Guesses about U.S. Ancestors: Difference between revisions

Guesses about U.S. Ancestors (view source)

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 Find what you can about the ancestor in your family records and/or [[www.familysearch.org|FamilySearch.org]].
-=== Assumptions ===
+=== Assumptions  ===
+==== General Assumptions (Pre-Civil War)<br>Only Use Until Have Information to the Contrary ====
+'''Marriage'''<br>• Couples usually married in the bride’s town.<br>• Couples usually lived in the groom’s town.<br>• Couples usually were married within one year before the first child was born.<br>•Before motorized transportation:<br>–A man without a horse usually courted women within three miles of where he lived.<br>–A man with a horse usually courted women within six miles of where he lived.<br>• People usually were in their 20s when they married for the first time.<br>• If a person was listed as older than 30 when married, there is a good possibility he/she had a previous marriage.<br>• A woman usually married a man about the same age or a little older for her first marriage. For later marriages, the age difference was greater. She seldom would marry a man more than 1-2 years younger.<br>• A man usually married a woman close to his age for his first marriage. For later marriages, he often married a woman much younger than he was.<br>• When a woman married, her husband became the owner of all she possessed.
+'''Children'''<br>• The first child was often born near the town where its parents were married.<br>• A child was usually christened in the same town where it was born.<br>• Usually when two children in the same family have the same name, the first child died or was very sick before the second child was born.<br>• Usually there are about 1.5 to 2.5 years between births of children in a family. A larger span of years may indicate:<br>Death of a baby<br>An unknown child<br>Death of a first spouse and a remarriage<br>• Parents often named their children after their parents, siblings or themselves.<br>• Puritans and Congregationalists did not have godparents for their children.<br>• A woman usually had children when she was between the ages of 18-45.<br>• A man usually had children when he was between the ages of 18-60.
+'''Death'''<br>• A person was usually buried soon after death, except when the ground was frozen in winter.<br>• The person who gave the information about the deceased for an obituary, tombstone, certificate, etc. may not have known the real facts about the deceased.
+'''Migration &amp; Immigration<br>'''• People often traveled with and/or settled near relatives, friends or people from the same town.<br>• People moved more often than we think.<br>• Until roads &amp; railroads improved, people usually traveled on or near water.<br>• For new settlements, people preferred living near water.<br>• People usually migrated to the West, but sometimes they went back East.<br>• When immigrating to America, colonial family members usually came together. For later immigrants, the father of a family might come first, then the rest of the family.
+'''Activities'''<br>• Before the Civil War, most free men owned land and usually farmed it. <br>• Men usually acquired land soon after moving to a location.<br>• In colonial times, men aged 16 to 65 probably were in the militia.<br>• People often did not pay attention to boundaries (state, county, etc.) when deciding where to marry, farm, etc.
+'''Religion'''<br>• The Congregational Church was the main church in New England.<br>• The Anglican Church was the main church of the Southern states.<br>• The Presbyterian Church was strongest in:<br>- Mid-Atlantic states<br>- Southern states<br>• Quakers were strongest in:<br>- Pennsylvania near Philadelphia<br>- New England<br>- Mid-Atlantic states<br>- Southern, especially North Carolina<br>- After the Revolution, many went to Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.<br>• The Baptist Church is strongest in the mid-Atlantic states and the Southern states<br>• Methodist Church: By 1850, about 1/3 of American Protestants were Methodists. From 1820 to 1920, Methodism was the largest Protestant denomination.
+'''People from:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Usually were:<br>'''Scandinavian&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lutheran<br>Northern Germany and northern Switzerland&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lutheran<br>Southern Germany and southern Switzerland&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Roman Catholic<br>The Netherlands&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Dutch Reformed Church<br>Latin America, Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Roman Catholic<br>Greece&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Greek Orthodox<br>Russia&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Russian Orthodox
+'''Check church records of the town first'''<br>- If not in town church records, check county church records<br>- If your ancestor lived in a small town, check the records of all the churches in that town.<br>Usually Catholics did not go to a Protestant church, and usually Protestants did not go to a Catholic church.
+<br>
 === Tips  ===