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Genealogy Blog

September 18, 2007

Ancestor's siblings can be a clue         

Isaac Patrick Johnson             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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