Tracing one’s ancestry today is much easier and faster than it used to be thanks to technology.
Now you can accomplish in minutes what used to take months. Just type a name into one of the many genealogical search engines and—presto—you’re on your way.
Not only does the search engine provide you with information about your relative, it shows you actual records, which lead to more information and more records.
But you can still get stuck.
When the well seems to have run dry, you need to get creative, and that can be as simple as experimenting with names. Often the only surname you have for a female relative is her married name, which means instant brick wall. Without knowing the surname she was born with, it is impossible to trace her line any further. There are a few ways to get past this. If possible, find a marriage record. You may not know the location of the marriage or the exact date, but you do have the groom’s name and probably other clues that can help narrow your search. It’s a bit of a guess and by golly method, but you’ll likely ferret the name out.
If the woman had a son or two, check their middle names. Sons were often given the mother’s maiden name. That was the case with a search for my great-great grandmother. By taking a gamble that her son’s second name –Solly – was odd enough to be her maiden name, I plugged it into my search and – Voila! There she was, and there were a ton more leads to follow. You can also check marriage and baptismal records of other family members for clues. Your unknown female relative may have witnessed a recorded event.
Don’t get trapped into using a relative’s exact name in your searches either. Your ancestors didn’t always stick to one name or one spelling, and neither should you. My grandmother went by Amy on some documents, Annie on others, and Anna on still others, and since she was illiterate, it was up to whoever was doing the recording to choose the spelling. When the CRGS Quest team was trying to find my great grandfather, they had no luck searching for Philip William Martin, which they thought was his official name. It wasn’t until they searched for Philip Martin that the floodgates opened, and suddenly that side of my family was traceable to the 17th Century.
So don’t get discouraged if you seem to have hit a dead end. Your family is out there, but it could be hiding, so you need to get sneaky.
See about the upcoming genealogy workshop on Page 75.
Want to know more about getting to the roots of your family tree? We’re happy to help.
Campbell River Genealogy Society meets at the Maritime Heritage Centre.