4. Paying to Avoid the Civil War Draft

   While some men willingly joined the Union Army during the Civil War, many only served when the draft compelled them to do so. Some men were able to buy their way out of serving in the Union Army, even when drafted, by paying $300.

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5. Not All Those Who Wander are Lost... But Maybe They are Strays

   In the famous words of J.R.R. Tolkien, “Not all those who wander are lost.”¹ But finding records of our wandering family members can be a challenge.

   The term stray refers to a non-local who shows up in a record. And a stray record is the record that contains that individual. For instance, a burial record that includes a person from a different …

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6. Incorrect Information May Have Elements of Truth

   My great-grandfather immigrated to the US in the 1920s with his wife and children, including my grandfather. I have done extensive research on his ancestral lines. Each of my great-grandfather’s ancestors, thus far, were born in England. However, the 1930 and 1940 United States censuses could create confusion. The 1930 census correctly identified his place of birth as well as his father’s place …

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7. Using Newspapers for British Research

   Sometimes we forget the usefulness of newspapers because physical newspapers aren’t as common anymore. Newspapers can provide information that is not available anywhere else or can produce clues to find other records.

   The most common searches in newspapers are for birth, marriage, and death notices, including obituaries. However, newspapers can be full of lots of interesting information from arrests to gardening contest winners and …

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8. Finding Someone Hidden in a US Census

   Are you looking for someone in a particular census and you can’t seem to find them? It is possible that they aren’t on the census. But before you come to that conclusion, here are some tips for locating someone hiding in plain sight!

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