can't find someone while searching on location?
brenda kellow
march 2, 2014
Do you search on location? When you still cannot find them after using all your resources, I have a couple of suggestions. I have had success asking about residents at local pharmacies and funeral homes. If the town is rural and residents outside town use propane, check with those dealers for they might remember the family.
My friend Jane and I were hunting the Vickery family in Hico, located in the Hill Country. We had not had success with any of my suggestions above, but we knew the family lived in or around Hico in their later years and figured they would be buried there. We anticipated these businesses might not know the answers in advance, so we had packed a picnic before we left home. We went to the big cemetery in town, spread out our picnic cloth and food, and began enjoying the beautiful day and our food. It was not long before first one car and then two more drove into the cemetery and asked what we were doing. Jane and I explained that we were genealogists looking for the Vickery family and the cemetery where John Vickery was buried. Third time was charm for us. The woman in that car told us to go to a certain address but not to ring the doorbell until after 3 p.m. She explained that the man there was the caretaker of the cemetery would not be up from his nap until three and he could lead us to the correct cemetery. Promptly at three o’clock, an elderly gentleman walked out his front door. We believe he was expecting to see us and knew what we wanted. He gave us the directions to the cemetery in question and Jane and I set off to find our ancestor, John Vickery.
When you are hunting ancestors, you must think outside the box. You must also be safe.
UPDATE ON MY DECEMBER CEMETERY CHALLENGE: In December 2013, I challenged you to enter a new cemetery on BillionGraves.com or FindAGrave.com, add names, tombstone picture, or edit a cemetery already on the site. This is fruitful and necessary for genealogists everywhere. What a great way to help others and give back. It is a “random act of kindness” extraordinaire. BillionGraves.com just announced that you could work on this challenge on your PC without a smart phone, finally. For directions and to find out more about this, visit their website at http://blog.billiongraves.com/2014/02/supportingrecords/?utm_source=BillionGraves&utm_campaign=1c3694e0ab-BG_Supporting_Record_Release2_5_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3158065ea7-1c3694e0ab-6535521&mc_cid=1c3694e0ab&mc_eid=5a5088c4d6. Just copy and paste this link into your web browser and it will take you to the spot.
NGS COURSE ON DOCUMENTATION AND SOURCE CITATION: The National Genealogical Society (NGS) has a new course taught by Michael Grant Hait, Jr. on Documentation and Citation. The course instruction and other information are online at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/guide_documentation_sourcecitation.
SPANISH-AMERICAN PHOTOS OF 1898 FOUND IN NAVAL YARD: What a find! I have ancestors who fought in the Spanish-American War of 1898 and I cannot wait to gain access to all of those pictures. The 150 individually wrapped photographs are from Manila, Philippines and are on the old glass photos. Several pictures are available online at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2554703/Ghosts-forgotten-war-Naval-archivists-discover-trove-never-seen-photographs-Spanish-American-conflict-1898.html. You have to see these for historical reasons if nothing else.
FAMILY SEARCH.ORG COLLABORATES WITH WORLD CAT.ORG: The new partnership with WorldCat.org includes holdings from FamilySearch Salt Lake City Family History Library (FHL). From now on when you do a search from WorldCat, it will include the FHL Catalog. This is great news. To read the entire story, go to the site, http://www.genealogyblog.com/?p=30291.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].
