Mining the 1880 Census Mother Lode: Insanity and Idiocy
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| Headstone for Anderson Chick (1860-1903) and Elenia Coleman Chick (1860-1933) |
Did you jump
right into researching your family history before gathering the information your
family members have to share? Not a
whole lot of emphasis is placed on oral history because sometimes details fade
from memory or stories turn out to be family fables.
right into researching your family history before gathering the information your
family members have to share? Not a
whole lot of emphasis is placed on oral history because sometimes details fade
from memory or stories turn out to be family fables.
I probably
never would have found the burial site of my second great grandparents in the
photo above if I had neglected oral history. If you reach a roadblock on the road to
discovery, you will never know if interviewing a relative could have helped if
you never try.
never would have found the burial site of my second great grandparents in the
photo above if I had neglected oral history. If you reach a roadblock on the road to
discovery, you will never know if interviewing a relative could have helped if
you never try.
No regrets
I cannot
count the number of times I have heard people faced with huge challenges in
their research say, “Boy, I sure wish I had asked the right questions when
__________ was alive.” Is there someone
in your family who you would regret talking to if they suddenly passed
away?
count the number of times I have heard people faced with huge challenges in
their research say, “Boy, I sure wish I had asked the right questions when
__________ was alive.” Is there someone
in your family who you would regret talking to if they suddenly passed
away?
Consider the
following:
following:
- Where
are the holes in your research? What
questions do you need to ask to fill in the missing details?
- Who
do you need to interview who would have the knowledge to answer your questions?
- What
do you want to learn about your ancestors aside from the basic details you can
get from historical records?
No prospects
If you are
like me, on some of my family lines I did not know a single living soul who
could still share anything with me about an ancestor. I did not lose heart though. I decided to identify each descendant I could
find of my Chick ancestors. I did this by researching them on the census
as far back as I could go. Then I
researched each of the Chick descendants forward as far as I could go,
recording the names of each descendant that I found.
like me, on some of my family lines I did not know a single living soul who
could still share anything with me about an ancestor. I did not lose heart though. I decided to identify each descendant I could
find of my Chick ancestors. I did this by researching them on the census
as far back as I could go. Then I
researched each of the Chick descendants forward as far as I could go,
recording the names of each descendant that I found.
I then took
my list (a host of Chick cousins) and searched for a death record on each
one. After eliminating the deceased
cousins, I searched the U.S. Public Record Index for those who did not have a
death record. I compiled a list of
cousins to contact using the addresses from the index.
my list (a host of Chick cousins) and searched for a death record on each
one. After eliminating the deceased
cousins, I searched the U.S. Public Record Index for those who did not have a
death record. I compiled a list of
cousins to contact using the addresses from the index.
Making contact
One of the
people I contacted turned out to be my grandmother’s first cousin. I sent a pedigree chart to him so he could see
our common ancestors: Anderson Chick (Abt 1860-1903) and Elenia Coleman Chick
(Abt 1860-1933), my second great grandparents.
They are his grandparents.
people I contacted turned out to be my grandmother’s first cousin. I sent a pedigree chart to him so he could see
our common ancestors: Anderson Chick (Abt 1860-1903) and Elenia Coleman Chick
(Abt 1860-1933), my second great grandparents.
They are his grandparents.
I cannot
wait to share with you some of the amazing experiences and discoveries I made along
the way. Return next week to this blog
to read about the next part of the story.
wait to share with you some of the amazing experiences and discoveries I made along
the way. Return next week to this blog
to read about the next part of the story.
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by Robin Foster © 2014, Genealogists.com. All rights reserved
by Robin Foster © 2014, Genealogists.com. All rights reserved
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