Top 10 Brick Walls and Tools for Breaking Through Them
It happens all too frequently, you're cruising along in your family history search and suddenly you hit a blank spot.
You can't find what you are looking for.
Frustration builds as you frantically search for that elusive ancestor that just doesn't want to be found? Is he in the witness protection program? Did he get abducted by aliens? Did he decide one day to up and move to Jamaica? Or did the earth open up and swallow him whole as he was making his way to the market? What do you do? Where do you go to find the answers? Can you find a sledge hammer big enough to break down this brick wall? Are you ready to trade your brick wall in for a padded room? Relax...
take a breath.
The answer is out there you just have to know where to find it.
There are an endless number of resources at your disposal.
The trick is to know the right tools for the job.
Today we are going to take the top ten brick walls and show you how to go over, around, or under them to find that great-great grandmother that everyone says you look like.
#1 Maiden Names Every family historian has at least one.
A female ancestor whose maiden name you just can't find.
This is especially true prior to the 20th Century because women very often changed their last names, didn't own property and left fewer historical records than men.
Marriage Records •Most obvious first step.
•Different states started keeping marriage records at different times.
•Begin searching for marriage records at the county clerk's office, then go to local churches.
Family Bibles •Considered the 'holy grail' of genealogy because it list names, birth, marriage and death dates.
•Bible records are only as accurate as the person writing down the information (9 month).
•Find out if a family member is holding out on you.
Church Records •Before states kept vital records, the churches kept track of birth, marriage, and death records.
•If you don't know what religion your ancestor was look for churches in the surrounding areas.
•Vital records as well as records of various churches in the area can be found at the Buffalo Erie County Courthouse.
Obituaries •Newspaper obituaries usually list the maiden name of a married woman, her birthplace, and sometimes the names of her parents.
•If you know what city the person died in, begin with the website of that city's major newspaper.
Keepsakes •Look for genealogy information in your families heirlooms; Cookbooks, baby books, diaries, and letters.
•Cookbooks are sometimes passed from mother to daughter, sometimes with names and family information tucked between pages or penciled in the margin.
•Baby books are another goldmine.
•Old pictures tucked away in the addict may have something written on the back of them.
Census Records •Although census records may not give maiden names they can provide clues to point you in the right direction.
•Anyone who's living in the house with a different name may be a member of the wife's family (I found a nephew living with one of my families, he had the same last name as the wife's maiden name).
•Try Cluster Searching; looking at neighbors for clues, view three pages before and after.
#2 Names the Same (I call this the John Smith Syndrome) What do you do when you have two or even three people who could possibly be your ancestor? They have the same name and live in the same community.
How do you decide which one is right? Compare the Records •Create an 'ID Table' to distinguish your ancestor from another person with the same name.
•Make two columns with name, birth, marriage, children, and death.
•This allows you to see at a glance the differences, so you can keep them straight.
City Directory •City directories can tell you where they lived and sometimes what they did for a living.
County Records •County records such as land records, probate, and tax records may help to identify your ancestor.
Look for Identifiers •Keep an eye out for nicknames for different people.
•Look for phrases like junior, senior, the elder, the younger, Big John, Little John.
Create a Chronology •If you still aren't able to distinguish between the two try writing a biographic sketch of the people in question.
•Write in complete sentences with as much details as you have.
•Make a chart with Names, Dates, Events (such as land records, B,M,D,), Locality, and Comments.
#3 Dates are Wrong What do you do when you were told that your g-g-grandfather died in 1830, but the death certificate says 1832, and the headstone says 1831? Which one is right and how can you be sure? Write Everything Out •Write down everything you know, compare all conflicting dates.
Consider the Sources •Look at the person that wrote the dates down, which one looks more plausible? •An official death certificate is probably more accurate than a headstone or even an obituary.
Mistakes Happen •Accuracy wasn't as important one hundred years ago as it is today.
And by the way, neither was spelling.
•Honest mistakes could have been made by anybody, including family members, clergy, county clerks.
Be careful.
Go with the Logical Choice •Look at all the available information and make a calculated estimation and look for evidence to back up your hypothesis.
#4 1890 Census Ask any genealogist about the 1890 Census and he or she will probably make a sour face, shake their head and walk away muttering, 'if only, if only'.
