As I noted in (*1), when I started my
genealogical research I was motivated by the mistaken idea that upon
the passing of my parents that I was then the oldest living
individual in my family tree with the surname of Russell. But as I
investigated further up the tree, I found other branches where the
Russell name was being passed on and was excited to connect to many
new cousins. These were not the types of cousins that I had grown up
with, i.e. 1st or 2nd cousins, but they were
cousins nonetheless. As I made it my goal over the past several years
to connect to these individuals there is a great amount of comfort
knowing that I am a part of a much larger group of relatives than I
had imagined.
I was then very sympathetic when one of
these cousins (actually 2nd cousin once removed) also
indicated that she felt this same way. Her connection to me is by
marriage (her great-great-grandmother Helen married my
great-grandfather Louis – it being Helen's 3rd marriage
and Louis' 2nd marriage) (*2). But whereas I have four
younger siblings and over a dozen 1st cousins with whom I
have regular contact, Lauren did not have this type of large family
tree. Her parents both passed away fairly young and her only sibling
also died at a young age. Her only 1st cousins were
through a 2nd marriage of her grandmother and the
relationship that she had with them was quite contentious. Her desire
for some blood relatives was quite understandable. So I set about
seeing what I could do to help her.
I have previously documented the
process of doing “sideways research” (*3) and some of the tools
that I use (*4). So I was quite familiar with doing this sort of
research. But, just like with doing ancestor research, there are
often roadblocks and one can never be certain of success. Plus,
unlike looking at census records where each line in the record has a
date associated with it, when you are looking at contemporary
sources, the confirming date is not always available.
There were a couple of key pieces of
information/sources that proved quite valuable in filling out
Lauren's family tree. The first was finding a couple of obituaries.
These are often chock full of useful facts – names of individuals
and their relationship to the deceased (and to each other), and
sometimes where these relatives live. And even if the grandchildren
are only listed without a tie to their parents, there are often clues
in their last names or the order in which they are listed. Finding
one such obituary is great, finding one in two different branches of
Lauren's family tree was even better.
The second source of information was
contained within ancestry.com. As one of their chief genealogists
pointed out in a recent presentation, one of her favorite places to
search is in the card catalog. There are a number of databases in
ancestry.com which are not searched when all you do is look for the
shaking leaf hints. But once you realize they are there then looking
through them can be a key part of your research. In this particular
case I quickly realized that many of Lauren's relatives had grown up
in Connecticut – just as many of mine did. There is a database that
is titled “Connecticut, Marriage Index, 1959-2012” and which
contains over 2 million searchable records. Thus, while federal
census records are only currently available through 1940, anyone born
after 1940 is likely to be found in this index if they were married
in Connecticut. And since most traditional marriages take place in
(or at least near) the hometown of the bride, that can be used as
verification. Thus, I was able to find the marriages of several of
Lauren's relatives, including the situations where individuals had
multiple marriages (there is also a database called “Connecticut,
Divorce Index, 1968-1997” which can help in these cases.)
It took me several hours to complete my
research as Lauren's great-grandmother had both a sister and a
half-sister. But in the end I had documented about a dozen living
individuals (and their families) who were 2nd or 3rd
cousins to Lauren. For each I was able to give her an address as well
as a potential phone number so that she could make contact with them
and begin to experience the joy of finding new relatives and feeling
better connected to her extended family!
Doing genealogical research is not only
about building a giant repository of all your ancestors. It can also
be used to help others to feel better connected – whether to you or
to others.
Notes:
I agree with you. It is so much more rewarding to share.
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