Rural Folks

 Msging with a relative this morning, I decided to extract a bit of our conversation this morning for this blog post:

The problem with rural people, for genealogical research, especially back then, is that they were so busy just surviving that they didn't pay that much attention to keeping records. My maternal grandmother had had a bible that was destroyed in a fire; a common occurrence. 

In addition, rural people have never been of much interest to historians or journalists; they didn't get their names in papers, they usually didn't run for office, etc. They were often born at home, they often died at home, they were often buried on family land, so records of their lives are few and far between.  Unless someone in the family intentionally and carefully kept records of who was whom, who married whom, when, where, children, deaths, etc.  it's very difficult to find information.

Federal censuses began in 1790.  Before 1850, only the heads of households were named on the censuses and only males and females in several age ranges were counted in the household.  You don't know, in looking at those censuses, what the relationship was of individuals to the head of the household.  You could assume that the eldest female was the wife.

Official birth, death and marriage records began to be "required" in the 1880s.  That doesn't mean that everybody complied.  Some people wouldn't even have been aware of the requirement anymore than regulations today.  Before that it's very hit and miss in finding evidence of individuals.

Churches also kept birth, marriage and death records but, yes, of course, everyone was not enrolled in a church, as now.  Even so, there weren't structural churches everywhere and circuit riders, who often represented churches and held services, were relied on for these services and sacraments.  I've never seen a circuit rider's records so I don't know how readily available they are.  I believe they were often taken back to the relevant church and recorded there.

Finally, old newspapers, particularly older local newspapers, had a lot of social entries.  Little snippets of who moved where, who was visiting whom.  Today, some of those newspaper announcements would be considered breaches of privacy.

There were, of course, court records.  I have not generally used them and find them difficult to access, so far.  I would probably be  considered an intermediate-level researcher.

Many of my ancestors, were rural people.  They were not wealthy.  They did not, generally, hold public office. They were not celebrities.  They lived and died usually ordinary and often struggling lives.  Still, they're my ancestors and I continue to research ALL my family lines to discover what I can about all of them.

I will continue with my posts on my family surnames in NYS Revolutionary war records in a bit.  Right now I'm still focused on CoVid testing and having a visit with my father.

Back soon....