Son and Mother Poems

Building your family tree can be a very exciting challenge, particularly when you are able to find the correct documents and records to prove the relationships between the different generations. However, eventually, you may find a brick wall you cannot go beyond, an ancestor whose parents seem to have left no clues of their lives. Or, that line of ancestors appears to trace back to a country where you do not speak or understand the language. What do do now? Here are some strategies on how to continue your searches, and how to find a genealogist to help you.

First of all, everyone doing research on their family trees will hit brick walls in one or more family lines. This is particularly the case where you cannot find a female maiden name in order to search further. She is known as Mehitable, Hannah, Sarah… but there seem to be no relatives living nearby, no young nephews or brothers living with her married family, no widowed mother living with her during a Census year. No clues. Sigh.

Continue your searches by going through all the children’s records, trying to find a document which will have your brick wall ancestor’s full name: a birth registration, a marriage record, or a death registration. Any of these documents or records may have the full names of both mother and father, plus the country or region of their births. I have been able to confirm a maiden surname using this method of skipping sideways and then back up and down life events of her siblings, looking for clues.

Searching for your ancestors is a marvellous mystery hunt. As genealogists do, you can search through published histories of early settlers in Canada and North America (and other countries as well). Check out the references of your ancestors used by the editor/writer of these books, to be more certain of the information you wish to use. These days many histories are available through GoogleBooks, or various libraries or archives, and searchable online. Look at the Table of Contents first, then the Index, for any of your ancestors. I keep my family software open, and open up the Surname List, comparing the names in my tree with those listed in the book about the region where my ancestors lived. I do the same comparisons with burial records and gravestones online.

No histories, no known siblings: what can you do next? Have you written out a Timeline of life events and known information about your brick wall ancestor? Does this provide you with one more clue of his or her early life? Can you focus more clearly on where your ancestor may have lived? Can you search backwards through records of this brick wall ancestor’s children? Be creative as you search.

If nothing comes to light after reasonable searches, surrounding area searches, publications and books searches… you may need to hire a professional genealogist. Your first and your best source: your local Genealogical Society. Often there are several members of your local society who are professional genealogists. If they are unable to take on your challenging ancestor, they will be able to direct you to other sources. Ask.

Professional genealogists uphold high standards in their research, and in their work with you. They will be clear about their fees, and how they will communicate with you, providing you with a final report on their work. If you strike out with your local Genealogical Society, or try your country’s Genealogy Society members. After that, you should search through the Association of Professional Genealogists (online at apgen.org) for names of genealogists near your place of residence or, near the region of your ancestor or, with specialities in specific areas.

Online, you may find several groups of genealogists advertising their services. Make certain that they are indeed registered professional genealogists, and find out about their specialties in research. If you are searching in Prussia, the Ukraine, Malaysia, you will want someone who knows how to do this effectively. Always ask for details. Then when you are satisfied, make certain you have a clear contract specifying an authorized sum of money for the research, documents and final report.

Once you have exhausted your own resources, it may be timely to hire a professional genealogist. Talk with your extended family about this option, as they may be willing to help with the fees. Have a family reunion with the highlight: their new-found ancestors! Enjoy expanding your family tree.

Over time, beginners in genealogy will become knowledgeable about all the potential clues embedded in every document and record, every history and photograph, every gravestone and medal. But in the early months of research, beginners may make the mistake of taking only the specific information they were looking for from a document and then move on, discarding the record. That record does not get saved to be pored over in a month or perhaps a year later, when more information suddenly comes to light! Oh dear, now where was that record found? Here are a few tips on saving documents, records, and other items of historical and genealogical importance.

Start a folder – either a paper file folder in your desk, or a computer folder in your Genealogy section – and label it “Potential Treasure”. Or, use another title that reminds you of these clues.

