Grand Prairie Genealogical Society
Tips & Tricks
The items below have been placed to help you with your research.  They may help you locate resources that will lead you to valuable information previously uncovered.  The locations indicated refer to categories found in the first pull down box.
 
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Listings: 1 to 50 of 198
1.  
When searching court records you may need to submit a "Freedom of Information Act" request
Last Updated: 8 April 2016   [Located in Category: Other Records & Court Document]
2.  
Search plea bargains to find court dismissals.
Last Updated: 8 April 2016   [Located in Category: Other Records & Court Document]
3.  
Census records are a great source for locating family information.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Census]
4.  
Remember to document everything you find on your ancestors. UNDOCUMENTED GENEALOGY IS MYTHOLOGY!
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Documentation & Organization]
5.  
Start with Yourself. Prove yourself by making sure you have your birth records. Document important records in your life such as marriage and military sources and then begin to move backwards in your line.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Basic Research]
6.  
Organize from the beginning in a system that suits your needs... but in which you can quickly and easily find information when you want it.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Documentation & Organization]
7.  
Soundex is a system of coding names for the census based on sound rather than alphabetical spelling. A variation called American Soundex was used in the 1930s for a retrospective analysis of the US censuses from 1890 through 1920. To save time, a free Soundex converter is available at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Census]
8.  
Document as you go!
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Documentation & Organization]
9.  
The details from a source are the skeleton of our family tree.
Last Updated: 3 September 2016   [Located in Category: Documentation & Organization]
10.  
When applying to multiple societies, try and use different ancestors when you are proving your lineage.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Lineage Societies]
11.  
ae. or aet. is the Latin abbreviation meaning "at the age of".
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
12.  
A citation is a reference to a source of information.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Documentation & Organization]
13.  
a.k.a. or aka is the abbreviation for "also known as".
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
14.  
Acre is a square measure of land containing 10 square chains, 160 square rods, or 43,560 square feet.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
15.  
Administrator is an appointee of the court who settles the estate of a deceased who died without leaving a will.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
16.  
Affidavit refers to a written and signed statement sworn in front of a court officer.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
17.  
Genealogical citation is not always uniform. Elements include name of the person who created the document, date of the records, form used (county deed book, microfilm, etc.) and where the document can be found again.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Documentation & Organization]
18.  
Alien is a foreign-born resident of a country who has not been naturalized.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
19.  
Atlas is a collection of maps.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
20.  
When you're "doing" census, be sure to look at 10 families before and 10 families after the family you are researching. These folks are most likely the friends (and family) of your ancestor. They lived in community... not alone.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Census]
21.  
Proofs MUST be paper trail proofs.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Lineage Societies]
22.  
Enter sources and notes in a consistent format.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Documentation & Organization]
23.  
Bequest is a legacy, usually a gift of real estate by will.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
24.  
Bounty Land is public land given by the government to induce young men to join the military. Applicable for soldiers prior to the Civil War.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
25.  
Bounty Land Warrant is a gift of a bounty land due to a person entitled by military service.
Last Updated: 20 August 2018   [Located in Category: Definitions]
26.  
Identify all researchers by name for all contributions, including your own.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Documentation & Organization]
27.  
Use a Correspondence Log! This includes the name and address of the person you have written to, what you requested, the date the request was sent and a column for the outcome. Remembering every letter written is impossible. Follow up if you don't get an answer within a month.
Last Updated: 20 August 2018   [Located in Category: Documentation & Organization]
28.  
Begin with the latest census available and work backwards. Census records have been take since 1790. Before 1790 you can use Tax Lists and other local lists that might have been compiled according to the state you are researching in.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Census]
29.  
Publications are not always readily acceptable but you don't want to dismiss them entirely. It's always worth a try when you have not other avenue.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Lineage Societies]
30.  
Cadastral map is a graphic illustration of land boundaries.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
31.  
Cannon Law refers to Laws of the Church.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
32.  
Citation is a reference to a source of information.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
33.  
Codicil is a supplemental document to a will.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
34.  
Collateral Ancestor is an ancestor NOT in the direct line of ascent, but coming from the same ancestral family.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
35.  
Create a short history for each person in your family by taking the information you have and putting it it chronological order down the page. You can put your dates in the margin to create a time line.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Documentation & Organization]
36.  
Consanguinity means blood relationship.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
37.  
Don't assume that all children listed in the census belong to the wife listed. This may be a second wife and the children a combination of "his and hers."
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Census]
38.  
D.S.P. (died sine prole) means died without offspring.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
39.  
Use confidential information with discretion and sensitivity.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Documentation & Organization]
40.  
Set up "proof files." These are your original documents and NEVER travel with you.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Documentation & Organization]
41.  
A census is an official counting of the population living in the United States on a designated day set at intervals. The census places an ancestor in a specific place at a specific time.
Last Updated: 20 August 2018   [Located in Category: Census]
42.  
"Portable files" are copies of your original documents and your family group sheets, notes, pedigree charts, chronological profiles, etc.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Documentation & Organization]
43.  
The census is taken every 10 years on a designated census day by an "enumerator" in a specific area, E.D. (enumeration district).
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Census]
44.  
The first census was done in 1790; there are no censuses before 1790.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Census]
45.  
Gazetteer is a geographical dictionary.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
46.  
Genealogy is the study of the origins and descent of families.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]
47.  
Census information is confidential for 72 years after the census is taken.
Last Updated: 6 September 2020   [Located in Category: Census]
48.  
Huguenots were French Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries
Last Updated: 20 August 2018   [Located in Category: Definitions]
49.  
In addition to the census population count, there are a number of special censuses: Slave, Industry & Manufacturing, Agriculture, Mortality, Social Statistics, Union Veteran and Widow, Defective, Dependent and Delinquent.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Census]
50.  
In early American History, a daughter-in-law was a step-daughter or the wife of their son.
Last Updated: 31 December 2014   [Located in Category: Definitions]