Tracing Records of Orphaned Ancestor
Question: My ancestor was born after the death of his father in 1813 in Pennsylvania. His mother died when he was 10 days old and he was reared by a paternal aunt. If his parents did not own any property, would he have had a guardian named, or could just anyone have taken him to raise without creating any records?
Answer: If his parents owned real property, there would have been a guardian appointed for your ancestor. However, you probably will find some court records about a guardian for your ancestor, even if his parents were poor. Consult county records pertaining to probate and Orphans’ Court that may contain a great deal of information. Never assume anything in genealogy: Check the records.
Q: Where can I write to obtain the passenger lists of those arriving by ship from Oslo, Norway, to New York from 1906 to 1909?
A: There were about two ships per month arriving in New York from Scandinavian ports during this four-year period. Fortunately for you, the New York passenger lists are indexed from 1897 to 1943 and the National Archives will check these indexes for you.
Write to National Archives, 8th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20408 and request several copies of NATF Form 81 (if you are researching more than one family who came during this time, you will need separate forms for each person). When these forms arrive, fill them out and return as instructed. You need the full name of the passenger, port of entry and approximate date of arrival.
After your order is searched, photocopies will be made of records that relate to your request and National Archives will inform you of the cost to obtain these copies--normally less than $5.
Q: Does the term heirs at law always mean the wife and children, and would this have applied in Warren County, Ky., in 1809?
A: Heirs at law simply means the persons who inherit or have a right of inheritance in the real property of one who has died without leaving a valid will. However, while the term generally refers to cases of intestacy, it is frequently used in a popular sense to designate any successor to property either by will or by law.
The term does not necessarily mean the wife and children, although in most cases this would be true. In the example you sent from a book of abstracts of deeds, you will note that all the “heirs at law” have the same surname and that Elizabeth Key is designated as the widow of Simon Key. However, the interesting one is Elizabeth Hinton Key. Is she a Key by marriage or by blood? Possibly, Hinton is her middle name and was a way to distinguish her from her mother, Elizabeth. But in genealogy we cannot guess, we must try to prove each connection.
Since your source is secondary, obtain copies of the actual deeds and read it for yourself. Fortunately Warren County, Ky., has numerous records dating back to 1796.