Five Reasons You Are Not Finding Your Ancestor | Ancestry
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- čas přidán 20. 10. 2014
- You have searched and searched and searched and are still coming up empty when looking for information about a particular family line. Join Crista Cowan for a look at five possible reasons why you might not be finding your ancestor. Even one of them could provide you with the spark of an idea you need to bust right through that #genealogy brick wall.
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Five Reasons You Are Not Finding Your Ancestor | Ancestry
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Could you pretty please, with a cherry on top, provide captioning for more of your videos. Those of us who are deaf miss out on information and we would like to improve our genealogical research methods just like everyone else. I thoroughly enjoy those videos that are captioned and learn a lot when I'm able to understand what is being shared. Thanks.
Ditto.
Ditto again.
Putting captions would be nice.
An excellent talk, as usual. Christa's Reason 2 is "Using someone else's UNSOURCED tree as the starting point for discovering more." Christa's top solution is - "Look for records first". I strongly agree. I would add - BE VERY CAUTIOUS about three Ancestry features which can in practice undermine Christa's points - (1) 'FAMILY HINTS', (2) 'PARENT SUGGESTIONS'; (3) 'SMART FILTERING'.
"Family hints" suggests one or more family trees, very often unsourced, and can lead to adopting names which are wrong or irrelevant. The bright new feature ("We think we've found the father / mother of Person X") is even worse. It offers one suggestion - again often unsourced, often wrong, sometimes wholly implausible. 'Smart filtering' switches off searches once a particular record is uploaded to a tree - reducing the ability to see conflicting possible records - and people.
These features cause havoc in Welsh family trees - errors are made, and they spread. And Welsh family trees can be difficult anyway - with surnames based on common forenames, and forenames running in families ... Mary Evans, John Davies, Ann Jones, William Roberts etc etc. The same name can be duplicated or triplicated at roughly the same time and place.
I created an entirely wrong tree my first year on Ancestry because I didn't understand that pretty much everyone else that had developed my line had copied the same bad trees that had zero sources, and were in fact completely wrong if you looked for the sources there was proof that they person they said our ancestor was, was in fact married to someone else and had a whole family in another state and never birthed our ancestors!!
This is very helpful, especially the bit about using unsourced trees as the starting point for learning more.
Great info Christa, thank you
The more of these informative online classes I attend, the more I realize how oh, so little I know about my own family tree and how to climb into it. I read, I watch, I apply...and I realize that I've not been doing something or not been doing something right. Or there is another, maybe better way.
But I guess it's like becoming a veterinarian. Their patients don't speak, so clue-hunting and -following is the name if the game. So it is with genealogy.
So, break's over; back to the classroom!
It's so ironic that I'm watching this to learn about researching more about my grandparents and I see the name of the town I'm from (Trail, Oregon) and hear you say that it's your great-grandfather's hometown. Proof positive that it truly is a small world. 🌍🌎🌏
Thank you so much Christa!!!
You are a great teacher!
This was a great video. I thought the part about going to the card catalog first was a great tip, and probably one that will save me lots of time. The last part about looking at your grandfather as a whole person, rather than just searching for parent/child records was great too. I sort of found that one out by trial and error, and this encourages me to employ it as an actual method. Thank you! Quick question regarding missing records, how would you recommend finding out why records aren't available? For example, finding out if there's a possibility they exist but just haven't been indexed or digitized yet versus being unavailable due to a fire or other disaster.
+Kristen Wakefield Sometimes a quick google search will give you the information you seek. For example, if you google "1890 census" you will learn that it was destroyed in a fire. If you google, "Oklahoma birth records" you will learn that the state did not start keeping them until 1907 and that they have a 100 year privacy law. (Crista)
I suppose sometimes the best method is the simplest one, isn't it? Haha. Thank you for the tip. I will try that. It's so easy to get entrenched in a search, that at a certain point such a simple solution doesn't cross my mind. Thanks!
I just came across your videos and I love them! You say here that you were helping someone... how can we get your help? Are you one of the 'Pros' that we can pay through Ancestry? Do you 'pro' on your own? My brick wall is pretty solid and I wish I had someone to bounce ideas off of!