Why? More than 99 percent of the records were destroyed Jan 10, 1921, during a fire in the basement of the Commerce Building in Washington, D.
C.
When the fire broke out, firefighters flooded the basement with water.
The flames didn't spread to the upper floors, but the 1890 census records - piled outside a storage vault - were soaked.
The cause of the blaze was never determined.
The records sat in storage for a while, and no restoration efforts were made.
Rumors circulated that they'd be disposed of; various groups protesting such measures were assured the rumors were unfounded.
But sometime between 1933 and 1935, the records were destroyed along with other papers the Census Bureau deemed no longer necessary.
Fragments of the 1890 census bearing 6,160 names later turned up; they're on microfilm and websites like Ancestry.
com.
In a precursor to the 1921 tragedy, an 1896 fire damaged 1890 supplemental schedules of mortality, crime, pauperism and 'special classes'.
They were later destroyed by order of the Interior Department.
Okay...
now what can you do? Regarding the 1890 Census...
Nothing Work Around it •There is not much we can do about these unknown census records.
•The best thing to do is work around it.
State Census •Most states held State Census records, these records were also every ten years but went five years after the Federal Census; 1895, 1905, 1915 etc.
•Depending on the state these records may vary.
Vital Records •Vital records refer to birth, marriage and death records.
•These records can be obtained from the county clerk's office of the place your ancestor lived.
•States and counties vary with the procedure for obtaining these records.
City Directory •City directories are like a telephone book without the phone number.
•They are large books divided by the years and county and sometimes have show occupations.
Federal Census Records before and after •Compare the 1880 census with the 1900 census.
•Look for any differences between the two such as a birth in the family.
•Make sure they haven't moved during those years, and if so look at surrounding counties.
#5 Adoption Many famous people were adoptees or orphans; Edgar Allen Poe, John Hancock, Ella Fitzgerald, Dave Thomas (founder of Wendy's).
Nontraditional families have been a traditional part of American society for many years leaving question marks in many family trees.
This could be the ultimate in brick walls because of sealed records, falsified birth certificates, and uncooperative relatives.
A little creativity and patience and persistence can help to break down this wall.
Question your relatives •It may sound futile but you have to begin with talking to your relatives.
If they are resistant, then try to find someone in the family that will talk to you.
Let them know you are not trying to clean out skeletons out of the closet.
•Ease into the subject and approach it with the attitude of openness and acceptance.
•The atmosphere of the interview is more important than the questions.
•Let your relative know how you will use the information, and let them know you'll honor the privacy of living people.
Obtain a birth certificate •Naturally you'll want to get your hands on a relative's birth certificate.
•Sealed record laws were not retroactive; meaning if your adopted ancestor was born before their state enacted such restrictions, you'll have the same access to their birth certificate.
•Adoptees may have two birth certificates; an original record with the birth parents and child's birth name, and an amended, or 'delayed' certificate noting the adoptive parents and the child's new name.
•Existence of a delayed birth certificate doesn't necessary indicate an adoption.
•May not be a birth certificate.
Some parents may have chosen not to record the birth due to the shame of a child being born out of wedlock.
DNA testing •If you are not sure if an ancestor is adopted or not you might investigate having a DNA test done.
Adoption records •First thing you need to do is to determine exactly where the adoption took place.
•County courthouses generally handled adoptions.
•Begin with probate records.
•Formal adoption records typically contain the prospective parent's adoption petition.
•Like adoptees' birth certificates, pre-1930 adoption files are open in most states.
The problem is that formal adoption records are rare prior to the 20th century.
Many records have been lost in the zeal for keeping them private.
•Try checking the FHC for microfilmed court records.
Orphanage records •Orphanages were also called 'children's homes'.
•Relatively few institutions existed before the mid-19th century that is until the end of the Civil War when these places became more prominent.
•A good starting place is the US Census records.
Institutions were counted just like other households.
If your ancestor lived in an orphanage he'd show up as a resident.
•Now-defunct facilities' records could be in a nearby historical or genealogical society, state repository, local or university library, or even with the institutions officials' families.
#6 Missing in Action There are many reasons why a family would go missing.
In the 19th century people moved around a lot more than they do nowadays.
Natural Disaster •Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Blizzard and Snowstorms may have forced your ancestors to move to a neighboring community, county or state.
•They also may have moved in with another relative, perhaps in-laws.
