If you need to find a marriage record in Jackson County, Mississippi dated 02 November 1828, where do you look?  You look in the Wayne County, Georgia probate records of course!   

Catherine Sheffield married her first husband Ignatius Grantham in Wayne County, Georgia on 09 October 1810.[1] Ignatius was a bit of a scoundrel so Catherine filed for divorce in 1825 in the Marion County, Mississippi Chancery Court.[2] They had been living apart for some time because Ignatius is enumerated by himself in 1820.[3] Of interest is that Catherine’s soon to be second husband William Seaman was listed as her “next friend” in the court papers and acted as her representative.

Back in Wayne County, Georgia, Catherine’s father West Sheffield died leaving behind an informative estate file. Catherine’s now second husband William was getting some serious payouts from the estate and not only is there an affidavit from Catherine Seaman attesting that she is in fact the daughter of West Sheffield there is a marriage record from Jackson County, Mississippi copied into the Wayne County, Georgia book proving that William is Catherine’s husband.[4]

William C. Seaman had married Catherine (Sheffield) Grantham on 02 November 1828 in Jackson County, Mississippi but the Jackson County courthouse in Scranton (now part of Pascagoula) burned in 1875. The papers that were in the safe (deeds and money) were spared but the marriage records were not.[5] If William and Catherine’s marriage record had not been copied into West Sheffield’s estate papers there would have been no record of it.

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Here is another example of finding records from a burned county in an odd place. On 8 November 1851, Silas Simmons applied for bounty land based on his service in the War of 1812.[6]  In the bounty land file there were Perry County, Mississippi court documents dated 01 November 1851, 24 January 1853, 18 April 1855 and 31 January 1856. Silas and a few witnesses had to appear in court to prove that he was in fact the same Silas Simmons that fought in the 10&20 Consolidated Louisiana Militia before he could be awarded his bounty land warrant. Silas also assigned (sold) his warrant to someone else and then applied for another 40 acres. So what is so special about all of this? The Perry County Courthouse burned on 14 November 1877 with a complete records loss.[7]  These court documents shouldn’t even exist. If I had merely looked at the land records on the Bureau of Land Management website and not ordered the actual bounty land file I would have never discovered this.  I have included one of the documents below.

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If you have ancestors that lived in burned counties be sure to check for documents in all the places that your ancestor lived. And don't forget to order the original documents instead of relying on the digitized records.

What amazing finds have you found for your ancestors? Tell us in the comments.

                 [1] Wayne County, Georgia, Marriage Book 1809-1869: 8, Grantham-Sheffield, 1810; Probate Court, Jesup.

                [2] Mississippi High Court of Errors and Appeals, Drawer no. 65, Case no. 15, Catherine Grantham vs. Ignatius Grantham, 21 February 1825; Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson. The case was originally filed in Marion County.

                [3] 1820 U.S. census, Jackson County, Mississippi population schedule, p. 45 (penned), line 15, Ignatius Grantham; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M33, roll 58. 

                [4] "Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 24 March 2017), West Sheffield estate, 1831-1833, Wayne County Court of Ordinary, Wills & Estates Records 1824-1855, p. 199-205.

                [5] "Burning of the Scranton Court House," New Orleans Times, 02 March 1875, p. 4, col. 4; digital images, GenealogyBank (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 24 March 2017). 

                [6] Silas Simmons (Pvt. 10&20 Consolidated Louisiana Militia, War of 1812), bounty land warrant file 64098 (Act of 1855, 40 acres); Military Bounty Land Warrants and Related Papers; Records of the Bureau of Land Management, Record Group 49; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

                [7]  Martha F. Clark, Perry County, Mississippi Clerk of the Circuit Court to Michele Simmons Lewis, e-mail, 10 Jan 2012, “Courthouse Records,” Lewis Research Files; privately held by Lewis, Harlem, Georgia, 2012.

