20 November 2013

More E.S. Mills Genealogy Advice, Part 3, NY Times

The third installment of Elizabeth Shown Mills responding to questions from the public regarding genealogy research is in this morning's New York Times. Part 2, was here; part 1, here. Part 4 will be published next Wednesday.

Today ESM covers the following issues:
  • A Reconstruction-era Ex-Slave Businessman
  • Clues to Origins and Parentage of an Enslaved Man
  • Tracing Jamaican Roots
  • Records for a New York-New Jersey Couple  
  • Naturalization Files for New York
  • Name Change at Ellis Island?
This week's article is rich in methodological advice. One should read the responses to all six questions even if one has little or no interest in slavery records or Jamaica. While not actually mentioning the terms, Mills extolls the virtues of cluster research or the FAN principle (i.e., looking into the records of friends, associates and neighbors) to break through obstacles in one's research paths. 

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