Prison •Way back when folks went to jail for offenses that today would barely warrant a slap on the wrist.
•Vagrancy was a common charge, and being unable to pay your debts could get you locked up.
•Some crimes include sacrilege and fishing in somebody else's pond.
So there's no shame associated with having a 'criminal' in your family tree.
•Check the local prisons for records of your ancestor.
•Newspapers may also indicate a crime that may have been committed.
•Prisoners were also at times shipped to other states or even other countries to serve their time.
Military/War •The war of 1812, revolutionary war, civil war, world wars 1 and 2, plus many different battles may have led your ancestor to join the military •Know your history about the many different wars and see if it corresponds to your ancestor's disappearance.
Moved •Many reasons can be given for a family to pack up and move, weather conditions, crop failures, better job offers.
•If you have your ancestor on a particular census record but they dropped off after that you might want to search surrounding counties or surrounding states.
•Search out other relatives like in-laws and siblings to see if they may have moved to their state or county.
Create a Timeline •Create a timeline of your particular ancestor showing birth, marriage, census records, military records, land records, death records.
•Put down all the information you have and look for holes.
#7 Where are they Buried Knowing the final resting place of our ancestors helps us to feel more connected to them.
But sometimes it might be difficult to find them.
Family Records •Family Bibles •Old Newspapers clippings •Diaries and Journals •Death Certificates •Wills Government and Court Records •Probate •Death Certificates Church Records •Death Records •Local Cemeteries Community Records •Local Newspaper •Funeral Home Records •Social Clubs #8 Immigration The government didn't begin requiring ships to keep passenger list until 1820, so before then, few immigrations records exist.
Castle Garden •In 1855 the state of New York opened the Castle Garden Emigrant Landing Depot.
Before then immigrants were dropped off at piers throughout New York City, where they were vulnerable to crooks and con artists.
•A fire in 1876 gutted the building and interrupted the procession of passengers, but a reconstructed facility resumed operation after three months.
•An immigration boom overwhelmed Castle Garden during the 1800s, when 5.
7 million newcomers arrived on US shores and the federal government moved to take over immigrant processing.
•On April 1890 the last passengers left Castle Garden.
Ellis Island •More than 17 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1924.
•Check their website at Ellisisland.
org Immigration Records •Castlegarden.
org •Ellisisland.
org •Ancestry.
com Other Ports •During the British Colonial period, non-English immigrants had to apply for citizenship, often by signing oaths of allegiance upon arrival.
Look for these as well at state archives or on FHL microfilm.
•Philadelphia ports received passengers from 1729 to 1808.
•Boston ship cargo logs from 1715 to 1716 and 1762 to 1769 are a part of published works found on Ancestry.
com.
#9 No Computer Not all of us are computer literate or feel comfortable around computers.
Believe it or not, genealogists were able to search their ancestors before the advent of computers.
We have gotten so used to them now that we can't imagine life without them.
It's gotten so bad that people are starting to get the impression that you can just sit down on your computer at home and type a few keys and your ancestors are going to start floating out.
Sorry to say this but most research is still done away from a computer screen.
Family History Library •Come to the Family History Center •Friendly Librarians •Microfilm and microfiche equipment •Large library of state historical books Local Library •Most libraries allow access to their computers for free Downtown Courthouse •Probate Records •Land Records #10 Courthouse Burned One of the many losses of the Civil War was the destruction of countless courthouse records in fires.
Be Careful of Rumors •You may hear, "Oh those records were in the courthouse when it caught fire.
" Don't take peoples' word for it, investigate it yourself.
•This is one of those urban legends that people like to pull out to explain why they can't find the records.
•Do your research first before giving up.
Moved records to another county •If the courthouse did indeed burn down, it may have not burned down entirely and some records may have survived and have been moved to a neighboring county for safe keeping.
•In some cases, burned counties rebuilt their records by asking residents to bring in copies of deeds, wills and vital records.
Be sure to check neighboring counties' repositories, as well as those of any parent or child counties.
May have been given to local historical society •Some court records have turned up at a local library for display or been given to a local historical society.
Track the dates •Identify what you are looking for and search other alternative means of finding the information.
•Study your history to find out if the courthouse was set fire and match that with the dates of your ancestors.
That's it.
I hope these helpful hints will be beneficial to your family history research.
Good luck and happy hunting.