 Michele Simmons Lewis, CG is part of the Legacy Family Tree team at MyHeritage. She handles the enhancement suggestions that come in from our users as well as writing for Legacy News.  You can usually find her hanging out on the Legacy User Group Facebook page answering questions and posting tips.

Certified Genealogist is a registered trademark and the designation CG is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, used under license by Board certificants who meet competency standards.

Finding your Eastern Europe ancestors is becoming easier as more records are being digitized. In this new four part webinar series by Lisa Alzo, you'll discover how to locate maps, church records and civil records for Eastern Europe all from your easy chair. It's time to get started!

Lisa A.  Alzo. M.F.A. is a freelance writer, instructor, and internationally recognized lecturer, specializing in Slovak/Eastern European genealogical research, writing your family history, and using the Internet to trace female and immigrant ancestors. She is the author of ten books, including the award-winning Three Slovak Women, and hundreds of magazine articles, and writes the blog "The Accidental Genealogist."

The recording of today's webinar, "Top Tech Tips for the Technologist and the Genealogist" by Geoff Rasmussen is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.

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• Finding Isaac Rogers by Nicka Smith. September 13.
• The ABCs and 123s of Researching Your Ancestor's School Records by Melissa Barker. September 15.
• When Does Newfound Evidence Overturn a Proved Conclusion? by Tom Jones, Ph.D, CG, CGL. September 19.
• WolframAlpha for Genealogists by Thomas MacEntee. September 20.
• Quick Guide to Texas Research by Deena Coutant. September 27.
• No Easy Button: Using “Immersion Genealogy” to Understand Your Ancestors by Lisa Alzo. October 4.
• Sweden's Multiple Naming Systems and How They Changed in the 1800s by Martha Garrett, CG. October 6.
• Past Conflict Repatriation: The Role of Genealogists and Methodology in Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise by Jeanne Bloom, CG. October 6.
• Reasonably Exhaustive Research of African American Families That Came Out of Slavery by LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG. October 6.
• Using Timelines for Correlation and Analysis by Jill Morelli, CG. October 6.
• Land, Licenses, Love Gone Wrong, and Other Assorted Courthouse Records by Ann Staley, CG, CGL. October 6.
• Systematically Using Autosomal DNA Test Results to Help Break Through Genealogical Brick Walls by Tom Jones, Ph.D, CG, CGL. October 6.
• Southern States Migration Patterns by Mary Hill, AG. October 11.
• Is Your Society Growing? Social Media may be your saving grace by Pat Richley. October 13.
• Databases, Search Engines, and the Genealogical Proof Standard by David Ouimette, CG. October 17.
• The WPA: Sources for Your Genealogy by Gena Philibert-Ortega. October 18.
• Midwestern & Plains States Level Census Records by Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FMGS, FUGA. October 25.
• Is this the End? Taking Your German Brick Walls Down Piece by Piece by Luana Darby and Ursula C. Krause. November 1.
• New York City Genealogical Research: Navigating Through The Five Boroughs by Michael L. Strauss, AG. November 8.
• Using Non-Population Schedules for Context and Evidence by Jill Morelli. November 10.
• British and Irish research: the differences by Brian Donovan. November 15.
• Research in Federal Records: Some Assembly Required by Malissa Ruffner, JD, CG. November 21.
• Understanding Alabama by Rorey Cathcart. November 29.
• Finding Your Roots in Catholic Records by Lisa Toth Salinas. December 6.
• I Thought He Was My Ancestor: Avoiding the Six Biggest Genealogy Mistakes by James M. Baker, PhD, CG. December 13.
• Finding Your Nordic Parish of Birth by Jill Morelli. December 15.
• The Law and the Reasonably Exhaustive (Re)Search by Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL. December 19.
• Palmetto Pride - South Carolina for Genealogist by Rorey Cathcart. December 20.
• Problems and Pitfalls of a Reasonably Shallow Search by Elissa Scalise Powell, CG, CGL. December 27.

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Leave this class armed with a new collection of tools to make your genealogy time on the computer more efficient and fun.

