Tolley Genealogy

This Tolley family website contains cemetery photos from Fountain Green, Nephi, and Provo, Utah cemeteries, and information on the Chapin, Durham, Farnsworth, Gadd, Huggins, Lauritzen, Mickelsen, Orme, Pearce, Rich and Tolley surnames.


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Featured Surname of March 2006: Tolley


"In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage - to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum. An emptiness. And the most disquieting loneliness."

Alex Haley
(2 March 2004) Here's our featured tip: Understanding the nature of records In our research, we encounter many different record types. Those range from censuses and court records to marriage licenses, banns, certificates and bonds. The sheer number and diversity of the record types available for genealogical research makes the task of choosing a record type to search or understanding a record type you have already searched quite overwhelming. I would like to provide a few easy helps that will make using record types a little less intimidating.

Understand why the record was created.
For instance, censuses weren't taken every ten years because the federal government anticipated a major influx of genealogist scrambling for records to locate their ancestors. United States Federal Censuses began in the year 1790 because they were required by the recently-ratified constitution. It is only now that we realize the value these censuses can have to locate our ancestors and get some basic information about them. Censuses and, to some degree, their indexes are available on various internet sites in both digital image form and transcription. (See http://www.cyndislist.com for censuses online or http://www.usgenweb.org for census information specific to your geographic area.)

Other records were created because people desired to have that record kept. Records such as land and probate (which includes wills and letters of administration) made it possible for relatives and landowners to prove their ownership or inheritance. For this reason, in most U.S. counties, land and probate records were the earliest-recorded and best-preserved records kept. Understanding the need for land and probate records can help you as a researcher use land and probate when other record types aren't available.

Take a minute to understand why the record you are using was created. Family histories and family websites are often created by a descendant because of their interest in their ancestors. The distance between the descendant and the ancestor can make the information less reliable. Many different types of records have different origins. Tax records were often created for governmental bodies to draw their income. Lineage society applications were created so that a descendant or relative could prove relationship to someone famous or of note. Vital records were often created by a church or parish priest rather than the government. All these and other records will be better understood if we know, or can guess, why the record was created. Information on why records were kept can often be found in county histories, as well as the State Research Outlines available on http://www.familysearch.org under "Research Helps." Take a few moments to understand why the records you use were created to open a whole new level of understanding.

>Archive of tips.

My surnames

    Aker         Chapin         Durham         Farnsworth         Gadd    
    Huggins         Lauritzen         Mickelsen         Orme         Pearce    
    Rich         Tilton         Tolley    

Utah Cemeteries

Juab county, UT cemeteries
Juab County
Cemeteries
Morgan County Cemeteries
Morgan County
Cemeteres
Sanpete County Cemeteries
Sanpete County
Cemeteries
Utah County Cemeteries
Utah County
Cemeteries

Maps

    Idaho         New Jersey         Utah    

Research Tools

Historic Fountain Green Main Street
William Huggins
Family Research
Marriage Certificates
Marriage
Certificates
Ship Thornton
The ship Thornton,
1856
My Favorite Links
My Favorite
Links

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since November 2001

Updated 16 March 2006

  ©2001-2005, Trish Tolley