Where does one begin looking for their ancestors? Better yet, where does one go when they hit that proberbial wall that seems impossible to climb?
Ask anybody who put forth a valiant effort in the search for your ancestors; and they will tell you that those are questions they have asked themselves at least a dozen times. There isn’t a genealogist or serious student of genealogy who has all the answers. I will start by saying to answer one question will be answering both. Since I am a story teller (since I was 7 years old and I haven’t quit yet), author, free-lance writer, novelist, I will tell you my story to show how you can proceed. There is nothing magical and no quick short cuts. The best I can tell you is to be persistent, yet patient.
When I embarked on my journey into genealogy over 25 years ago, I had a base from which to start. I knew who my great-grandparents were and a brief history of all. The first wall I attempted to scale was my Hendricks family. In 1990 I inherited copies of W C Hendricks papers which the originals donated to the California Historical Society. I had all sort of problems getting past Madison, Jefferson County, Indiana. I knew WC was born in Pennsylvania; but where and who were his parents was quite elusive.
I spent numerous days and years searching until I finally got a glimmer and I followed it. I have learned in the past three months the big wall was a great family schism – how or why it occurred no one knows for sure. My Indiana family refused to recognize the Pennsylvania family. Then this last weekend, I found out That my ggg-grandmother, Ann (Jamison) Hendricks was left purposefully out of her father’s will. That was huge for that era. So, I selected those who surrounded Col. Abraham Hendricks and Ann Jamison. I chose the in-laws to their son Abraham and daughter Ann to find the trail back to the east coast. I have also chosen the in-law to the other siblings. I am looking for their family background to get a break as to where the Hendricks and Jamison began their journey west.
Using the U.S. GenWeb Project is a good place to start. Census, Churches and Cemeteries are the best places to start your hunt. Talk to all your relatives to get the location of where your ancestors were (State, County, Township or City(town/village). You might find your ancestory already listed. The different State Projects and the Projects within the Project that will give you all sort of links to all the sources of information or how to obtain it. You can also go to the message boards at Genealogy.com or Ancestry.com to search through the listings. You might find your ancestor listed or you may run across a distant relative trying to track down the same ancestor. Another method I just found out about this last weekend was to Google the ancestor you seek.
Then when you find something that has eluded you for a long time, you’l find yourself wanting to climb on the roof tops to announce it to the world. Good luck and good hunting. Stop by and let us know your successes and where you need some assistance.
