Original sources
Of original causes These are powerful times in which we live, and part of the power of the moment comes from the tidal wave of history that is sweeping a lot of misconceptions out with it. One of those misconceptions: the Civil War was fought by southern states to...That Johnson child
Even that “contemporaneous” record can be wrong… It’s one of the great joys of Kentucky research, those few short unexpected years of birth records in the 1850s. It’s also one of the great frustrations of Kentucky research. And an object lesson in...Dating history
When we get it wrong It is a stunning piece of American history. The first known written protest against slavery in what was to become the United States. Just about every website that reports on things that happened on this day, February 18th, in history will tell you...Linking father and son
That reasonably exhaustive research thing again… There’s one question The Legal Genealogist asks with respect to any genealogical database. How do I know? And if there’s one genealogical database where that question has to be asked most frequently,...In the hand of the law
When speling wazn’t standerd Reader Austin Gray is struggling with a document from the Laurens District of South Carolina from the early 1800s where one of his ancestors relinquishes her right of dower in a piece of property being sold by her husband. The hitch:...Dead-letter clues
Because the law said so Maybe you descend from J.B. Arnold or Miss S.S. Berry or Georgia Dennise or William Murphy or James Parker. Perhaps you’re researching Seth Cockerilie or Emma Johnson or Josiah Price or Rose Anne Regan or Cole Watkins. They all had one...Beyond the named parties
Not just the story of Aaron Burr The Grand Jury in and for the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Kentucky, Frankfort Term, was convinced. The man had committed treason against the United States of America. “He did willfully and unlawfully, and from evil...Mapping San Diego
Revisiting county boundaries The Legal Genealogist is heading off to Carlsbad, California, tomorrow on the last long-distance road trip of the year, for a a day of fun with a return visit to the North San Diego County Genealogical Society and its 2019 Fall Seminar at...When it’s not online
That pesky GPS thing again There is one essential truism in genealogy that every single genealogist — The Legal Genealogist included — has encountered at one point or another to our dismay: It’s not all online. As a matter of fact, it’s...Subscribe by Email