Jim Lawson Kindred Quest http://www.
kindredquest.
com
You can't find what you are looking for.
Frustration builds as you frantically search for that elusive ancestor that just doesn't want to be found? Is he in the witness protection program? Did he get abducted by aliens? Did he decide one day to up and move to Jamaica? Or did the earth open up and swallow him whole as he was making his way to the market? What do you do? Where do you go to find the answers? Can you find a sledge hammer big enough to break down this brick wall? Are you ready to trade your brick wall in for a padded room? Relax...
take a breath.
The answer is out there you just have to know where to find it.
There are an endless number of resources at your disposal.
The trick is to know the right tools for the job.
Today we are going to take the top ten brick walls and show you how to go over, around, or under them to find that great-great grandmother that everyone says you look like.
#1 Maiden Names Every family historian has at least one.
A female ancestor whose maiden name you just can't find.
This is especially true prior to the 20th Century because women very often changed their last names, didn't own property and left fewer historical records than men.
Marriage Records •Most obvious first step.
•Different states started keeping marriage records at different times.
•Begin searching for marriage records at the county clerk's office, then go to local churches.
Family Bibles •Considered the 'holy grail' of genealogy because it list names, birth, marriage and death dates.
•Bible records are only as accurate as the person writing down the information (9 month).
•Find out if a family member is holding out on you.
Church Records •Before states kept vital records, the churches kept track of birth, marriage, and death records.
•If you don't know what religion your ancestor was look for churches in the surrounding areas.
•Vital records as well as records of various churches in the area can be found at the Buffalo Erie County Courthouse.
Obituaries •Newspaper obituaries usually list the maiden name of a married woman, her birthplace, and sometimes the names of her parents.
•If you know what city the person died in, begin with the website of that city's major newspaper.
Keepsakes •Look for genealogy information in your families heirlooms; Cookbooks, baby books, diaries, and letters.
•Cookbooks are sometimes passed from mother to daughter, sometimes with names and family information tucked between pages or penciled in the margin.
•Baby books are another goldmine.
•Old pictures tucked away in the addict may have something written on the back of them.
Census Records •Although census records may not give maiden names they can provide clues to point you in the right direction.
•Anyone who's living in the house with a different name may be a member of the wife's family (I found a nephew living with one of my families, he had the same last name as the wife's maiden name).
•Try Cluster Searching; looking at neighbors for clues, view three pages before and after.
#2 Names the Same (I call this the John Smith Syndrome) What do you do when you have two or even three people who could possibly be your ancestor? They have the same name and live in the same community.
How do you decide which one is right? Compare the Records •Create an 'ID Table' to distinguish your ancestor from another person with the same name.
•Make two columns with name, birth, marriage, children, and death.
•This allows you to see at a glance the differences, so you can keep them straight.
City Directory •City directories can tell you where they lived and sometimes what they did for a living.
County Records •County records such as land records, probate, and tax records may help to identify your ancestor.
Look for Identifiers •Keep an eye out for nicknames for different people.
•Look for phrases like junior, senior, the elder, the younger, Big John, Little John.
Create a Chronology •If you still aren't able to distinguish between the two try writing a biographic sketch of the people in question.
•Write in complete sentences with as much details as you have.
•Make a chart with Names, Dates, Events (such as land records, B,M,D,), Locality, and Comments.
#3 Dates are Wrong What do you do when you were told that your g-g-grandfather died in 1830, but the death certificate says 1832, and the headstone says 1831? Which one is right and how can you be sure? Write Everything Out •Write down everything you know, compare all conflicting dates.
Consider the Sources •Look at the person that wrote the dates down, which one looks more plausible? •An official death certificate is probably more accurate than a headstone or even an obituary.
Mistakes Happen •Accuracy wasn't as important one hundred years ago as it is today.
And by the way, neither was spelling.
•Honest mistakes could have been made by anybody, including family members, clergy, county clerks.
Be careful.
Go with the Logical Choice •Look at all the available information and make a calculated estimation and look for evidence to back up your hypothesis.
#4 1890 Census Ask any genealogist about the 1890 Census and he or she will probably make a sour face, shake their head and walk away muttering, 'if only, if only'.
Why? More than 99 percent of the records were destroyed Jan 10, 1921, during a fire in the basement of the Commerce Building in Washington, D.
C.
