My G-Grandfather was Gustavus, a carpenter from Tennessee who moved to Colorado and became a farmer. His wife Nora Jane was from Kansas. Together, they had seven children, including my grandmother Grace, pictured here. It's funny that my grandmother never EVER mentioned any brothers or sisters, even though some outlived her.
There's lots of room for mistakes here as one says Benjamin Smith and one Joseph Smith. This is an endeavor that requires unlimited computer internet connection. And why in the world am I interested after all these years? I hated history in high school and college!!!
Grace's grandmother was Caroline Elizabeth, born in 1820, who lived to a ripe old age of 82. At this point, I keep running into "not known" under the Parents banner. Having been born and raised in North Carolina, then moving to Tennessee, they certainly had a ringside seat for the Civil War.
On another note, Wilhelmina Rosella's "Aunt" who took possession of her before giving her to MY great aunt, was born in 1872 and married to Harry in 1895. He started out as a bookkeeper in 1893, rising up the ranks to President of the First National Bank of Denver. No wonder they had so much money!!
Fascinating stuff ..... to me anyway ..... but you sure can get bogged down quickly. With seven to twelve children in every family, it quickly becomes overwhelming. It's okay though, I've got six months of Ancestry.com to find out all I can.
Do a Google search for Tennessee Cavalry, You'll get even more confused.
ReplyDeleteWell I did, and that is CRAZY!! They skipped numbers and consolidated so many times I couldn't keep track. I did find a payroll roster however, showing Major Wesley L Allen getting paid. COOL!!!
DeleteIf your great ancestors came over on the boat from another country be careful of the spelling because if you have one name svirsky
ReplyDeleteSvirski seirske svirski to be spelled any way they pronounced it
Usually when they apply for a passport from another country the spelling is right once they get on the boat the boat manifest or is right but as soon as they get into the United States now depends on what The clerk hears to write it down
Most of us are familiar with Ellis Island New York and crown garden however very few people realize that every major port was an intake for immigrants some came into Boston and went to California some came in from California and went to New England state
In your case you may also want to look into the land deeds (grabs) of the late 1700 and1800s are also a good record A lot of times you may get stopped by index card only so you have to figure another way around that
I know what you're feeling when you're trying to figure out who's who
My biological mother and my biological father all had Lithuanian ethnic background (Eastern Europe )how the heck would one get 43% Irish
I know it must've been the woodshed or the hayloft
I was always content to know that my nationality was Lithuanian until I get a DNA test that's whats leading me on this quest
If you find any good tricks let me know
You're right ... I've seen "clerical" errors a lot! I think it might be harder to get information from other countries. A couple of people on my Dad's side actually went to the Isle of Man and checked church records.
DeletePay real close attention to the marriage certificates and records and the death records
ReplyDeleteThey can sometimes lead you to a maiden name or a true father's name
With correct spelling
And don't forget to stop in Staples and pick up a pad of multicolored post-up they can be your best friend
I've found that checking the children's ancestry sometimes has more information about Grandparents than their parents section.
DeleteNancy, don't get hung up on "my family spells their name this way...", which is a genealogist biggest downfall. One of my ancestors, Richart Hewitt, signed his name three different ways... Hewit, Hewitt, Hewet. His wife signed it only one way, "X" (which meant that she did not know how to write). The documents in question were a petition, a land record and a marriage record. Also, in census records, remember that the Census Taker is the one who did the spelling. First names especially are spelled different than what you would expect...and nicknames are often used, as are ditto signs. Good luck, and six months won't be long enough. :)
ReplyDeleteGood advice from the Librarian!! Mostly I'm finding clerical errors.
DeleteYou got me looking up people but I haven't yet paid for Ancestry.com and when I looked up my maternal great-grandfather some offspring were listed as private. Will those become visible if I pay? I know my great-aunt's first names but did not know they also had a brother. Although I once met a cousin who shared his first name at a family gathering when great-grandma died so it's easy to believe that visible entry was correct.
ReplyDeleteAncestry.com offers a 14 day free trial. As Liz said below, sometimes the "private" people will give you information, sometimes not. Isn't it fun though?
DeleteLinda, if you come across a family tree on Ancestry marked "private" that means you need to email the person that made it to get the info. If you give a brief explanation of who you are & the relationship, that person "might" share. I lucked out on a "private" & the person emailed me a ton of sheets he had made. BUT be really careful on that cause even that can be wrong.
ReplyDeleteNancy, as everyone has been saying be careful of the spellings. On Pinterest, I found a sheet that gives the writing of the letters back in the "old" days. I didn't like history either, but I think when it is your own personal history it's different. I've been searching off/on for just over four years.
Liz-Boise, ID
I'm not taking anything as gospel unless I can verify it at least two ways. I've actually looked at census sheets and ship records to see many errors in the translation to Ancestry.com. Still it's fun to know it's not just ME in this world. I've got people!!! LOL
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