I’ve hit my share of “brickwalls” in the research of my own family tree. What I’ve learned is that our ancestors were much more mobile than we ever thought. To help you in your hunt for lost ancestors and the “missing links” that will solve your genealogy mysteries I’m sharing the strategies that have led to finding people you may think were dead or never counted on public records.
1. County Lines: The US was a rapidly developing country beginning in the 19th century. Geographic features sometimes blurred where one county began and another ended and at other times counties were added as governmental districts were reassessed and towns were incorporated or expanded. Whatever the reason don’t write off the potential that an ancestor may be in a different county than expected or that records may exist in multiple counties.
Tip: Look in neighboring counties and larger towns that may have grown in distant counties. I found more than one ancestor counted twice (and in two different counties) on the census records!
2. Migration: It’s known from even grade school history classes that there was a tremendous migration to the western United States and territories. When an ancestor goes missing from the records it’s a good practice to look in the records of adjoining states or newly opened territories. Learning when territories were opened for homesteading and where land was given for military service also helps in tracking down elusive ancestors.
Tip: Use Wikipedia to find dates counties were formed, territories were opened, and when states were granted statehood.
3. Reverse Migration: An avenue of genealogy research that is often forgotten is reverse migration-when the land wasn’t good for farming or the conditions were too harsh, or homesickness became too much, our ancestors at times went back home or returned to the East. My personal favorite example is the 1860 Census of Lee County, VA. The census taker not only was meticulous about listing the birth state of every resident, but also listed their birth county. The number of people born in Eastern Tennessee to parents who were natives of Lee County is fascinating.
Tip: Don’t rule out people of similar names but born in different states as possible kin to your ancestors. That person born in Missouri who shows up on a Virginia census may be a missing connection!
4. Traveling: We shouldn’t assume that traveling began with the invention the jumbo jet! I’ve found ancestors in New York hotels and on ship manifests either going to or returning from trips abroad. An ancestor’s occupation may have called for travel. For example I found people elected to political office living far from home in Washington, DC. I found one family who appeared to have disappeared on a UK Census!
Tip: Even when you’re convinced an ancestor was a non-traveling farmer, search border crossings, ship passenger lists, and even foreign census records-you may be in for quite a surprise!
5. Civil War: The War Between the States was the first war which caused a significant change in many of our ancestors’ locations. Troops were moved from North to South, and South to North, and from one side of the country to another. Crops were destroyed along with livelihoods causing families to move from homesteads. The African American population comprised largely of recently freed slaves, were first enumerated by name on the 1870 census after many had left the plantations where they lived prior to the War. I found one ancestor from Tennessee who was captured by the Union army in the North and remained there after his release.
Tip: When researching an ancestor who served in the Civil War be sure to look at their date and place of discharge as it can be a clue to where they may have stayed after the War.
Don’t give up. With perseverance you’ll find who you are looking for where you least expect to find them.
Copyright 2010, Vanessa Wood
