I’ve said this before, and I’ll proably repeat it again in the future — my side of the family is hard to research! Since I was born in Brazil, to Brazilian parents and Brazillian grandparents all our records are there, and Brazil is not the easiest place to do genealogy work. Not only do I struggle with the language (I can speak and read it mostly) but there just isn’t as much available to me here at home (in Utah) as there would be for any other place in the US. I’m sure if I really took some time at the Family History Library I could do a lot, but I have two young boys and just don’t have that kind of time…I’ll just have to work slowly, but surely, I guess.
Anyway, all this is to say that I did find a record for my Maternal Grandparents’ marriage in Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil. So, I thought I’d use this document to show my process for adding documents and citations to my database (which happens to be RootsMagic5).
Source: Family Search, “Brazil, Catholic Church Records,” digital image, Family Search (familysearch.org : downloaded 14 March 2012), Joao de Sousa Lima and Lindalva Ferreira da Silva Marriage Record, 30 Sep 1950; Nossa Senhora do Rosario parish, page 35, entry 131.
Citation
Whenever I post an image of a document to the blog I like to cite the source so y’all know where it came from and that it is legit. I just enter in the information I know about it. I try to do this right when I find the source if I’m at home, but if I’m at the Family History Center or Library I take extensive notes so I can add it when I get home. I normally use the “footnote” version of the citation on the blog because it includes a lot more information.
File Naming and Organization
I’ve talked about the organization of my file structure before, so I won’t go into that here. But, I will mention that I recently decided to change how I named the files themselves. I followed Calvin Knight’s file naming conventions for the most part and am slowly renaming my files. So this particular file got the name:
Lima_Joao_b1925_&Lindalva_19500930_MarriageRecord_01
Transcription / Translation
I like to transcribe most documents using Microsoft Word. This way I can easily add the text to my database program and to my blog…making it easier for people to search for the names, dates, places etc found in the document image. If the document is in a foreign language then I make sure to transcribe and translate it into English. I also copy and paste the source citation onto that document as well. So, for the above Marriage Record here’s what I have:
131 – João de Sousa Lima e Lindalva Ferreira da Silva
Transcription:
Aos trinta dias do mês de Setembro de mil novecentos e cinqüenta, na Matriz do Rosario, perante as testemunhas justo Lacerda Ferreira e João Cabral Batista, o Revmo Frei Inocencio ofm. assistiu ao recebimento matrimonial de João de Sousa Lima e Lindalva Ferreira da Silva, o nubente con 25 anos de idade, filho legitimo de Manuel de Sousa Lima e Hosana Maria da Conceiçao, natural e batizado em Cajazeiras, a nubente con 17 anos de idade, filha legitima de Joaquim Pedro da Silva e Ernestina Ferreira da Silva, natural e batizada em João Pessoa, residentes nesta frequezia. E, para constar, mandei fazer este fermo que assino.
(signed) Frei Jorge [Bolchaus.?] ofm. Vigário
Translation:
On the thirtieth day of the month of September of nineteen hundred and fifty, in the Mother of the Rosary, as witnessed by Lacerda Ferreira and João Cabral Batista, the Reverand Frei Inocencio [ofm.?] performed the marriage rite of João de Sousa Lima and Lindalva Ferreira da Silva, the groom with 25 years of age, legitimate son of Manuel de Sousa Lima and Hosana Maria da Conceiçao, born and baptized in Cajazeiras, the bride with 17 years of age, legitimate daughter of Joaquim Pedro da Silva e Ernestina Ferreira da Silva, born and baptized in João Pessoa, residents in this parish. And, for the record, I had this [fermo] sign.
(signed) Frei Jorge [Bolchaus.?] ofm. Vigário
I make sure to copy the transcription/translation into my RootsMagic “Detail Text” tab for this source and to add the image of the original document under the “Media” tab. (Hint: do this for the first citation you make for this document – in my case, for the marriage of Joao and Lindalva. Once I have added all the relevant transcriptions and media I can choose “Memorize” and add this exact citation to any other fact. If I want to add any comments specific to the fact, I’ll go in and do that as well.)
Facts and More Facts
When adding information to my database found in the document I like to have the transcription/translation open next to my database so I can read it as I go, like in the image above. You could also print it out if you’d like. So for this particular document I was able to add this source citation to the following facts:
- Marriage – Joao de Souza Lima & Lindalva Ferreira Da Silva – date and location, as well as adding the names of the witnesses (they may come up later).
- Birth – Joao de Souza Lima – made a note that the marriage record gave the groom’s age as 25 at the time of marriage which supports the birth date I have of 4 Jun 1925. It also lists the birth place.
- Relationship to parents – Joao / Manuel and Hosana. I added a note to this citation that they are listed as Joao’s parent’s in his marriage record. Because this “relationship” source shows up for any of the children, I wanted to specify that it only proves they are Joao’s parents…not necessarily true for any of the other children. (this is an item I’ve requested RootsMagic look into as I’d like a better way to distinguish the relationships I’m citing)
- Birth – Lindalva Ferreira da Silva – I added a new birth fact because her marriage record states that she was 17 years old but the birth date I have from family recollection would mean she’d be 15 years old at the time of marriage. Either I have the wrong birth date or she lied on her marriage record (was there a certain age she needed to be?). Either way, I now have both facts listed in my database with their corresponding notes so as my research continues I know where these “facts” came from. (See yesterday’s post about dealing with false information.)
- Relationship to parents – Lindalva / Joaquim and Ernestina.
Depending on the document you may have more or fewer facts associated with it. By citing everything you can get out of a document you can decide how true a fact is.
Posted by jullianalund@gmail.com on 27 March 2012 | Posted in Da Silva, Lima, Marriage Record, Organization, Researching, Roots Magic, Sources |
Our lives produce a lot of documents. This is helpful when researching our family history because we can use these documents to rebuild the facts of these people’s lives. But what is really true?
