I am looking for the parents of Michael and Catherine (Lyons) Rafferty. Where should I look next?

Here's what I know:
I found my grandfather Michael Rafferty in the 1910 Census in Boston - living with his wife Catherine and family. It indicates that he was born in about 1872, was a Motor-man on a street car, was married around 1900 and immigrated in 1895.

Since Michael was not in the 1920 census and Catherine is listed as a widow, it is reasonable to conclude that he died somewhere between 1910 and 1920. My brother believes he died in 1914-1915.

The 1900 Census shows a Michael Rafferty born in 1873, emigrated in 1893, was a motorman and was living in a boarding home with a Thomas Rafferty.

The 1910, 1920 and 1930 census lists the brother of Michael Rafferty, Thomas Rafferty, as living with the family.

Catherine Rafferty (my grandmother, maiden name Lyons):

The 1920 and 1930 census shows that Catherine immigrated from Ireland in 1892. She was naturalized in 1897. She lived at 272 Corey Rd in Boston. She was living at 78 Hichborn St in Brighton at the time of Thomas Sr's wedding (according to newspaper clipping). She died approx 1950.

A: OK. I would suggest several approaches. First that you look for their death certificates.

FamilySearchLabs has been putting all of the Massachusetts death certificates from 1841 through 1915 online but at this point that project is only 58% complete. That is a terrific free resource - you will want to check back as more certificates are added.















You also want to contact the Massachusetts State Archives. They hold the original Massachusetts vital records from 1841 to 1915. They have put up a searchable index to these records from 1841 to 1910.

You also have several clues in the research that you have already done.

Look again at the 1900 Census. You have them identified in Boston Ward 25, Precinct 7.

Click Here to see the full census page

TIP: You may search the 1900 census for free at: FamilySearchLabs.org


Notice that there is a Timothy Rafferty living on the same street, just a few houses down from them.

Look closely at the lines for Timothy and his wife Bridget.
It says that Timothy has been married for "42" years - getting married in approx. 1858.
The record shows that Bridget has been married for 27 or 28 years (notice the two numbers written in that column) in approx. 1872 when she was 44 years old. Notice further that the record indicates that she had no children.

The census taker should have indicated how many times they have each been married. Since the record indicates that Timothy was first married in 1858 and Bridget first married in 1872 - there was certainly another marriage for one or both of them.

But, look again at line 84 for Timothy. What is the 8/12 written after the marriage? It is possible that this represents the number of children that Timothy had with his first wife - 12 children and that 8 of them are still living. Spacing 12 children from a marriage date of 1858 - could indicate children born from 1859 to the early 1870s.

Just an idea, but could Timothy be Michael Rafferty's father or uncle?

I would suggest that you keep searching the Massachusetts and Irish vital record indexes.

In searching the Civil Registration Indexes for Ireland for 1845 to 1958 I do find a Timothy Rafferty married in Castlebar, County Mayo in 1870. The Civil Registration Indexes are also free on the FamilySearchLabs.org site.

Here is the citation:
Name: Timothy Rafferty
Registration district: Castlebar
Record type: MARRIAGES
Registration date - quarter and year: 1870
Film number: 101251
Volume: 4 Page: 144
Digital GS number: 4179384 Image number: 00313
Collection: Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes 1845-1958

Looking further at the Irish Civil Registration Index there is an entry for a Michael Rafferty born in Castlebar, County Mayo in 1873. You should get a copy of this birth certificate to see if this person was also born in November 1873 - giving you a strong indication that you have a match.

Name: Michael Rafferty
Registration district: Castlebar
Record type: DEATHS
Registration date - quarter and year: 1873
Estimated birth year: 1873
Film number: 101586
Volume: 19
Page: 69
Digital GS number: 4200218
Image number: 00501
Collection: Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes 1845-1958

I did not find an entry for Thomas Rafferty born January 1870 in Ireland.

