Your Cousin May Not Have Done It All

A distant relative researched the probate file of an ancestor who died in the 1860s. She even transcribed the inventory of the ancestor from the estate packet and placed her transcription online. I assumed that she'd been through the entire file and had shared or at least mentioned in passing everything she had located. Turns out she didn't.

Making digital images of the ancestor's estate packet was on my list "to do" when I was in Salt Lake so I would have them instead of the transcription. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the ancestor owned real estate that the cousin never mentioned. It may not yield any big clues, but it's just as interesting as the list household goods my cousin transcribed.

And it reminded me that I while I am thankful when people place things online, I shouldn't assume that their research is complete.