Join us and Geoff Rasmussen for the live webinar Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at 2pm Eastern U.S. Register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free but space is limited to the first 1,000 people to join that day. Before joining, please visit www.java.com to ensure you have the latest version of Java which our webinar software requires. When you join, if you receive a message that the webinar is full, you know we've reached the 1,000 limit, so we invite you to view the recording which should be published to the webinar archives within an hour or two of the event's conclusion. 

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Tuesday's Tips provide brief how-to's to help you learn to use the Legacy Family Tree software with new tricks and techniques.

Using Uppercase Surnames

Uppercase surnames are no longer considered a genealogy standard so if you have your surnames in all caps it will trigger a Potential Problems warning. However, there are many people that still prefer their surnames in uppercase. This is very easy to do in the Legacy Family Tree software.

1) Go to Options > Customize > Data Format.  Scroll to Option 3.3 and make sure it is set to Uppercase.  Click the Apply button over on the right to make sure that all of your surnames are in uppercase. Now click Save at the bottom.

(click image to enlarge)

2) Close the customization screens and go to Tools > Potential Problems.  Click the Standardization tab.  The very last entry is Surname Entered as All Caps.  Make sure this box is UNchecked. 

(click image to enlarge)

Now you are good to go.

(click image to enlarge)

Find tech tips every day in the Facebook Legacy User Group. The group is free and is available to anyone with a Facebook account.

For video tech tips check out the Legacy Quick Tips page.  These short videos will make it easy for you to learn all sort of fun and interesting ways to look at your genealogy research.

Michele Simmons Lewis, CG is part of the Legacy Family Tree team at MyHeritage. She handles the enhancement suggestions that come in from our users as well as writing for Legacy News.  You can usually find her hanging out on the Legacy User Group Facebook page answering questions and posting tips.

Certified Genealogist is a registered trademark and the designation CG is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, used under license by Board certificants who meet competency standards.

What will happen to all of your online accounts after you're gone? It's time to start thinking of it now to make it easier for your heirs. With a handy digital asset checklist and some great advice Julie Potter Miller will get your started!

Julie Potter Miller, CG, CGL, FNGS is a full-time professional researcher, speaker, and writer who lives in Colorado. She speaks on a wide variety of genealogy subjects both locally and nationally. Her articles have appeared in the NGSQ, NGS Magazine, and she was the genealogy columnist for her local newspaper, the Broomfield Enterprise, for ten years. Julie is chair of the NGS conference committee, served as conference chair of the 2010 and 2012 NGS conferences, and served on the NGS board from 2006-2014. She has also served on the boards of APG, ISFHWE, Colorado Genealogical Society, and the Colorado Chapter of APG. Julie is a fellow of the National Genealogical Society and was the winner of the 2013 NGS Shirley Langdon Wilcox Award for Exemplary Volunteerism. She has been a volunteer at NARA-Denver for nineteen years.

Trace your Irish soldier ancestors in this new webinar by Brian Donovan. You'll learn about finding Irish soldiers records in World War I and well as their service in the Irish Rebellion.

Maureen Taylor is an internationally recognized expert on the intersection of history, genealogy, and photography. She has been featured in top media outlets, including The View, Better Homes & Gardens, the Boston Globe, Martha Stewart Living, MSNBC, DIY: Scrapbooking, PBS Ancestors, Creative Memories' Lasting Moments, Dear Myrtle, and Satisfaction Magazine. Maureen is the author of a number of books and magazine articles, as well as a contributing editor at Family Tree Magazine. The Wall Street Journal calls Maureen "the nation's foremost historical photo detective." Before she was the Photo Detective, Maureen was known for her expertise researching families in her home state of Rhode Island.

Can you use a photo you find online? What should you do to deter others from taking your photos? The Photo Detective Maureen Taylor will teach how to share responsibly and what you need to know before posting images online.