A few weeks ago I discovered the Taylor Family Association website which includes an extensive family tree. As I was adding this data to my own database (I made sure to cite where it came from) I found a few errors.
If you’ll remember, I really didn’t have much information about the Taylor line so most of what I copied was new information. I did however already have some information for a John Ammon Taylor. Here’s what was listed in the online database:
My own records showed his death date as 19 Feb 1921 and his burial date as 22 Feb 1921. So, I had to ask myself – Where did my information come from? Who was more correct, me or the online database?
The source for my data was John Ammon Taylor’s own death certificate, which was made on the day of his death. I have no idea where the information on the online database came from, so guess what I did….
I still added the information to my database! Why? So I know that it’s wrong! See how it’s crossed out?
I use RootsMagic5 and I can enter multiple facts for the same event, in this case Death and Burial. I added the incorrect dates from the website database and cited that database as the source. I then changed the “Proof” field to “Proven False” so that it would cross out the event. I also added a note saying “No source for this INCORRECT DATE in the database. I believe the death certificate.” Later, I went back and checked the “private” box so that I could choose if I wanted it to print on reports I may want to share with others.
This will be helpful for me in the future when I may run across information for a John Ammon Taylor stating his death date incorrectly. I can compare it to what I’ve already researched and know why I don’t agree with that conclusion.
Posted by jullianalund@gmail.com on 26 March 2012 | Posted in Researching, Taylor |
… continued again.
See Part 1, and Part 2.
So now that I found Joseph Taylor alive in the 1880 census I wanted to find out more about him. He is listed as 55 years old which gives me a birth year around 1825…now back to findagrave.com!
The birth year looked right and he is listed as being married to Hannah Mariah Harris, which matches the Hannah M. in the census. According to some user added information he was a veteran of the Mormon Battalion! Perhaps there will be pension records?
I was excited and related what I had learned to my husband Troy. I was excited about the idea of writing a book about the ancestors and descendants of Joseph Taylor. Then I found the Taylor Association website. All this research has already been done, and several books have already been written!
According to their records, this line goes back to a Joseph Taylor Sr. born about 1728. I decided to copy over the information in their database into mine, and in the process already found two errors. So, obviously, while the research has been done it all still needs to be verified. This will, however, make my job a lot easier. I made sure to label all the info I got from this database so I would know during my future research that these “facts” may or may not be true.
As I discover and verify more about the Taylor family, I will be sure to update the blog. For now, I feel that my quick investigation to answer Troy’s question, “Who’s that guy?” was successful.
Posted by jullianalund@gmail.com on 25 March 2012 | Posted in Researching, Taylor |
… continued from last time.
I had to wait a few days before I could head the local Family History Center to look up Ada Rose Taylor’s 1880 US Census. So I thought I might search for a Joseph Taylor on FindAGrave.com, and narrowed the search to Utah. There were 60 matches! And remember, I didn’t know his birth date or even death date. I tried to look through those that died before 1880, because I thought since he wasn’t in the census with his family that he may have died already. But still, too many options. So I just had to wait.
Then, I finally got the image of the 1880 census –
Source:
Ada is listed with her mother.. Here’s the transcription:
Dwelling 72, Family 72, Lines 9-15
Line 9. Taylor, Hannah M. W, F, 45. Wife, Married, Keeping House. Pob: North Wales, father pob: North Wales, mother pob: England.
Line 10. —–, James H. W, M, 21. Son, Single, Farm Hand. Pob: Utah, father pob: Kentucky, mother pob: North Wales.
Line 11. —–, Heber. W, M, 20. Son, Single, Farm Hand. Pob: Utah, father pob: Kentucky, mother pob: North Wales.
Line 12. —–, Franklin D. W, M, 15. Son, Single, Farm Hand. Pob: Utah, father pob: Kentucky, mother pob: North Wales.
Line 13. —–, Ada Rose. W, F, 7. Daughter. Pob: Utah, father pob: Kentucky, mother pob: North Wales.
Line 14. —–, Eveline. W, F, 5. Daughter. Pob: Utah, father pob: Kentucky, mother pob: North Wales.
Line 15. —–, Elizabeth. W, F, 88. Mother, Widowed. Infirmity from age, maimed, crippled, bedridden or otherwise disabled. Pob: Virginia, father pob: Virginia, mother pob: Virginia.
Notice anything – go ahead, take a good look. Click on the image to see it larger.
Hanna M. Taylor, Ada’s mother, is not listed as the “Head” of household, she’s listed as “Wife”. Also, she’s not listed as “Widow” as I expected, but rather as “Married”. But where is her husband?
Looking back at the census image I found him in the previous Dwelling with his other wife!
Dwelling 71, Family 71, Lines 5-8
Line 5. Taylor, Joseph. W, M, 55. Married, Farmer. pob: Kentucky, father pob: North Carolina, mother pob: Virginia
Line 6. —–, Jane. W, F, 49. Wife, Married, Keeping House. Pob: Upper Canada, father pob: New York, mother pob: Vermont.
Line 7. —–, Elizabeth. W, F, 14. Daughter, Single, at home. Attended school during census year. Pob: Utah, father pob: Kentucky, mother pob: upper Canada.
Line 8. —–, Amanda. W, F, 10. Daughter, Single, at school. Attended school during census year. Pob: Utah, father pob: Kentucky, mother pob: upper Canada.
So, apparently Joseph Taylor was in the 1880 census all along, but if I hadn’t pulled up the original image and just based my findings on the index, I may have never have known that!
Where to go from here? To be continued ….
Posted by jullianalund@gmail.com on 24 March 2012 | Posted in Researching, Taylor |
