Florida in the laws
Federal, that is It’s a word you don’t tend to see each and every day. Maybe not each and every year. Maybe not even each and every decade. The word is “synoptic.” It means “affording a general view of a whole or manifesting” or “characterized by...Wherefrom Pinellas
One county’s history The Legal Genealogist begins the 2018 lecture season on Saturday, February 24, at the Pinellas Genealogy Society’s 2018 Seminar in Largo, Florida. Oh, my. Florida. In February. For someone who lives in the mid-Atlantic states where we...Preemption and land law
A fancy name for squatter’s rights When an ancestor benefited from federal preemption laws, just what exactly was he getting — and why? The Legal Genealogist is off deep into the federal land laws as the result of a reader question — and there will...A matter of relation
The language of the law. Part Latin, part Greek, part law French, even part Anglo-Saxon. And all confusing. The story that reader Charles William Meiser found in the newspaper article was a wonderful one for a genealogist. Under the headline “Mary’s little lamb”...Finding those county line changes
One-stop shopping for county line history So last week The Legal Genealogist revisited the issue of county lines… and how some counties were formed, but not actually organized for governmental purposes for a while, so their records were kept by another county to...Reprise: organizing the counties
The other county where records may be found The issue came up again in a reader question the other day. Jane R. wanted to know what people did do to handle routine government actions — like paying taxes — when a county had been formed… but...Finding THAT law
A cheat sheet for federal statutes It’s such a common issue for genealogists. We know the name of a critical federal law that impacted our ancestors — what it’s commonly called… and we have absolutely no idea how to find it. The Judiciary Act...A statutory mercy
The concept of benefit of clergy The swamp waters are still rising around The Legal Genealogist this week. But… but… but… I can’t help but respond to the plaintive wail of fellow genealogist Victor Jones, who ran across a record in the New Bern...New light in the Show Me State
Missouri releases original birth certificates It’s called the Show Me State … and, yesterday, on the first workday of the year, Missouri did just that for hundreds, potentially even thousands, of adoptees: it showed them. Because yesterday, the first...Subscribe by Email