Great INFO!, I'm at a brick wall, trying to find my 3rd g-grandfather's parents. I happen to find a lot of info about his wife, and they were both born in Virginia, but married in Indiana after the civil war. I have some war info, but the county that has his wife's family census records (1850) pages 16 - 20 are blurry and unreadable, maybe the family is there? Sometimes neighbors get married. Do you know a way to get those re-scanned/access to them? (Frederick county, part of, Frederick, Virginia, United States; citing family 55, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.)) Also, I found a bunch of McAtee's enlisted in the same company as my 3rd g-grandfather, (Maryland Infantry, Potomac Home Brigade, Union), maybe bothers, father, uncles, cousins? I 'm not sure what to do with this info, no birthrates or homes, just enlistment dates. - ANY push in the right direction would help!! Thank you SO SO much!
Amanda - You might want to contact the National Archives to see if they can get you a better copy of that census.
Really enjoy your presentation today, thank you for sharing
🇦🇺Melbourne Australia
Thanks so much for stopping by Heather, we're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed Crista's video, we hope you picked up a few new tips!
Great video and advice to heed. I second your thoughts about Family Stories, we should be open to a new story. At times it might be correct, but not the whole story. I experienced the unsourced tree information, it created a lot of brick walls. I elected to start over, with the new fresh start and using information I knew was solid...my brick walls started to disappear and found more interesting stories. I suggest with anyone with a brick wall, start over and possibly just go up that line, using only sources that have be created by some kind of agency. That doesn't always solve the challenges, my grandfather's death certificate lists both of his parent as unknown (data is only as good as it's received).
Good point about records not existing or in the place you're looking. My 2nd great grandmother's records that are having huge impact on my tree are not kept by Ancestry or another online repository. I am connecting with local churches and historical societies to uncover the hidden stories. I contacted a historical society for my 2nd great granddad and uncovered he had a 1/2 brother (same mother) that been put down as full brother (same last name). Ideas that Crista is bringing up are excellent ideas, normally will solve your brick wall. Be open to re-do research...even if you already done it, do it in a different way.
Thank you , for replying back. In Nicaragua, Managua we don't use Social Security number, but you gave me a good idea I will ask my father for my grandmother death certificate.
Thanks again
Silvia Sanchez
I see this is 5 yrs ago but Thank ya for the information✌❤
I'm from West Virginia. Hope you enjoyed our state!
What broke my heart is other relatives bound and determined to connect two branches of our family with Confederate heroes and KKK legends. My great grandfather was illiterate and did not allow his grandchildren to go to high school. They have him as the son of a Condederate officer whose family was very well educated, and I think he was a Mason, as well. This was not even a matter of sources, this was common sense. It took me years to find the right branch of Smiths. Once I had DNA tests as well, I could see I had no connections to the officer's educated family, yet some to the relatives of the ancestors I finally found. People should not try to force connections to historical figures.
My great grandparents were born in Mississippi in the 1860s but I’ve yet to find them prior to the 1900 Census. I found them on the 1900, 1910, 1930, and 1940 Census with relative ease. They had their children after 1881 so it makes sense that I wouldn’t see them until 1900 since there isn’t a Census for 1890. Still trying to get to the “1870 brick wall”.
Hello Tan Elise - Have you located death records for your great-grandparents - death certificates, obituaries, cemetery records, etc? Those records very well could list their parents' names. With that information in hand, you should be able to locate them in the 1870 and 1880 censuses as children with their parents.
@@AncestryUS thanks for responding! I actually received my great grandmother’s death certificate in the mail today! I was so worried that her parents name would be listed as “Unknown”, but to my utter surprise, my mother was the informant listed and she actually knew all that information back then. (I didn’t know until today that my great grandmother lived with my parents!) Anyway, I do have my great grandmother’s parents name, but the state of Indiana changed their death certificate format and no longer ask for the deceased parent’s birthplace. But at least I have their names. I started browsing the census collections as well. Hopefully I’ll stumble upon something.
I found a Sarah Newton (my great grandmother’s name) and her sister Annie Newton on the 1880 Census but the parents listed have a different last name. Have you ever known anyone to be enumerated with the wrong family?
