Why search siblings? You're only interested in YOUR ancestor, right? WRONG!
Researching and tracking siblings, finding their marriages, children, deaths etc can provide you with answers to questions about your own ancestor.
Let's assume you have not been able to find your great great grandfather's mother's surname before marriage. You know her first name is Mary but that's it. You find great great grandpa's death record and view it in anticipation. But sadly the informant (great great grandpa's second wife) didn't provide a surname for her mother-in-law.
You can't find great great grandpa's marriage record so no help there. But - what about a sibling? Hunt for great great grandpa's youngest sister's marriage record. Look for one of his brothers' death records. Don't overlook turning any stone available to you in your hunt for your own ancestor - remember your ancestor and his siblings shared the same parents, and those parents are your next generation back.
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The advice in this post and the previous one are two bits I follow fervently. They almost always pay off in one way or another!
ReplyDeleteI've been researching for almost 10 years and it just occurred to me several years ago, that when looking for family bibles, old pictures, etc. Look at the oldest sibling of your ancestor, or who your ancestor went to live with in their later years. The older child or last care giver probably has the goodies.
ReplyDeleteDonna I think you're right about the caregiver or eldest child. That's a great place to look first.
ReplyDeleteIf that doesn't pan out, it is also sometimes the oldest daughter who keeps the family bibles, photos etc.
In our family it is me - but I'm the youngest of 4. So sometimes it just happens to be the one who is most interested, and of course you can't predict that in your research.
In my personal genealogical search, I have found that a brick wall can be knocked down when you consider that the name may have slightly changed. For example, if you can't find anything on Le Dour, try Ledour. Using this method helped extend my search successfully in half a dozen cases by expanding my tree another several generations.
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