Reviewing an Old Document Often Reveals New Clues

Do you always get all the clues from a document the first time you view it? Or do you just record the main information and move on to the next document in a broad search?

I admit that I have done that. I might locate a document that gives me the answer to my research question, such as the date of a marriage or the place of residence from a census. I would record that information in my genealogy database. I may not always read the whole document carefully or transcribed it completely. Those were my baby genealogy days.

I try hard not to do that anymore. I spend time with the document, recording the full citation right then as I have the document on the website and can get the full URL and other details I need. I then read the entire document, and either fully transcribe it or take careful notes about all the important information. I’ll look at neighboring documents, or if a census, neighboring entries, and make note of them.

But what about those documents I have collected years ago? It’s a good idea to review them periodically. Often, I discover more information from them. Sometimes, it’s because I know more about the family and the new information means more to me. Or I know something about their FAN club and these witnesses or neighbors are people I now recognize having important relationships with my ancestor.

Example 1. Take this 1880 Comanche County, Texas, census extract.[1] I initially found Elizabeth Johnston living with her son, Marion, and next door is her son, Rueben, my ancestor. When I first read this census page, those were the only people I saw and I recorded them faithfully into my genealogy program. Now, when I look at that page, I see more family among the neighbors.

• Thomas W. Jones is the brother of Rueben’s wife, Olivia.
• Bettie Knox is Olivia’s sister.
• Mary Wright is Olivia’s sister.
• Sarah McDonald is Rueben’s sister. I missed her when I created this image for a presentation.

What looked like unrelated neighbors turned out to be family living near each other and more people to research.

Example 2. World War I Draft Registration Card for Leon Thomas Davey.[2] It is important to understand the source and why it was created. This is not a military record, only a record that Leon registered for the draft in the third registration which took place on 12 September 1918 and covered men between 18 and 45 who had not yet registered.[3]

WWI Draft Registration Card for Leon Thomas Davey

At first glance, this is straightforward. I recorded the information as:

"Leon Thomas Davey, 1414 Market, St. Louis, Mo., 34 yr, b. Dec 18, 1883.  white.  plumber at John Gilmore Plumbing Co., 1326 10th, St. Louis, Mo.  Nearest rel: Fred Davey, 1223 N. Campbell, Springfield, Mo. Medium height, slender build, brown eyes, brown hair.  Mailed from Charleston, Mo."

However, I made no additional comments about what any of the information meant and what future research I should do. Looking at the card today, these are my additional observations:

I would add that it was the “C” or third registration, held on 12 September 1918 for men aged 18 through 45. He was too old to have registered in 1917 in the first registration that covered men aged 21 to 31. His serial number was high and would likely have not been drafted.

The notation that the card was mailed from Charleston, Missouri, suggests that Leon was in Charleston on or near registration day. Charleston is the county seat of Mississippi County, which is in southeast corner of Missouri where the Ohio and Mississippi River converge. Kentucky is on the east side of the river. Why would he had been down there? Was he doing work for the company he worked for, or was he on a holiday?

I would spend more time looking at the details about his address in St. Louis. Where was 1414 Market Street? Are there other documents, such as city directories or censuses, that also give this address? Can I find a contemporary map that shows the address? And how far away from his work address of 13 10th Street was it? Did he walk or were there streetcars he used for transportation?

What about the place where he worked? What can I find out about the John Gilman Plumbing Company? Was it a small or large company? What kind of work did they do?

His nearest relative who would know his address was Fred Davey, who lived in Springhill, Missouri. This suggests that Leon was not married at the time of registration. He was 34 years old. Had he been married previously? I would search marriage record indexes for Missouri and Illinois, as people sometimes married in East St. Louis in Illinois. Fred Davey was Leon’s older brother and there might be more records that name both men. Could also check Fred’s draft card for verification of address.

The reverse side of the card lists the local board, which was Division No. 6, City of St. Louis. But written on the side was “no card” and above “mailed from Charleston, Mo.” The other information about Leon’s physical description is something I always record, as it gives some sense of what he looked like in 1918. I have no photo of him except when a small boy. I could check Fred’s card for his physical description.

Example 3. A marriage record for Daniel Shotts to Mary Ann Bishop, 28 March 1831, in Ross County, Ohio. They were married on 28 March 1831 by Pleasant Thurman.[4]

Ross Co, Ohio, Marriage Register, v. C.D.

We’re looking at the marriage record at the bottom of the page. It is a simple record, listing the couple’s names in the margin with a date of 19 March 1831. The box to the right gives the date the bonds of matrimony was consummated and the name of the officiant.

After recording the citation and creating a transcription, my comments about the document would be: This document looks too neat. All the handwriting is similar, which could be possible if the same clerk recorded the information, but even so, the pages look too clean, looking like it was written at the same sitting. As I scroll page back and page forward, the handwriting doesn’t change. This is likely a copy of the original.

Using full-text search, another marriage record came up for a Shotts-Bishop marriage.[5]

Ross Co, Ohio, Marriage Register, v. C

The marriage record is again in the lower right-hand corner. The information recorded is identical to the prior marriage record. Looking at the whole page, we see that the handwriting is not uniform. These might be signatures of the officiants.

Analyzing the front of the volume, this is marriage volume C. The copy volume is labeled volume C.D. and includes both volumes C and D. There is no notation that it is a copy. It is unusual to find both the original volume and the copied volume available. Often a copy is made because the original is falling apart. Anytime a copy is made, there is chance of errors being introduced, such as misinterpreting the names, or even omitting an entry.

Analyzing the marriage entry, the earlier date of 19 March 1831 is likely the license date. The entry before this one also received their license the same day but married four days earlier by a different officiant. There is likely no relationship between the two. I would want to investigate Pleasant Thurman. Was he a minister? If so, from which church? I could search in full-text search for other records naming him. I could also look for a history of Ross County to see if he was mentioned as associated with a particular denomination.

Summary
These three examples show the reasons to slow down when analyzing a document.

• Take the time to understand its purpose by studying genealogy handbooks or reviewing statutes.
• Check pages before and after to see how it relates to other documents in the series.
• Transcribe or extract all information, and record any inconsistencies you see.
• Make lists of future research that information in the document suggests.

Review any prior documents you have found following the above suggestions. Who knows, you might discover something you did not know before.

#52Ancestors: Week 27 – A Record I Read Differently Now

This is my ninth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

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[1] 1880 U.S. census, Comanche Co, Texas, Precinct No. 3 & 30 District, p. 95, dwelling 171, family 179, J. Marion Johnston household.

[2] "U.S., WW I Draft Registration Cards 1917-1918," imaged, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6482/images/005151913_00587 : accessed 3 Jul 2026) > Missouri > St. Louis City > 06 > Draft Card D > image 47 of 342, Leon Thomas Davey, serial no. 4854, order no. 3949a; World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, National Archives M1509, Washington, D.C.

[3] “World War I Draft Registration Cards,” National Archives (https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww1/draft-registration : accessed 3 Jul 2026).

[4] Ross Co, Ohio, marriages, v. C.D., p. 243, Daniel Shotts to Mary Ann Bishop, 28 March 1831; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-G2SR-32 : accessed 3 Jul 2026), IGN 004701436, image 188 of 394.

[5] Ross Co, Ohio, marriage register, v. C, p. 255, Daniel Shotts to Mary Ann Bishop, 28 March 1831; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-91SD-FH : accessed 3 Jul 2026), IGN 004016206, image 559 of 649.

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