Be sure to also search for the naturalization records of Michael, Thomas and Timothy Rafferty - to see what clues these give you. Contact the National Archives Regional centers in Massachusetts for these records. Click here to see their online guide.
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A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y

I am often asked: Do you have Canadian newspapers in GenealogyBank?

Well, no we don't - but that's not the question you want to ask.

Tip: I have been researching my family tree for 45 years and I can tell you that you'll find the information on your family where you least expect to find it.

Here's a wedding announcement for Alexander James Ross of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Mary Moore McArthur of Picton, Nova Scotia - they were married in Chicago 6 March 1882. (Inter Ocean 14 March 1882).

GenealogyBank has over 3,800 newspapers - all of them published in the United States - but it has several million articles, records and documents on Canadians.

Newspapers were published - every day.

And everyday editors had to fill the next day's paper & they wanted to sell papers.

So they pulled "news" from a wide circle of influence. Birth announcements, marriage announcements, and obituaries from small towns and big cities were included.

Just like CNN or Fox News - the daily newspapers had to fill their pages with hard news. News that people wanted to read and that would sell subscriptions.

If you are researching Canadian genealogy then GenealogyBank is an essential online tool.

Eastport, Maine is a small town on the Maine coast right on the border with New Brunswick, Canada.

As you would expect this newspaper regularly carried birth, death and marriage announcements from the Canadian side of the border.

Look at this example of marriage notices published in the 29 March 1828 Eastport ME) Sentinnel. Look at the places mentioned "Lubec" - "Dennysville" - "St. Andrews" - "Antigua" - "St. Stephens" and "Charlotte". Towns on both sides of the border and "Antigua" refers to the island nation of Antigua.

Nothing unusual here - just a typical day with a newspaper editor packing his paper with the information his readers wanted to read.

Just like GenealogyBank - everyday we pack in more resources that genealogists need and rely on. You're not finished with your research until you've searched the newspapers in GenealogyBank.
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Q: Is there any chance that the Philadelphia Inquirer will extend from 1922 into the 1940s? Is there an index to obituaries from that era?

A: GenealogyBank actively partners with the publishers of thousands of newspapers from across the country - including the Philadelphia Inquirer. Many of our newspaper runs stop at 1922. Because of copyright laws publishers often weigh their options about digitizing and putting online their newspapers after that because of the New York Times Co. vs. Tasini case in 2001. That ruling requires newspaper publishers to pay writers, photographers for the republication of the articles that they wrote or the pictures that they took since 1922. This can be very difficult for newspapers to find these writers decades later. As newspaper publishers work out those arrangements we work with them and put their newspapers online.

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania has the clipping file from the Philadelphia Public Ledger - by finding the obituary there you could then check for an obituary appearing in the Philadelphia Inquirer at that same time. They also have indexes to other local Philadelphia newspaper obituary and marriage notices. I would suggest that you contact them about any indexes for that later period.

In Sweden his name was Lars Fredrik Pettersson - but he changed the spelling of his name in the US. What do I do now?

A: It is common for immigrants coming from other heritages to standardize the spelling of their names.

In this case: Lars Fredrik Pettersson .... you will want to search indexes for all of the spelling options for his name.

Fredrik: Could be spelled Frederick or even the short form: Fred
Pettersson: Could be spelled several ways: Petterson; Peterson; Pederson; Petersen; etc.

His complete name might have been written as:
L.F. Peterson
Lars F. Peterson
Lars Peterson
Frederick Peterson
Fred Peterson
Fred L. Peterson

Genealogists learn through trial and error the various ways that individuals and record keepers might have spelled their names.

Keep this in mind when you search newspapers.

How can I find more information on my grandfather?

A: First I need more background information on the family.

Hi Tom,
Thanks for getting back with me. I know this is a tough one because we are talking civil war days and OK Indian Territory.

My grandfather Frank Elijah Jackson was born in Sherman TX in 1865 to a Chickasaw women by the name of Lydia Love (maiden name) or Jackson (married name). He died in 1953 or 4 in Los Angeles, CA this I'm sure of.

