Have you ever discovered things through your genealogy research that made you raise an eyebrow, or 2? How about something that made you pick up the phone, call a family member, and state “think what!?”.

I’ve had those minutes, and my moms and dads, who did genealogy the traditional method for 50 years, certainly had them as well. Something that originates from those minutes is the understanding of how to use the records for a deep dive into the personal lives of our ancestors.

Here are a few examples of those “raise an eyebrow” moments my family has had throughout genealogy research study.

1. Tombstones Don’t Always Have the Correct Dates.

The number of times have you taped birth and death dates from tombstones? Lots, right? But just because those dates are sculpted in stone, does not suggest that they are “carved in stone.” I was amazed to find out, in truth, how typically the dates on tombstones are inaccurate.
When I found his real birth and baptism record, however, I discovered that he was actually born in 1860. Did his family ever bother to verify his birth date?
My hubby’s great-grandfather, Wilhelm Parsch, was really born in 1860, but his tombstone states 1858.

When you are researching your forefathers, make sure to look for the most precise records you can discover regarding birth, marriage, and death dates. These will normally be civil essential records or initial church baptism, marital relationship and death records. You can look up resources on FamilySearch to discover specific archives.

Dates tape-recorded on tombstones, in census records, or on migration records were collected by verbal report, so they might or may not be precise and you must not rely on them as validated reality.

2. The Local Church Played Matchmaker.
My great-great-great granny passed away when she was 40, leaving my great-great-great grandfather a widower with 10 children, one of them a baby. Less than a year later on, he wed a woman who was 16 years his junior.
How did they meet and get wed so quickly? Through some historic research study about the area, we found out that the two may have been matched up by the regional pastor. Apparently, a person who needed help in finding a spouse often approached the local clergyman for aid, which clergyman would consult his list of unmarried church members for a potential match.

In this case, my forefather needed an other half to assist him raise his kids, and the lady he was matched with required a hubby to assist support her and her invalid kid. Works for everybody, right?
My great-great-great grandpa, Huston Dilley, and his second wife, Amanda Wait Dilley, were matched up by the regional pastor.

While marital relationship records don’t constantly reflect this situation, knowing some history about the local area can shed light on the customizeds of the day and assist you to determine how, when and why events occurred for your ancestors. Local historical societies are the best places to find this kind of info.

3. “Happily Ever After” Didn’t Always Happen.
While many individuals in your family tree might have remained wed for many years, marital happiness was not had by everyone. During my research, I was taken aback when I found out that divorce isn’t a (even mildly) current phenomenon, but that individuals got separated throughout history (when they had a right to do so, obviously).
I first encountered this while researching my kids’s family tree. A relative sent me a packet of copies of news article mentioning relative from the 1800s. In among them, the forefather had actually placed an ad in the regional paper specifying that his better half had actually left his home and his bed.
This newspaper advertisement is very similar to the one published by my children’s forefather.

Given that I was mildly surprised to read this in a paper from the 1880s, I inquired about it, and discovered that people would place ads like this in regional documents to document the start date of an abandonment case. After a spouse was opted for one year, the staying partner could sue for and win a divorce case.

If you have divorce cases in your family tree, search for old regional papers from the time and see if you can discover any short articles or ads documenting the situations of the divorce. The regional public or LDS library might likewise have copies or images of old papers.

4. Often Your Ancestors Had Unsavory Professions.
Did Grandpa have a side gig that the household whispered about behind closed doors? This question is in fact much easier to respond to than you would believe, by browsing old court records. Some of the oldest court records in America have actually been published in book form and are searchable online.

For example, for several years my family has tried to validate the identity of my daddy’s earliest ancestor in America. Among the prime prospects was a ship’s captain who made money on the side by kidnapping young people in Ireland and delivering them to America for indentured service.

An early court record from Salem, Massachusetts tells the circumstances surrounding one of these cases, pointing out the proof of purchase between the ship’s captain and a land owner who bought 2 Irish boys, taken against their will and sold for 9 years of indentured service.

An excerpt from a court case in Salem, Massachusetts concerning indentured servants gave America by George Dill.

An excerpt from statement concerning the legality of the indenture of two young men. George Dell, the captain of the Goodfellow, may be my ancestor.

The record appears in a book entitled Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, Volume II that was published in 1912. These old published record books deserve a search and many of them have actually been digitized. Because the copyrights have expired, you can access them through online libraries like the Digital Public Library of America or perhaps Google Books.

5. Can’t Find Grandpa on the Census? Possibly He’s in Jail.
My grandmother’s dad was a timeless deadbeat papa. When he left the household for the third time, my great-grandmother had actually had enough and she sued for divorce. We knew all that, and we knew that he was really angry and declined to pay child assistance, but we were type of shocked to find everything recorded in the paper!

He had been arrested due to his failure to pay and was sentenced to prison time due to the fact that of it. This news article from 1920 offers a quick summary of the entire story, including his jail sentence and his good fortune to receive parole soon after.

Newspaper article about the conviction and parole of Arthur Shepard.

This brief news short article files how my great-grandfather, Arthur Shepard, deserted his family and spent for it.

If you have a “questionable” forefather, you can check numerous sources to find out information about their problems. Regional court records will supply the most information, but old papers are also a great place to examine. Discover the sections that report on crime, lawsuit, and social activities.

Also, if your ancestor isn’t where he’s expected to be on a census, make sure to do a search of local prisons or state jails. You will need to research study where these were located throughout your ancestor’s lifetime.

6. Hey, You Might Be Related to Someone Famous! But What Else Will You Find?
At one point in their household history activities, my parents were vigilantly investigating their Dutch ancestral lines in old Dutch church records from Kingston, New York. These records were transcribed and released in hardbound books. They became extremely thrilled when they discovered that my mother had a connection to the Roosevelt family, being distantly related to both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt.

A while later, after some thorough research study on my papa’s Dutch line, my parents discovered out something else. They are so distantly related that there’s truly no issue.

Marital relationship record from the old dutch church records of Kingston, New York.

This marital relationship record, from 1679, reveals my forefathers that linked my moms and dads to the Roosevelt family … and to each other.

If you have ancestors from New England or the Mid-Atlantic states, you may be fortunate to be able to utilize these old released records in your research study. Church records, court records, and town histories often contain vital record information, along with land purchases and sometimes stories from the area. Many of these books have been digitized and you can discover them online, often free of charge through Digital Public Library of America, Internet Archive, or Google Books.

The next time you discover some details about your forefather that appears out of the standard, do a thorough examination of the scenarios. Regional church records, court records, old newspapers, and published books can assist you do this. A knowledge of the area where your ancestors lived and its customs will also assist. You might be surprised when you finally discover the reality!