The Family History Research Prcoess: Three Major Record Categories

This time, we will consider three major record sources. These are military and naval records, land and property records, and court and probate records.  (In another post, we’ll discuss three additional record categories: vital records, church records, and census records.)  As always, we must verify the information found in any of these records with information found in another record source. We must always remember to consult the source directly. We must consider abstracts, extracts, indexes, and transcriptions suspect until the actual record is consulted and the information verified.

We will find in these three record types that we are gathering information that puts our ancestor in a particular place at a particular time with a particular set of people – all valuable clues as we search for information about our family.

Military and naval records deal with members of the armed services (army and navy). They are divided into such records a militia lists, muster rolls, pay records, pension records, officer’s lists, regimental histories, description books, service records, chaplains returns, disciplinary records, medical records, and regimental registers. These records were created for the purposes of the military which had a vested interest in recording the names of those serving in various positions, with varying degrees of pay and pension rights. Typically, we will find the names and descriptions of soldiers, seamen, and commissioned officers. We may be able to track an ancestor’s career through service records, including postings, promotions, duties, engagements, and hospitalizations. When we consult pay records, we may also see a briefer resume of our ancestor’s military life. By examining pension applications and files, we will be able to see how our ancestor and his family fared after life in the military. We may find information in chaplains returns and regimental registers concerning spouses and children associated with soldiers or sailors. With most Western nations in the 19^th and 20^th centuries enforcing involuntary conscription, we might look at draft cards, conscription registrations, and the like for our ancestors who may never have entered military or naval service.

When we consult land and property records, we get information concerning the transfer of property and real estate between individuals. Governmental entities had an interest in regulating the transfer of land and real property, especially for the sake of collecting taxes on the occupation of land, and on the transfer of ownership. We may find the names of our ancestors in such records as deed books, plat books, land descriptions, surveyor’s records, petitions, minutes, patents, warrants, grants, home stead records, correspondence, and memorials. In a great many cases, families traded land and real property amongst themselves. The grantee and grantor may have been closely related, or the relationship may be a distant one. Even in those cases where we cannot prove a direct relationship, we should examine the names of witnesses, grantee, and grantor in order to build a list of those individuals who were intimate with our ancestor. (We can use this list to do “cluster” genealogy – a tool for extending our reach into our ancestor’s past.) Even if our ancestors did not own land, we may find them mentioned in correspondence, petitions, minutes, and homestead records.

Governments (acting through their judicial arm) create court and probate records in order to control, and tax the relationships between citizens. Probate records deal with the transfer of personal property from a deceased individual to his or her heirs. We might find our ancestor listed in wills, administrations, petitions for probate or administration, inventories, and oaths. We may find the name of the deceased, the name of the widow or widower, the names of heirs, the names of guardians, the names of the executors, and descriptions of the bequests. If one of our ancestor’s family members contested a probate or administration, we may find many more records to examine. We might usefully divide court records into two general areas – the criminal justice system, and the civil justice system. The criminal justice system produced records dealing with investigations, indictments, prosecutions, appeals, sentences, probations, paroles, and corrections. Our ancestor may have interacted with the civil justice system in matters relating to claims, suits, divorces, guardianship, and adoptions.

This has been a (very, very) brief look at three of the six major record types.

Gratitude

Yesterday, I was thinking about a couple of events in my recent life. This contemplation made me more aware of the deep problem that gratitude and constancy are in my life.

Last Friday (nearly a week ago), I had a wonderful experience during prayer that made me exclaim within me, “How greatly I am blessed!” I went through that day and into Saturday with that feeling deep within me. As Sunday approached, that wonderful feeling lessened, until by Sunday morning it was quite dim.

On Sunday, after Sacrament meeting (our worship service), I was asked to assist in blessing another member of our Ward, or congregation. During my preparatory part of the blessing, I felt the most sweet and sublime Spirit come over me. (I do no know if others felt it or not, but I certainly did!) Once again I felt the deep blessings of God, and once again, I exclaimed to myself, “How greatly blessed I am! That feeling was likewise active and constant throughout Sunday and into Monday. But by Monday evening, that feeling of gratitude has lessened.

How does one obtain constancy in a feeling of gratitude?

I feel that my life is a roller-coaster. I am down in the dumps, discouraged, wondering what to do. I am on my knees consistently. My prayers are deep and meaningful. I am pleading with God for His help. He hears, and answers start to come. A feeling of gratitude is a part of my life. The track starts to rise in front of me, and I know that I am loved, and that life is good.

My prayers continue, but are starting to lose some of their meaning. I am trying – I think I am really trying – but somehow it doesn’t seem to be enough. The track starts to level off. My feeling of gratitude is diminishing. Then the track starts to go down. My prayers are less consistent, they are less heart-felt, in spite of all of the effort I am expending. I feel that no one cares, that answers will never come. The heavens seem closed. No answers are coming. I am in free-fall. I reach bottom, and the cycle starts all over again.

Sounds like the Nephite “pride cycle”, doesn’t it?

If I could feel grateful for small blessings and miracles in my life, that might be enough to tide me over until the track starts to rise again. If I could see the Saviour in every object and minute of every day, that might help. If I could come to the Saviour with full purpose of heart each and every day, each and every minute of every day, feeling His loving arms around me, that would certainly help.

I will continue to try.

First post

So why am I taking up blogging at the ripe old age of 58?

Mostly to try to learn something about myself and the rest of the world. If no one reads or comments – no problem. I’m a bit likeGlenn Gould. Sometimes the audience gets in the way of the performance. That’s a bit odd, because I am a certified ham in other ways. (Just ask my daughters Kate and Kellie.) So mostly this is for me.

Writing is a way of long-circuiting the brain. Instead of words pouring forth without filter, writing makes the words go through the hands. And that in turn can mean that the words actually get thought about – and perhaps reworked, respun, or retracted. In a way, this can mean a partial return to the examined life as Plato records Socrates’ defense before the Athenian democracy.

What might be expected on this page? Probably discussions (occasionally tirades) about problems I see in my own life. Some of these problems might be specific to me, but some of them will be applicable to all. Will I solve all of these problems? No.

Are there some caveats? Lots. Mostly, readers will have to deal with my biases in the field of religion. As a practicing Latter-day Saint, you are unlikely to see anything that violates those things taught by the leaders of the Church. I don’t run down or dis any other Church or religious group.

I intend to enjoy writing. I hope you enjoy reading (and writing back).