I spoke with archives in Austin TX no birth record of him. He worked for the Santa Fe railroad in Topeka Kansas how long I don't know. He had to have a ssn# to work I would guess and if so he had to have a birth certificate.

I'm trying to establish our Indian heritage, and to find out his father's background who was Calvin Jackson believed to be an Irishman. Another name that is tied in is Calvin Jackson Grant born 1861 in Sherman, TX. They both resided in Berwyn, OK when it was a territory which is prior to 1906. Any suggestions would surely be appreciated.

Thanks,
Frank

Several quick points Frank.
1. California records show a Frank Elijah Jackson - born 23 Feb 1866 in Texas who died in Los Angeles, CA on 9 Jun 1953. I'd suggest that you write to the California Office of Vital Statistics for a copy of his death certificate to confirm that this is your grandfather. That should give you more details on his father.

2. Social Security Number. Today when you register for a Social Security number you need proof of your identity and your birth certificate. When the Social Security program was organized in the 1930s the process was much more informal. People simply registered. The requirement for people to show a birth certificate and other documentation when they got a job is also a recent requirement. Nothing like that was required in the 1800s when he was working for the railroad. Railroad workers also came under a separate "social" program to protect them in their retirement years - the Railroad Retirement Benefits program was actually created the year before the Social Security Administration. An index to the deaths of individuals in the Railroad benefits program is also included in the Social Security Death Index. While the SSDI has death records back to 1937 - the coverage in the Department's index becomes increasingly more comprehensive after 1962 - because that is when the Department began to computerize its index.

3. It's not uncommon for State vital records offices to not have 19th Century birth certificates. So - you need to build your family history from multiple sources. For example - the 1925 Kansas State Census shows his family living in Shawnee, Kansas - and according to that census he was born in Texas and had moved to Kansas from Oklahoma.

4. A search of the 1870 census does show Calvin Jackson Grant born 1861 living in Sherman TX - but no mention of Frank Elijah Jackson.

5. Jackson is a common name. I'd suggest that you continue to look through the state and Federal census records. In the later census years it gives the place of birth of the parents. That should give you a good clue if his father - Calvin Jackson - was born in Ireland.

Frank - I will continue to look into this for you and let you know what else I find for you.

Tom

How do I find articles on Blacks in GenealogyBank?

A: Interesting question. You will need to use specific names and keyword search terms associated with Blacks over the past 300 years.



Search for specific individuals by name like "Martin Luther King". Click here to read the Dallas Morning News 5 April 1968 when he was killed.



TIP: Put names in quotes - "Martin Luther King" - so that your search will focus in on just articles where the person you are searching for is mentioned.

When former slave John Wiley died in 1918 it was a banner headline and a front page story in the Belleville News Democrat (20 May 1918). Click here to read the article.


You should also use keyword search terms that were used over the past 300 years. For example terms like: slave, slavery, African-American, NAACP, AME Church; and Civil Rights Movement will generate millions of hits in GenealogyBank.


You will then want to narrow down your search results by state, specific newspaper or by date range.

Please let me know if this answers your question.
Tom
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I'm wondering how you choose which newspapers to add to the collection? I would like to see more coverage for Idaho. How do I request them?

A: John, yes we welcome your suggestions for more newspapers that you would like to see added to GenealogyBank.com - please send all of your newspaper suggestions to us at gbfeedback@newsbank.com

GenealogyBank's parent company - NewsBank - works closely with newspapers and archives across the country partnering with them to provide the online newspapers that you see in GenealogyBank.

GenealogyBank currently has more than 3,800 newspapers from all 50 States from 1690 to Today online. We have contracts for thousands of newspapers that are in various stages of production waiting their turn to go online.

Juggling that many titles can be impacted by special opportunities like adding over 360 Hispanic Newspapers from 1808 to 1980; or the discovery of new resources that need to be digitized to protect them from further deterioration.

Each month we usually add more issues from 50 newspapers - often over 4 million additional articles every month.

Please keep sending in your suggestions - we will try to quickly respond to the research interests of our members.

John, please let me know if this answers your question.
Tom