When the fire broke out, firefighters flooded the basement with water.
The flames didn't spread to the upper floors, but the 1890 census records - piled outside a storage vault - were soaked.
The cause of the blaze was never determined.
The records sat in storage for a while, and no restoration efforts were made.
Rumors circulated that they'd be disposed of; various groups protesting such measures were assured the rumors were unfounded.
But sometime between 1933 and 1935, the records were destroyed along with other papers the Census Bureau deemed no longer necessary.
Fragments of the 1890 census bearing 6,160 names later turned up; they're on microfilm and websites like Ancestry.
com.
In a precursor to the 1921 tragedy, an 1896 fire damaged 1890 supplemental schedules of mortality, crime, pauperism and 'special classes'.
They were later destroyed by order of the Interior Department.
Okay...
now what can you do? Regarding the 1890 Census...
Nothing Work Around it •There is not much we can do about these unknown census records.
•The best thing to do is work around it.
State Census •Most states held State Census records, these records were also every ten years but went five years after the Federal Census; 1895, 1905, 1915 etc.
•Depending on the state these records may vary.
Vital Records •Vital records refer to birth, marriage and death records.
•These records can be obtained from the county clerk's office of the place your ancestor lived.
•States and counties vary with the procedure for obtaining these records.
City Directory •City directories are like a telephone book without the phone number.
•They are large books divided by the years and county and sometimes have show occupations.
Federal Census Records before and after •Compare the 1880 census with the 1900 census.
•Look for any differences between the two such as a birth in the family.
•Make sure they haven't moved during those years, and if so look at surrounding counties.
#5 Adoption Many famous people were adoptees or orphans; Edgar Allen Poe, John Hancock, Ella Fitzgerald, Dave Thomas (founder of Wendy's).
Nontraditional families have been a traditional part of American society for many years leaving question marks in many family trees.
This could be the ultimate in brick walls because of sealed records, falsified birth certificates, and uncooperative relatives.
A little creativity and patience and persistence can help to break down this wall.
Question your relatives •It may sound futile but you have to begin with talking to your relatives.
If they are resistant, then try to find someone in the family that will talk to you.
Let them know you are not trying to clean out skeletons out of the closet.
•Ease into the subject and approach it with the attitude of openness and acceptance.
•The atmosphere of the interview is more important than the questions.
•Let your relative know how you will use the information, and let them know you'll honor the privacy of living people.
Obtain a birth certificate •Naturally you'll want to get your hands on a relative's birth certificate.
•Sealed record laws were not retroactive; meaning if your adopted ancestor was born before their state enacted such restrictions, you'll have the same access to their birth certificate.
•Adoptees may have two birth certificates; an original record with the birth parents and child's birth name, and an amended, or 'delayed' certificate noting the adoptive parents and the child's new name.
•Existence of a delayed birth certificate doesn't necessary indicate an adoption.
•May not be a birth certificate.
Some parents may have chosen not to record the birth due to the shame of a child being born out of wedlock.
DNA testing •If you are not sure if an ancestor is adopted or not you might investigate having a DNA test done.
Adoption records •First thing you need to do is to determine exactly where the adoption took place.
•County courthouses generally handled adoptions.
•Begin with probate records.
•Formal adoption records typically contain the prospective parent's adoption petition.
•Like adoptees' birth certificates, pre-1930 adoption files are open in most states.
The problem is that formal adoption records are rare prior to the 20th century.
Many records have been lost in the zeal for keeping them private.
•Try checking the FHC for microfilmed court records.
Orphanage records •Orphanages were also called 'children's homes'.
•Relatively few institutions existed before the mid-19th century that is until the end of the Civil War when these places became more prominent.
•A good starting place is the US Census records.
Institutions were counted just like other households.
If your ancestor lived in an orphanage he'd show up as a resident.
•Now-defunct facilities' records could be in a nearby historical or genealogical society, state repository, local or university library, or even with the institutions officials' families.
#6 Missing in Action There are many reasons why a family would go missing.
In the 19th century people moved around a lot more than they do nowadays.
Natural Disaster •Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Blizzard and Snowstorms may have forced your ancestors to move to a neighboring community, county or state.
•They also may have moved in with another relative, perhaps in-laws.
Prison •Way back when folks went to jail for offenses that today would barely warrant a slap on the wrist.
