The
New Age Version of the Law of Attraction*
falsely teaches that if you pray for something hard enough it will
magically manifest itself.
Searching for
the needle in the haystack can be
really complicated by ancestors who just do not want to be found.
When I
do research, I cannot and will not guarantee success at finding documents for any relatives.
Why is this? Some people made sure they left as little of
a trail (documents) as they possibly could.
Other documents may have been destroyed by family members, wars, fire,
other types of disasters. Even I have
had family destroy genealogical records.
Some relatives make false documents to satisfy being related to someone
that is extremely prominent in history or to try to prove Native American
Ancestry, when such documents do NOT exist.
For example
there has been a false story about my family being directly related to Betsy Griscom Ross, the flag maker. After
digging around a lot and with other genealogist assisting me, I found that to
be fabricated. Yes we are related to a
William Ross but Betsy Griscom Ross married a John Ross. He died several weeks after they were married
from a canyon backfiring. No children
were born from that marriage. Betsy is a
Griscom by bloodline and not a Ross, she later married several times in which
there were children but not by John Ross.
One of
my own grandmothers have three different middle names. Her middle name on the social security
application says Loris. Her death
certificate says Lora and her tombstone says Laura. Obviously someone never checked the sources
or decided to ignore the documentation that was in existence. From my personal knowledge correcting them
would be more stressful then letting it be and documenting the changes in the
family history. Sometimes one has to
decide on which battles can be won.
I like
to collaborate with others so, it helps to me learn. So again I worked one on one with other genealogists
and on another family found documentation of information that the family
refuses to accept. You see back in the
60's in certain states it was illegal to intermarry in or for Native Americans to
own property. So many
mixed blood families kept those customs within the home claiming it to be from
another culture and any time Native American Bloodline came up they got
defensive and refused to talk or flat denied it. Portions of this my family continue to do this
and deny their heritage.
There
are several things or tools that are needed are:
- Desire to know your ancestors.
- A good mind that will help to sort out errors and find proof.
- Perseverance will help to learn how to hurdle stone walls, and disappointments.
- An open mind. If you run into a dead end, don’t give up on the search. Now you know where your ancestors were not and you know to look elsewhere. If you learn some disappointing facts so what, remember they were people who also made mistakes.
- A handy notebook and a good tape recorder (don’t leave anything to your memory. It has a way of failing at the wrong time.
- A camera for documentation purposes.
- Got to have a love for history.
- A passion for the truth and nothing but the truth, when a family members calls me out on something my comment to them is "show me the proof"
The
gathering of information - what kind of information to look for within the home?
Documentation
can be huge in some families and almost do not exist in others. I cannot make documents appear that either do
not exist or that have not been released.
I make no guarantees that something will be found.
Your
basic research should start with the “Personal knowledge” of relatives." But the trick here is that this knowledge cannot
always be taken as “gospel” but can
provide clues. Just like on a detective
show the first thing the detective do is interview witnesses. However the verbal statements from the
witnesses are not enough; they must also find the physical evidence to support
the testimony.
Family
traditions usually always have some truth to them though some of the facts may
have been distorted over time, to impress family members and friends, or fill
in the gaps to avoid the appearance of ignorance of large sections of one's own
family history.
There
are documents that can be searched for around the home:
- Old letters from relative and friends.
- Diaries, journals, biographies.
- Any printed or published Family histories.
- Family bibles.
- Vital records: birth, marriage and death certificates. Christening, baptism, church records, military records...
- Newspaper clippings, obituaries, etc.
- Photos: it use to be a custom that notes are made on the back of photos. You might find names, dates, places and get a feel for a time period. For example on a photo that I have been told about states me, ma, and butch. Generations later no one knows who they are. People have a habit of taking feuds out on photos. So if someone got mad at another person they would cut that person out of all the photos at some point in time there is no proof of this person.
- Papers relating to emigrations and immigration, passports, citizenship papers, naturalization papers, land deeds, any type of certificate, personal school records are all gold mines.
Never
take original documents with you, always have a spare updated copy
When
recording information from books, bibles, etc, don’t forget to copy the title,
publisher, year, or page numbers. Trust
me, you will need these for documentation especially if someone starts to
question your sources.
When
you get these notes, stories, books, and clues about family follow through with
them. Write letters to relatives you
have been told who have records or knowledge of ancestors. Give when you want to receive, don't just
take.
A
visit to an old home place can by very rewarding. Be sure to take your camera and take lots of
pictures. Be sure to phone ahead and let
others know you are coming, this will give them time to get out notes and
bibles and for them to think about what they can tell you. As well take a
camera and a notebook with you to cemeteries, some tombstones can carry a
wealth of information.
Share
what information you have with others, so they can give information back. Especially with the elders, once they make
their crossing the information contained within is buried with them.
Have
fun! In the pass I have let others
discourage me from researching my own family and sometimes helping others with
theirs. There negativism on what was
either found or not can be draining and discouraging but I always come
back.
I love
history and I especially love accurate history.
As we know many religions, people, and governments like to rewrite
history to suit their own needs. I love
digging out the skeletons hiding in the closets and finding the needles in the
haystack.
