Saturday, October 11, 2008

Now What? I'm Stumped ...

I've wanted to write this post for a while, but I haven't had much of a chance until now because I'm in school. With that said, I'll continue onto my post ..

So, what is my problem, and how am I stumped? Well, back in late August, the last microfilm I ordered finally came in, but by that time, I was unable to view the microfilm because I was up at school. The microfilm I ordered was of book I of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania's Orphan court records, and I ordered that microfilm because I was hoping I would find some more records related to the estate of my ancestor, Benjamin Oswalt. I thought that he might have had a child who was still considered a minor at that time, so I was hoping there might be a list of his heirs. So, since I could not look at the microfilm myself, I asked my grandpa if he could look up the microfilm which he gladly did for me. Unfortunately, when I talked to my grandpa after he took a look at the microfilm, I learned that the only information on my ancestor in the orphan court's record was limited to three lines or so. There was no list of heirs or a list of what Benjamin Oswalt owned.

So, now, here is my problem: I feel a bit stuck. I do not know where else I should look for death information since I don't have an exact death date for him. I just know he died before 28 September 1861. Does anyone have any advice as to where I could look for more records on Benjamin and his family? What should I do? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

1 comment:

PalmsRV said...

Hi Jessica,

Did you check the Wills/Letters of Administration for Huntingdon Co.?
And/Or
Since I'm a big fan of land records (my In Deeds blog)you might check the grantor and grantee indexes for Oswalt -- estate of Benj; Quit Claim deeds from one heir to another; etc

Good luck
Cathy Palm