-----Original Message----- From: On Behalf Of Denise Cross Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2017 9:30 AM Did this law evolve from the practice of warnings out? I've seen interesting patterns of registrations in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries where a family that moved between locations would reregister births in the new town. I've also seen a family move out of and back into a town that registered only the children born while resident and had a gap in the middle for children born while living elsewhere. Each town must have decided on its level of interest in supporting said children should the family become unable to do so. -Denise On Tue, Mar 21, 2017 at 9:11 AM, Barbara Mathews < barbara@demandinggenealogist.com> wrote: > As Judy Russell states in almost all her speeches, "You have to know > the laws of the place and time." > > For Massachusetts, I googled "Massachusetts General Law out-of-state births" This is a great demonstration on how understanding the history of laws helps us to understand our ancestors who had to operate under them (or not!). How old did someone have to be to inherit, or to marry, or to be a witness? The answer can help you determine if this Silas Harnden was your Silas Harnden or another same-named individual. Understanding the laws also gives us backgrounds. "Grandpa and Grandma had to elope because they were not 21 yet and their parents would not consent to the marriage. So they went to a different state (or county) where they were not known and lied about their ages." Now isn't that an interesting detail gleaned from the laws at the time and explains discrepancies in birth years if someone only took the marriage application as gospel? Or this one: "Mary's application for marriage was just 3 days after she asked for John to be her guardian. At age 20 and a half she still needed permission to marry from a parent or guardian, so she had asked the court to appoint her fiancé as her guardian." If you want to know more about how to find laws, how they affected our ancestors and learn from the top "Legal Genealogist" in our field, you may want to consider the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh's course with Judy G. Russell, J.D., CG, CGL. Held July 16-21, 2017, at La Roche College in Pittsburgh, PA, there are still seats available in the course. A detailed schedule including a paragraph on each of the 18 sessions in the course can be found at http://www.gripitt.org/courses/law-school-for-genealogists/ Here is a synopsis: Monday 8:30: Freshman Orientation (Russell) 10:15: Courts 101: Federal Courts and their Records (Russell) 1:00: Courts 102: State Courts and their Records (Russell) 2:45: Legal Research 101: Century of Lawmaking (legislative process through the resources of the LOC) (R. Sayre) Tuesday 8:30: Legal Research 102: The Serial Set, American State Papers, and Territorial Papers (R. Sayre) 10:15: Legal Research 103: The Serial Set et al Illustrated (case studies and usage concepts) (R. Sayre) 1:00: Estate Law 101: Wills, Intestacy and Probate (Russell) 2:45: Estate Law 102: Dower, Curtesy and Guardianships (Russell) Wednesday 8:30: Immigration Law 101: Immigration laws generally (Smith) 10:15: Immigration Law 102: Naturalization laws generally (Smith) 1:00: Property 101: Federal Land Law – The Public Domain (R. Sayre) 2:45: Property 102: State Land Law – Deeds, Mortgages and More (Russell) Thursday 8:30: Military Law 101: Military Pension Laws (R. Sayre) 10:15: Legal Research 104: The Claims Committees of the Congress and the U.S. Court of Private Land Claims (R. Sayre) 1:00: Family Law 101: The Law of Marriage and Divorce (Russell) 2:45: Family Law 102: The Law of Women and Children (Russell) Friday 8:30: Legal Research 105: Federal Prisons and Investigation (R. Sayre) 10:15: Evidence 101: Using the Law to Prove a Case (case studies) (R. Sayre & Russell) 11:30 AM: Certificates and farewell before lunch Elissa Scalise Powell, CG , CGL www.PowellGenealogy.com www.GRIPitt.org 25-30 June 2017 and 16-21 July 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA CG, CGL, and Certified Genealogical Lecturer are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluations. Certified Genealogist and the board name are trademarks registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office.