Wills

        Last Wills and Testaments can be invaluable resources for family historians.  While it is interesting what possessions your ancestor had, there is far more valuable information buried in that will.  After exhausting civil and ecclesiastical records turn your attention to wills.  You may make a few interesting discoveries.  Since wills tend to be written in more formal language, they often include full (including middle) names of children and sometimes even grandchildren.  They also may indicate the ancestor owned land in another locality you did not know.  This, in turn, could lead you in another, fruitful direction.

        I was unable to locate my 3G-Grandfather, William Garber, in the 1900 Census.  I knew he lived until 1901 and that he owned a farm in Frederick County, Maryland.  despite reviewing all the census tables for the area, I could not locate him in the census.  This in itself is not unusual.  Census takers often miss families who are not at home when they call.  Eventually I gave up the search and considered it a dead-end for the time being.  I thought perhaps I would never locate William Garber until a few months later when I found his will in the Maryland archives in Annapolis.  William Garber's will was a treasure trove of genealogical information.  By itself, it is a valuable document that confirms several things.  He listed all four of his children and their spouses!  He also gave instructions for the disposal of his land and property.  These instructions included his house in Union Bridge, Carroll County Maryland.  This house, less than a mile from his old farm in Frederick County, is where William spent his final days until he passed away in the stifling heat of July 1901.

        Fresh with a new lead, I checked the census tables for Union Bridge (Carroll County) and finally located William Garber in the 1900 Census.  I also found his daughter, son-in-law and their children living in the same house.  This was the first time I discovered their children's names.