Maureen Taylor is an internationally recognized expert on the intersection of history, genealogy, and photography. She has been featured in top media outlets, including The View, Better Homes & Gardens, the Boston Globe, Martha Stewart Living, MSNBC, DIY: Scrapbooking, PBS Ancestors, Creative Memories' Lasting Moments, Dear Myrtle, and Satisfaction Magazine. Maureen is the author of a number of books and magazine articles, as well as a contributing editor at Family Tree Magazine. The Wall Street Journal calls Maureen "the nation's foremost historical photo detective." Before she was the Photo Detective, Maureen was known for her expertise researching families in her home state of Rhode Island.

We've tallied the numbers and made a list of the Top 10 FamilyTreeWebinars.com classes for August 2017! Are your favorite topics or instructors among the list? Need something new to learn? Use the list to get inspired!

Each month thousands of Legacy Family Tree Webinar subscribers head for the library to learn new skills and techniques to help improve their genealogy research. Among the now-574 genealogy classes in the members-only library, these were the most frequently played during the month of August 2017.  They aren't necessarily the newest classes but rather the topics that were sought out by our members.

Have you seen any of these classes? Are these among your favorites too? Some of these classes (and topics) might be new to you! Get inspired to learn more and make your genealogy journey more fun!

The Top 10 for August 2017

1. Secrets and Clues Hidden in the 1790 - 1840 U.S. Censuses by Amie Bowser Tennant

2. Using Pictures with Legacy Family Tree by Geoff Rasmussen

3. Finding Your Ancestors in German Directories by Luana Darby, MLIS, AG

4. Discover the new Legacy Family Tree 9 by Geoff Rasmussen

5. A Taxing Matter: Using Tax Lists in Genealogy by Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL

6. Tracing Your West Country Ancestors by Kirsty Gray

7. 1850 – 1900 U.S. Federal Census Secrets Revealed by Amie Bowser Tennant

8. Scanning 101 by Eric Basir

9. Who Are You? Identifying Your Mysterious DNA Matches by Blaine Bettinger, Ph.D., J.D.

10. 1910 – 1940 Federal Censuses & State Censuses to Fill in the Gaps by Amie Bowser Tennant

The Runner-Ups

11. Analyzing Probate Records of Slaveholders to Identify Enslaved Ancestors by LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG

12. Introduction to Gedmatch by Blaine Bettinger, Ph.D., J.D.

13. Hassle Free Document Restoration by Eric Basir

14. Avoiding Genetic Genealogy Pitfalls by Blaine Bettinger, Ph.D., J.D.

15. 25 Quick Photoshop Tips for Genealogists - Part one by Eric Basir

16. Revolutionary War Series 1 of 5: The Revolution - More than just the War by Craig R. Scott, MA, CG, FUGA

17. Using Manuscript Collections by Mary Hill, AG

18. Sources and Citations Made Simple, Standard, and Powerful by Geoff Rasmussen

19. Fundamentals of Researching Texas by Teri E. Flack

20. DNA Frequently Asked Questions by Blaine Bettinger, Ph.D., J.D.

Access to classes in the Legacy Family Tree Webinar library are available with an annual or monthly membership. Not a member? Become one! Or watch one of our free classes here.

Your Rhode Island ancestors are waiting to be discovered! In this series, Diane Boumenot shares her secrets for finding Rhode Island roots. You'll learn about the best genealogy destinations in Rhode Island, researching your 19th century ancestors and five methods for bringing down your brick walls. Add them to your Legacy playlist today!

Diane MacLean Boumenot specializes in southern New England genealogy research, including work on her own ancestors, who were among the original settlers of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and never ventured farther west than Connecticut. She publishes her genealogy adventures on her website, One Rhode Island Family, which also contains helpful links to Rhode Island's digital record sets. She enjoys speaking about research strategies. Additionally, Diane has a long career in association management and believes strongly in the powerful combination of organizations and members pursuing their passion. A graduate of Wesleyan University with a degree in American History and English, Diane is a member of ProGen 28.