For an “Index” of these treasures, start a Notepad note (or similar) with the same label, with numbers down the left side. Some people may prefer to use an Excel-type document for this purpose. Another excellent option is to have 4 folders with their own Index notes: each of the 4 folders corresponding to the 4 grandparent family lines in your pedigree chart. Pick a system that you are comfortable with using.

Next, list on the Index and save/label every item that goes into this folder carefully with the surname of the family you were researching, plus the corresponding number from the Notepad Index. Use surname, name of document, date if known, and other helpful details. I will also copy and paste the web site url (address) into the Index as well. You have lots of room on these notes, so do not try to abbreviate or skip details.

Here is one example: “#4: Pettigrew,Thomas 1790 US Census, Kittery ME, next to Francis Pettigrew.” Here, I’m not certain I have the correct Thomas Pettigrew ancestor, and I also noticed that a neighbor with the same surname might be a relative to follow. As I gather more information in the future, I may come back to these potential Francis & Thomas family listings. These particular 1790 hand-made Census forms can be challenging to search! So many Pettigrew families, with the very same names – I needed every form I could find for future reference.

Another example: “#17: Campion, A. plus E. and 9 ch. 1852 Census, Earnestown ON.” Even though first names of all in the family were only listed as initials, I already knew the names of 6 of the children, and they were listed in the apparently correct order. It seemed likely to be my ancestor family so I saved it. Later I was able to confirm each child in the list as I gathered more details of birth, marriage and death.

As you save a document or record, remember that you are able to save it by right-clicking on the item, then choose “save as” in the menu that pops up, and give it your detailed title. You can specify where to place that item at the top of your larger menu. Save to your Potential Treasure folder, or to your computer Desktop.

If you print out an individual item, be sure that your Index has the details you may need in order to find that item in the future. The entire purpose of this exercise is to be able to quickly lay your hands on your potential research document/record, and to evaluate its usefulness in your family tree.

Remember that if you have found a Census record, you might wish to also save the pages on either side of your family’s page; family members tended to live nearby, and those neighbours four or five households away could be maternal aunts and uncles or grandparents. Once you discover your greatgrandmother’s maiden name, you may be able to confirm those additional relationships. Plus those additional individuals may lead you to another generation back in time, or some cousins who also are involved in genealogy!

Every document you find can be full of treasure – if not now, then perhaps in the future. Take a moment to save, index and file that possible item. Once a month or so, go through the Index to see if you are able to use more information, or if it is absolutely clear that this item is not your ancestor family. A number of times I have been certain of the uselessness of a document, but later found it contained a very important clue: the same page had a relative’s bride’s family living nearby (son of my family married a neighbor’s daughter). Those “Ah-ha!” moments are so exciting. Enjoy your searches – and save your treasures!

Oil is used in almost everywhere ranging from cooking to machinery. So, there were times when oil became a scarcity and difficult to find. When it comes to domestic oil, it is very rare and also people want it in large quantities. You also have to spend a lot of your hard earned money to buy oil for your use. So there some sections of people who have to think twice before they wish to buy it for their household purpose. It has created havoc and so steps should be taken to get the Cheapest Heating Oil Price in the market. When you search online, you might be able to find the cheapest price. There are some websites where you can find the real price of oil in your area. So you can buy oil without any second thought where you can get it at the best price without any difficulty. You would actually find that you have saved a lot of your money by buying it from a genuine website.

When you wish to buy oil online, you must check that the site that you are visiting is a secured one so that you do not have to worry. You would be able to get Cheap Domestic Heating Oil by spending a small amount of money. You can also read the testimonials or feedback left by the satisfied customers who have bought oil at the cheapest price online. So these are some of the things that you need to look for before you wish to buy it online from a website.

You would be able to see the differences in the oil prices online with Daily Oil Prices where you can find lots of differences in its value. You would be proud of yourself to have taken the right step forward in saving your money. So all that you need is to log on to a secured website and then look for the oil prices that it is offering and then buy it online thereby making your savings. You would be able to get heavy discounts on oil prices when you buy online.