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A Little Legalese
curtesy (kər-tə-see) – “At common law, a husband’s right, upon his wife’s death, to a life estate in the land that his wife owned during their marriage, assuming that a child was born alive to the couple.”
— Bryan A. Garner, editor, Black’s Law Dictionary, 8th edition, (St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson/West, 2004), 411.Connect With Me
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Author Archives: Chris Staats
Corbit v. Corbit: Oh, the Family Stories Court Records Tell
While looking for case law to sort out an entirely different issue related to recording of deeds, I came across this fascinating story.1 It did nothing to help me in my particular dilemma, but illustrates what an underutilized source court reporters really are. … Continue reading
Posted in Thoughts and Musings
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The Osborne Family: A St. Patty’s Day Tribute
Rather than indulging in green beer and other St. Patty’s Day shenanigans, I thought it better instead to briefly thank at least one of my many Irish families that left their homes, made it to America, and managed to survive … Continue reading
Posted in Thoughts and Musings
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Tough Choices, Goals, and Dreams
For the first time since starting this blog, I didn’t post at the beginning of the new year- reviewing my successes (or lack thereof) in meeting the previous years goals, and then laying out new ones for the twelve months … Continue reading
Posted in Misc., Thoughts and Musings
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Q&A with Judy Russell: A Conversation About The Upcoming WRHS Seminar, “Genealogy And The Law”
Disclaimer: I am the seminar chairperson for the Western Reserve Historical Society and also chapter representative for the Great Lakes APG chapter. I also think Judy is pretty awesome. In anticipation of Judy Russell’s upcoming Cleveland, Ohio appearances on April 12 … Continue reading
Posted in Thoughts and Musings
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Genealogy Mystery Theater: Addressing Identities
Merry Christmas everyone! I thought I’d try something new tonight. Once the presents are all unwrapped, the guests gone, and your belly full, I have a game we can play. You know those murder mystery theater things– ones where the … Continue reading
New Presentation Topic Added: ” Where Does It Say That? Learning to Love Indirect Evidence”
Where Does It Say That? Learning to Love Indirect Evidence Direct evidence, the sort of evidence that completely answers a research question by itself, is often scarce. It can also be wrong, or we may discover two pieces of direct evidence … Continue reading
Posted in Events, How-To, Thoughts and Musings
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“Because I Know He Is”: Edith Staats vs. Jesse Pickering, 1838
Each time I post about this subject, I wrestle with whether or not I should be airing the family laundry here in cyberspace. However, as genealogists, we are most interested in the truth. Sometimes the truth is not what we … Continue reading
Posted in Family Findings, Thoughts and Musings
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City Directories: Addressing Identities
*Note: Since I’ve not a had a chance to explicitly clear the use of his ancestor’s names, I will avoid anything that might identify the client’s family (including the source citations)* City directory research can be a lot like tax … Continue reading
Posted in How-To, Thoughts and Musings
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April 12-13, 2013 is Legal Genealogist Weekend in Cleveland, Ohio!
Disclaimer: I am the chairperson of the Western Reserve Genealogical Society’s Genealogical Committee, as well as the Great Lakes APG chapter representative. I am also a big fan of Judy Russell. I dig genealogy. My favorite color is green, but … Continue reading
Facebook Increases Awareness of the East Cuyahoga County Genealogical Society
I have to admit, having pressed our board to let me create a page for the East Cuyahoga County Genealogical Society, I dropped the ball at first. I made a few initial posts, and no one really responded. I made a … Continue reading
Posted in Thoughts and Musings
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