Do you also do this for the UK. I'm currently struggling with UK records and where to find them
Ancestry has more than 1.2 billion historical records for England, and tens of millions for Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
My best research success is tracing my 2x great grandmothers life. It took me almost 15 years to figure it out, mainly because i was working and had no free time to really dive in. 2 years ago i restarted my search tossing what i thought i knew and tossing out my assumptions as well. I found her marriage record to my 2x great-grandfather which referenced a deceased husband. Found his death record for their marriage record. Which referenced another dead husband. So i found his death record and their marriage record and a birth record of a daughter. The marriage record references yet another marriage. And that is the part that i missed. I needed help deciphering the record so i turned to a facebook group that i’m a part of for Slovak genealogy. It turns out my 2x great grandmother had 4 marriages and she lied about her age and maiden name in her 4th marriage. Possibly to avoid the label of being a black widow or other stereotype. Or to cover up that she left her daughter from 2nd marriage behind in search for love. Whatever her reasons they are gone. When i finally arrived at her actual birth record everything fell into place and the pieces fit. It also got surprising. Eva gave birth to my great grandfather at age 46, and his brothers at 50. I bet she thought she was being rewarded for pretending to be younger than she was.
Thanks a lot! It help ,gr.from Argentina
That's great, Marcelo! We are glad to hear that you found this video useful.
Been doing this for 30 years now starting out on aol Churchwell mailing list
I'm at a brick wall. My 3rd great grandparents are Thomas Moseley Tucker and Mary Ann Burton. I have found some conflicting information on Mary's family. Her fathers name is Jasper Newton Burton and supposedly her mother is Rhena Hogaeau, who is from France. The 1860 census for Abbeville county,SC showed that Rhena was living with Mary Ann and Thomas Moseley Tucker. It then shows Jasper N Burton living with a Sarah Newby. I can not find Rhena in the 1870 or 1880 census and their is no death record. I went to the local library and found in marriage records that Jasper had married Sarah in 1860. My Uncle started the family research in the early 70s and some of the grandchildren of Mary Ann said she had two brothers named Jasper and James and sister close to her age but, I have found that Jasper and Sarah had William, Martha, and Robert (all born in 1861, 62, and 63). I can find no information on the children Jasper jr, James, or the other sister. I will try to see if my Uncle has some more information that he didn't realize he had. Please help if you can. Any information will be greatly appreciated.
We have professional genealogists who specialize in South Carolina records. Schedule a 30-60 minute session with one of them and they can help you learn what records are available that might help you break through this brick wall. They can help you analyze the evidence you already have and craft a research plan using records you might not even be aware of yet. You can pick a genealogy coach here: genealogy.coach/project/mid-south-united-states/
I find cross referencing the list of siblings to their parents helps me
Me too! My side of the family consists of Mary Margaret James Joseph repeat...but not many families have those sibs in the same order!
My great grandmother was said to be adopted, but I can’t find her with her maiden name. She does not share her adoptive family’s name, I’m told. The 1890 census is gone, I can’t see who she was with at age 5. I am truly at a brick wall. Thank you for these tips.
Don't forget many things are not or incorrectly indexed and you have to review around areas where there are relatives or neighbor names manually.
Im 14 and wanting to learn about my family history my Grandparents are really much help but by figuring out there maiden names i found my great grandparents grandparents lol
I'm 11 and found my grandparents 4th great grandparents
I have very little information about my paternal grandfather. My paternal grandmother carried her maiden name so I don't know his last name. I know my father was born in March of 1910. I believe his mother was in her early twenties or late teens. She died somewhere between 1946 and 1948. I was 6 - 8 years old during that time. The only thing my mother told me is that my grandmother was paid off to go away, but she thinks they did marry. I haven't been able to find a marriage license for my grandmother or a birth certificate for my father. I know he was born in Chicago. The 1920 census records showed that my father was living with his grandmother and not his mother. Also I found someone by the name of Martha Schultz, my grandmother's name, living in a boarding house in 1920. What can I do to get closer to finding who my paternal grandfather was? Thank you.
Have you considered taking an AncestryDNA test?
Interesting
I'm having trouble tracing records on my father's mother's side. I know her grandfather was James Leggat and that he was born in Ireland about 1816. I know that James's parents were Robert Leggat, a weaver, and Mary Robertson. This I got from James's death record, and from one of his marriage records. He married Catherine Shaw In Eastwood, Renfrewshire, Scotland in 1861.
On that marriage cert he is listed as a widower. On his death cert, his first wife is listed as Jeanie Burns.
I can't find James's birth record, or the record for his first marriage. I don't know when he came from Ireland to Scotland.
I can't find a marriage record for his parents.
Please help.
The Scottish OPR (Old Parish Registers) are a great resource for this type of research. You can find the index to these records here: search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60143
We also have a large collection of Irish records. You can go to the Ancestry Card Catalog (found under the SEARCH menu) and search for Ireland in the title field.
Hi Crista,
I just want to ask you . I can't seem to find my dads father in the 1830 or I think in 1930 census records.