•Vagrancy was a common charge, and being unable to pay your debts could get you locked up.
•Some crimes include sacrilege and fishing in somebody else's pond.
So there's no shame associated with having a 'criminal' in your family tree.
•Check the local prisons for records of your ancestor.
•Newspapers may also indicate a crime that may have been committed.
•Prisoners were also at times shipped to other states or even other countries to serve their time.
Military/War •The war of 1812, revolutionary war, civil war, world wars 1 and 2, plus many different battles may have led your ancestor to join the military •Know your history about the many different wars and see if it corresponds to your ancestor's disappearance.
Moved •Many reasons can be given for a family to pack up and move, weather conditions, crop failures, better job offers.
•If you have your ancestor on a particular census record but they dropped off after that you might want to search surrounding counties or surrounding states.
•Search out other relatives like in-laws and siblings to see if they may have moved to their state or county.
Create a Timeline •Create a timeline of your particular ancestor showing birth, marriage, census records, military records, land records, death records.
•Put down all the information you have and look for holes.
#7 Where are they Buried Knowing the final resting place of our ancestors helps us to feel more connected to them.
But sometimes it might be difficult to find them.
Family Records •Family Bibles •Old Newspapers clippings •Diaries and Journals •Death Certificates •Wills Government and Court Records •Probate •Death Certificates Church Records •Death Records •Local Cemeteries Community Records •Local Newspaper •Funeral Home Records •Social Clubs #8 Immigration The government didn't begin requiring ships to keep passenger list until 1820, so before then, few immigrations records exist.
Castle Garden •In 1855 the state of New York opened the Castle Garden Emigrant Landing Depot.
Before then immigrants were dropped off at piers throughout New York City, where they were vulnerable to crooks and con artists.
•A fire in 1876 gutted the building and interrupted the procession of passengers, but a reconstructed facility resumed operation after three months.
•An immigration boom overwhelmed Castle Garden during the 1800s, when 5.
7 million newcomers arrived on US shores and the federal government moved to take over immigrant processing.
•On April 1890 the last passengers left Castle Garden.
Ellis Island •More than 17 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1924.
•Check their website at Ellisisland.
org Immigration Records •Castlegarden.
org •Ellisisland.
org •Ancestry.
com Other Ports •During the British Colonial period, non-English immigrants had to apply for citizenship, often by signing oaths of allegiance upon arrival.
Look for these as well at state archives or on FHL microfilm.
•Philadelphia ports received passengers from 1729 to 1808.
•Boston ship cargo logs from 1715 to 1716 and 1762 to 1769 are a part of published works found on Ancestry.
com.
#9 No Computer Not all of us are computer literate or feel comfortable around computers.
Believe it or not, genealogists were able to search their ancestors before the advent of computers.
We have gotten so used to them now that we can't imagine life without them.
It's gotten so bad that people are starting to get the impression that you can just sit down on your computer at home and type a few keys and your ancestors are going to start floating out.
Sorry to say this but most research is still done away from a computer screen.
Family History Library •Come to the Family History Center •Friendly Librarians •Microfilm and microfiche equipment •Large library of state historical books Local Library •Most libraries allow access to their computers for free Downtown Courthouse •Probate Records •Land Records #10 Courthouse Burned One of the many losses of the Civil War was the destruction of countless courthouse records in fires.
Be Careful of Rumors •You may hear, "Oh those records were in the courthouse when it caught fire.
" Don't take peoples' word for it, investigate it yourself.
•This is one of those urban legends that people like to pull out to explain why they can't find the records.
•Do your research first before giving up.
Moved records to another county •If the courthouse did indeed burn down, it may have not burned down entirely and some records may have survived and have been moved to a neighboring county for safe keeping.
•In some cases, burned counties rebuilt their records by asking residents to bring in copies of deeds, wills and vital records.
Be sure to check neighboring counties' repositories, as well as those of any parent or child counties.
May have been given to local historical society •Some court records have turned up at a local library for display or been given to a local historical society.
Track the dates •Identify what you are looking for and search other alternative means of finding the information.
•Study your history to find out if the courthouse was set fire and match that with the dates of your ancestors.
That's it.
I hope these helpful hints will be beneficial to your family history research.
Good luck and happy hunting.
Jim Lawson Kindred Quest http://www.
kindredquest.
com
Source...