by Hazel Bentley
1. Work sideways: with siblings, cousins,
aunts and uncles. Try searching parallel branches of your family tree.
2. Follow the cluster: It’s not just immediate
family who migrated together way back when: In-laws and neighbors and emigrants
pursued the same paths. The neighbor or
adjacent farm, probably moved there from the same place as your ancestors at
about the same time.
3. Look for kin in the
cluster: Just as clusters of people tended to move together, they also
married within the group. Your ancestors’ in-laws are likely lurking in that
same bunch who homesteaded together.
4. The Name game: When looking for connections, pay
attention to recurring names—first, last and even middle. Naming patterns vary
by culture so study your heritage to learn to interpret these clues. Example:
in Scandinavia, surnames were created from the father’s first name. If the surnames are all-too-common (Smith,
Brown etc) look for an odd ball first or middle name. With ancestry.com you can
you can search with just a first name for census. Vary the spelling. Our ancestors were not as finicky about
spelling as we are. Try soundex codes-a
system for grouping together possible spelling variations. Don’t forget abbreviations of your ancestor’s
names. Don’t neglect nicknames.
Searching census records try the married name. In census, remember that many
census indexes cover heads of household only. You’ll have to scroll through the
actual census pages to find the wife and children. Consider a name change. Immigrants often changed their difficult
spelling of their name to a name more acceptable and that applies to both
surnames and first name.
5. Widen the net:
Pick a state and search the entire state electronically. If there are too many
hits then narrow t he net to a county at a time, you can even try this method
for unusual first names.
6. Focus on place:
When names bring you to a brick wall focus your search on the places your
ancestors lived, instead. Use
USGenWeb’s state and county pages and powerful state search engine. If you can
narrow your ancestor’s whereabouts sufficiently, sometimes tedious effort will
find them when all else has failed.
Once you fine the first ancestor in a place, usually you’ll clues to
speed the search for the rest. Recently there has been an explosion of state
archives’ holdings online. Try surrounding states also. Post in place forums.
RootsWeb and GenForum have place forums and name forums. One advantage of place
based message boards is that it’s easier to wade through all the postings about
your surname—even it is a common name.
Post your query in the place also. Try an interlibrary loan for the book
on the history of the county where your ancestor lived. Remember redrawn
boundaries. County lines shifted as America grew. Your ancestor’s records could
be in the original county’s courthouse.
States, too, have changed identities. If you have Idaho ancestors, for
instance, keep in mind that Idaho was in the Oregon Territory for the 1850
census etc. The “Handybook for Genealogists” can direct you to the county
changes. Your ancestors also may have
temporarily gone someplace else, or crossed the state line. Californians went
to Nevada to get married or divorced. Check neighboring counties where your
ancestors may have eloped.
7. Seek clues in
unusual records: Once you have exhausted the census and other usual
suspects it’s time to try less obvious types of paperwork. Land records, Probate records, school
records, occupational records, old manuscripts. Use your imagination, your
library and online catalogues. In foreign countries church records can be your
best source. For many years churches
performed what we think of as the government’s job of keeping vital records.
Voter registration cards. Pension records. Funeral Home Records. Coroner
records if your ancestor died unrepentantly or by accident. Dig into city directories. Newspapers.
Cemetery records. Sometimes there are other graves for the family that will
provide clues from the headstone information.
Maiden names often appear on the wife’s headstone. Some city directories
are on line and many have been microfilmed by the Church. One nice thing about
city directories is that they are alphabetical and can fill in gaps if you are
constructing a time line.
8. Try nongenealogy
search engines: Google.com Mooter.com
Teoma.com use quotation marks to
narrow your search. “john smith” you
can add and/or and narrow the search to a place or area.
9. Ask your relatives
again: Asking and updating information with a relative could jog your relative’s memory and Cousin
Raymond could remember another piece of the puzzle.
10. Study the History:
The history of the area, state, or country can provide important clues, as well
as, an understanding of why they came there, who they came with, why they
stayed or why they left and where they moved to.
Record Check List
BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT
RECORDS
_doctors’ and midwives
journals
_insurance records
_merchants’ account books
_railroad, mining and
factory records
CEMETERY AND FUNERAL HOME RECORDS
_burial records
_grave-relocation records
_tombstone inscriptions
CENSUS RECORDS
_agriculture schedules
(1840-1880)
_Civil War veterans
schedules (1890)
_defective, dependent and
delinquent schedules (1880)
_federal population
schedules (1790-1930)
_manufacturing/industry
schedules (1810,1820,1850,to 1880)
_mortality schedules
(1850,1860)
_social statistics
schedules (1850 to 1880)
_state and local census
CHURCH RECORDS
_baptism and christening
records
_confirmation records
_meeting minutes
_membership, admission and
removal records
_ministers’ journals
COURT RECORDS
_Adoption records
_Civil records
_coroners’ files
_criminal records
_custody papers
_wills and estate
inventories
_licenses and permits
_marriage bonds, licenses,
and certificates
_military records and
discharges
_minute books
DIRECTORIES
_biographical
_city
_professional/occupational
_telephone
HOME SOURCES
_baptism and confirmation
certificates
_birth certificates and
baby books
_death records and prayer
cards
_diaries and journals
_family Bibles
_funeral/memorial cards
_letters and postcards
_marriage certificates and
wedding albums
_medical records
_photographs
_recipe books