Genealogy Blog
September 18, 2007
Ancestor's siblings can be a clue
Several months ago I met with a genealogy group, discussing the use of
Ancestry.com. One of the seasoned members was giving advise on loading
our family trees to the site, and for some reason recommended downloading
direct lines only. She told the others to leave off the siblings of
the direct ancestors.
I wish I
would have asked why. And since that meeting, I have wondered what her
rational was for deleting the extended family members. For me, knowing
those siblings have proved to be valuable key into unlocking some of the
more elusive branches on my family tree.
A year
ago I knew very little about my father’s line. Dad passed away in
1992, and his only brother had died as a child. His parents were
divorced, and he had little contact with his father or father’s family.
That branch of the family was always a mystery to me.
But, I did
know his paternal grandparent’s name, and the name of their children.
I had no clues beyond that, and never imagined I would ever learn more.
After I joined Ancestry.com, I found the census records to my
great-grandparents, listing my grandfather, and his siblings. Since
the names matched my great-grandparents, and all of their children’s names
matched, I knew I had the correct family.
The census
told me where my great-grandfather was born, something I hadn’t known
before. And I also discovered something else, on one of the census
reports, another adult was living with the family. His name was
Turley, and according to the census, he was the brother to the head of the
household. He was my grandfather’s uncle.
Now I had the
names of two brothers (my great-grandfather and his brother), approximate
years of birth, and place of birth. Taking that information, I scoured
the census reports in their birth state, attempting to find a family with
two sons, with matching names and approximate years of birth.
I eventually
found the family, and my great-great grandparents. Around the
same time my mother found an old letter, which listed the phone number of
one of my dad’s distant cousins. Fortunately, the number was still
good, and not only did I contact the forgotten relative, they verified the
information I had uncovered. In fact, they even sent me photos, copies
of pages from the family bible, and an extensive family history book, that
took me back a few more generations.
By the time I
discovered the letter, I already had the basic information, I just need to
verify it. I suppose I would have uncovered the information from the letter
and subsequent phone call alone. But, I wouldn’t want to miss
the fun of playing detective, and matching up clues.
(Above photo is of my great-great grandfather, who I discovered using sibling clues.)
- BAJH
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