Genealogy

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GENEALOGY

GENEALOGY

If you don't know, Genealogy is the study our ancestors, also called a family tree. I have been working on my family genealogy since 2001 and have spent many hours viewing records and running searches. I have discovered many things, but I certainly have many years ahead of me to even come close to knowing everything I can.

To start a simple tree, just write down your name. Below that write down your parents name. Below each of your parents, write down their parent's names. You can see how the chart can multiply rather quickly with just a few generations. Take a look at Jack's tree here, through 4 generations. Click Here for Jack's tree.

Your chart takes the shape of a pyramid as you get further along, it starts with you at the top and then your ancestors spreading out below you. But at some point, perhaps beyond our capabilities of research, this pyramid shape should start to shrink back dowm as we narrow in on the earliest existence of humankind. If life started with two people, then we can all assume we are related to those first two people.

Of course, noone really knows if that is true, but for now we will let science and religion battle that out. What we do know is what our ancestors left us for information in the form of written records. Marriages, births, deaths, land records, obituaries, ship records, phone directories, medical records, census records, cemetery records and even family bibles. All of these things are useful tools in obtaining information.

Sometimes these records will have a mountain of information and other times, not so much. One thing I have learned from my research though that even the slightest amount of information can open a door to something bigger. For instance, a city directory. Finding an ancestor in a city directory can prove a person lived in a particular place at a particular time. Knowing this can aide you in your search for a vital record such as a death, a birth of a child or perhaps a marriage.

Many times you have to follow a hunch in order to be fruitful. If you know an ancestor lived on the east coast, but you cannot find them in a census record, that does not mean they didn't live there. They may have missed the census or arrived just after the census was taken. In fact this is an exact example of something in my own family.

My grandfather was living in Pittsburg, PA in 1920 as proven by the city directory for the years 1930 and 1931, yet I cannot locate him in the 1930 census in that location. I know he came from Wisconsin, but when? There are many possiblities for his not being in the census. Perhaps he skipped it. Perhaps his landlord didn't report all of the tenants. Maybe he lived there in 1930, but left before the census was conducted and the city directory for 1931 was compiled while he was there, but distributed after he left. The other thing is, I have not located him in any state for 1930. Perhaps he was in transit on his way to Connecticut at the time the census was conducted. Eventually, the answers can be revealed if you have enough time and patience to do the research. I will find out.

I have a few links on the left that you may want to check out if you are interested in poking around. Ancestry is a Pay site if you want to retrieve the records, but it has been a huge help in finding most of the information I have obtained.

I will be adding some of my own family tree information in the near future. Until then, enjoy looking at these sites and hopefully you can find some information on your own family.