It's 10pm on a Friday night, the dogs are sleeping, the baby is sleeping, the husband is at work... what's a lady to do? Grab some jalapenos and ranch and hit the Facebook Genealogy groups! Weird snack, yes, I know and no, not pregnant. Much to my chagrin.
I am fairly new to the Facebook side of genealogy. I have a few distant family members on my friends list and some of the genealogical societies that are close to me. What I have recently found to actually be of some use is joining groups that are genealogy driven. Tonight I helped a prefect stranger with a lookup on a $40 cd that turned out to be (so far) completely useless to me. At least there was *a* record pull from it!
Thing is, I am a member of so many other groups- moms that help moms, crafters, photographers, on and on. I never ONCE thought- hey there is probably a group of peopel that are helping others with their research. *DING* Of course there would be. Facebook may have turned out to be less of a great family networking and family group page that I was hoping it to be but it HAS turned out to be a wonderful place to find others that are willing to help. This is so refreshing!
Lately, I have had a terrible time finding others that are willing to share what they have. Now with these wonderful groups you can find someone that is willing to do a look-up for you without the hassle of going through, say, the clerk of court ignoring your phone calls, letters, etc. (I have had a great time with this.) If you are looking for that help- by all means try the Facebook groups. Please do so with one note: Someone is quite possibly going out of their way to help you with your search. Do not join and request info if you are not willing to do the same. Keep the sharing and giving atmosphere going. This is the heart of the genealogical community. If no one shares, no one gains- even you. Help people as you are able, do not ask more than you are willing to give, and remember your p's and q's!
Hope you all have a great night with your family- whether they be living or not!
Friday, November 15, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Road block... now what?
Road block. The evil "r" word of genealogy. We all hit one and many of us are able to break through them.
This one I am not sure of.
I have very limited information on my dad's bio father. I have a name from a marriage certificate and the name J. R. Rice listed as a witness, from what I have been told is his father- my great grandfather. I am on the search for Thomas Richard Rice. He and my grandmother married when they were young. Like 16 young. I was told he is from the Chicago area, however the marriage certificate states King County, Washington. I have not been able to verify his existence in the 1940 census, mainly because I am going off an assumed name for his father and have not been able to find anyone that would give me a straight answer.
My family has been pretty stand- offish about him - even going so far as to say he died at the age of 26 yet no records can verify this. What is even more strange is that as this is coming out I am seeing these changes show up on a family tree that my aunt has been "working on".
So, where do you turn when your family doesn't want you to find someone? I have some leads for even more distant family members that have also been working with that side of the family tree. But I am worried I will get the run- around as well.
As anyone who has worked on family trees for any period of time knows, when researching, you often find the skeletons that others had hoped were buried forever. I have a feeling this is one of them. I can only guess by the strange behavior that has been exhibited by family m,embers that he must have done something horrible. It doesn't matter to me at this point.
My dad never knew who his bio-father was and that is no way for a person to grow up. I really want to find some info- even a bit. I think he is still alive and remarried and living in Washington. I have found several records to suggest this but nothing concrete.
So, to my much more experienced researchers: what would you do? What methods do you utilize to break down these road blocks? My go- to methods are not usable at this time as family will not cooperate.
I know he is out there somewhere, I just have to find him!
This one I am not sure of.
I have very limited information on my dad's bio father. I have a name from a marriage certificate and the name J. R. Rice listed as a witness, from what I have been told is his father- my great grandfather. I am on the search for Thomas Richard Rice. He and my grandmother married when they were young. Like 16 young. I was told he is from the Chicago area, however the marriage certificate states King County, Washington. I have not been able to verify his existence in the 1940 census, mainly because I am going off an assumed name for his father and have not been able to find anyone that would give me a straight answer.
My family has been pretty stand- offish about him - even going so far as to say he died at the age of 26 yet no records can verify this. What is even more strange is that as this is coming out I am seeing these changes show up on a family tree that my aunt has been "working on".
So, where do you turn when your family doesn't want you to find someone? I have some leads for even more distant family members that have also been working with that side of the family tree. But I am worried I will get the run- around as well.
As anyone who has worked on family trees for any period of time knows, when researching, you often find the skeletons that others had hoped were buried forever. I have a feeling this is one of them. I can only guess by the strange behavior that has been exhibited by family m,embers that he must have done something horrible. It doesn't matter to me at this point.
My dad never knew who his bio-father was and that is no way for a person to grow up. I really want to find some info- even a bit. I think he is still alive and remarried and living in Washington. I have found several records to suggest this but nothing concrete.
So, to my much more experienced researchers: what would you do? What methods do you utilize to break down these road blocks? My go- to methods are not usable at this time as family will not cooperate.
I know he is out there somewhere, I just have to find him!
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