc.) though how much info depends on what was reported at the time.
This link explains the process and points you to the website to request the form. https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Order_Spain_Vital_Records_Online
From experience, it's a painless process. The time depends on the city. If you have a more specific date range for her bday its ideal, especially if she has a common name.
Thanks for your help. I can't find anything online for Mr Brant's parish. Here is the full page scan if it helps: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS6R-QS3R-J?i=207&cat=341524
Here is the full page https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS6R-QS3R-J?i=207&cat=341524
Shame about that page fold in the scan. I'd love to find the original book, just to check. I do agree that it's most likely "of this Parish".
Thanks for your help.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS6R-QS3R-J?i=207&cat=341524 here is the link to the full page if that would help
Another possible record I have found which doesn't exactly match. Rosenberg is such a common name so could just be a coincidence.
There is a Harry Rosenburg, son of Freida living in Illinois in 1910 with a son named Max born in about 1884. If this is them that would indicate that the Harry as it's written above is meant to indicate a son, perhaps what the vertical line is for and possibly why it is written in pencil. Other census records indicate he was born in Russia. I can't find this Freida again.
I looked in the Atlantic City directory and I was able to find him and his wife, but I was not able to find a matching business.
On ancestry, you can search with siblings. Perhaps there is a census for your great grandfather and his siblings. Have you found them all for him? I would add a record for your great-great grandfather with just his last name, and add all of his known children. Then hints and searching will be better. Perhaps you can find your great-grandfather's 1910 census with him, siblings, and parents.
​
https://www.ancestry.com/search/
Add family member: Father Mother Sibling Spouse Child
I looks like Joanna's father's name is in fact William.
The other man with the same name is the father of Ralph Smith.
Here is an entry for Ralph Smith whose mother is Ethel C. Dodge. Ralph's fathers name is William.
My best guess at it-
Harry Rosenberg and Fanny Rosenberg are confirmed to exist based off of this marriage record. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F678-845
Harry moved to Saint Louis in May 1884 and had a son..? Not sure
Could Glass be a sibling or niece/nephew of Fanny? Possible maiden name but could be related through a female.
Lou Jaffe is a relative of them but they don't know where he connects? I found a photo of Daniel and Lou together when Lou was wheelchair bound.
Confirmed: Lena Rosenberg, daughter of Harry, married Satten (originally Sattenstein) and had 5 kids, Dorothy, David (now Daniel), Fred, Milton, and Helen.
Sam Rosenberg, son of Harry, died at the age of 27.
Esther Rosenberg, daughter of Harry, married someone with the surname Pratt, had a child name Della Pratt, who married Morgan Clapp. Della and Morgan now live in NYC
Harry had another child name Sonia
Dora Rosenberg, son of Harry Rosenberg, married someone with the surname Goldberg, and they have 5 daughters. They live in Union Hill, New York
Harry had another female who married someone with the surname Cohen, which was later changed by their son to Cole.
Harry's final child is a male, who kept the surname Rosenberg, who lives in louisiana.
This should be helpful https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/How_to_Find_New_Hampshire_Birth_Records, you can order them from the state.
If interested, I recently found out that the organization that owns the free geneology website FamilySearch.org, (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints/Mormons) have centers across the United States that offer free access to several geneology programs that normally require memberships.Some libraries are also partnered with them, and provide access to the same programs.
Here is a link about the geneology programs they offer
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Family_History_Center_Portal
Here is a link to help find a location near you. It turned out I had one literally 15 minutes away from me.
I found a census record in 1880 for a Patrick Brinagan in Manhattan, New York who was born in Ireland in 1841 and immigrated from Ireland in 1865. Could this be your guy https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M5M5-5F5
I also found another census record for a Patrick Brannigan born in 1841 or 1842 in Ireland. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M82H-KL1
There are many more records for a Patrick Branagan in the states but I don't know enough about him or his family to say anything for sure.
Yea, it says "deceased" there but the person you're looking for doesn't have to be necessarily dead. Here's a search I did for the name "Julius Balogh" (his original name was probably Gyula Balogh but it got Americanized when he arrived so that's why the search returns lots of Gyulas instead of Julius') in the "New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957" that came to the US in between 1950 and 1955: https://www.familysearch.org/search/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3AJulius~%20%2Bsurname%3ABalogh~%20%2Bany_place%3A%22New%20York%22~%20%2Bany_year%3A1950-1955~&collection_id=1923888
If you don't have ideas where to start The Genealogy Do-Over Workbook Paperback by Thomas MacEntee is pretty good. I've been using it to gradually clean up my tree. Here's the amazon link so you can check out the description of it there if you want.
https://www.amazon.com/Genealogy-Do-Over-Workbook-Thomas-MacEntee/dp/1523266961