Can you please help me with it or tell me why I can't find it in the census years. I have his full name and when he was born,where he was born. His name is Estle Alonzo Fish born April 1,1900 born in Indiana.
I hope that you can help me with it. I also don't know how I can check to see if you answered my question or how you can contact me with the information
I hope I hear back from you real soon. I love watching all of your CZcams presitations.
Cathy
Cathy - By 1930 was Estle married? Did he have children by then? Try searching for some of the other family members. You might also try searching by only his first name since it is rather unique.
Hope that helps! (Crista)
My brick wall is with a ancestor by the name of Ahijah Oliver . I recently found out that a A Oliver married a woman with the maiden name of Phelps . I can only trace with certainty to what is alleged to be Ahijah’s son John Lloyd Oliver . According to the secondary source I have John Lloyd Oliver had a brother named David T Oliver . John Lloyd Oliver was born according to his tombstone in 1789 . The records I have for John Lloyd indicate that he was born in North Carolina so that fits to be right that Ahijah was his Dad . The problem is I can’t find Ahijah on any census records after 1800 nor do I know if he traveled with his sons to Indiana. I know by the way the name of the city were John Lloyd is buried is Wingate Indiana. Help .
Card Catalog!
I had no idea!
Or the specific source Search option!
No idea!
T H A N K Y O U !
What about using tree information that "the church" has filled in for you? I am not a member of this "church" , I have a guest account. Some of the information comes from other trees that are also people who have trees on this church's service. How do I work through this anomoly?
Thank you. I am stuck at my great grandfather on my dad's side.
Hi Patricia. We're glad to hear that you're working on your family history research. We're happy to provide some additional help. There are many ways to research your family lines. You will find many records on Ancestry from churches, organizations, and other groups as well as public records. By creating a tree on Ancestry and sharing it with others you can find others who are researching the same family lines. Here are some Ancestry research tips.
1. Review all record hints.
2. Review all tree hints to see what additional records may be found there.
3. Search from your tree to see what records come up that hints didn't catch, reviewing only the first page or so of ranked matches before switching to category view to see if there is anything interesting there.
4. Think about what specific records you’re looking for, check the Card Catalog to see if the needed records exist on Ancestry, and then craft a specific search on that search form using the information you'd expect to find on that record.
AncestryDNA is another way to find living relatives and collaborate with them.
support.ancestry.com/s/article/US-What-to-Expect-from-AncestryDNA
support.ancestry.com/s/article/Making-the-Most-of-AncestryDNA-Matches
Hi Crista, my name is Silvia I have come to a brick wall. I can't find my grandmother sibling and her parents too. She was born in Leon, Nicaragua. And her parents stayed in Leon, Nicaragua but the problem is I don't know there names only their last names. I have try everything. Ancestry don't have much info when it come to Nicaragua, Managua records, what can I do?. sincerely,Silvia Sanchez
Ancestry does have more than 1.5 million birth and marriage records for Nicaragua. You can find them here: search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60087 That said, in order to find the name of your grandmother's parents, here are some suggestions:
1. Order a copy of your grandmother's death certificate. Does it list her parents' names?
2. Did your grandmother ever have a social security card? Order a copy of her application for the SS Administration. She would have listed her parents' names on that form.
3. Talk to your parents, aunts/uncles, and cousins to see if any of them knew/remember the names of her parents.
4. Was there an obituary printed when your grandmother died? Does that list her parents' names or any surviving siblings?
Hope those ideas help. (Crista)
I been stuck on trying to find the parents of my 3ed Great grandfather James Joy. I been looking for almost 4 years and no luck
a few road blocks that came up. My gg/gf was listed as deceased on Scottish wedding certs of his children, and his wife was listed as a widow. This person with same info showed up in Canada, married to someone else soon after the birth of this person getting married. No record of divorce. It was the same person and it was known in the family but kept secret due to shame possibly.
Second block, a book Burton on Wirral listed my ggg/gf (the father of this "dead" person) as having died as the result of a horse accident, age 15. There was no death cert for him. I wrote to the author and proved the information was wrong using info in her book to prove it was my ggg/gf.
How do i find records for family in haiti outside the capital of port eu prince?
Hi, Elly. Thanks for your questions. We understand that some places are more difficult to research than others. The best thing to do to see what you can find is by starting a free trial. We don't know how many records you can find, but we'll show you what we found.
www.ancestry.com/search/collections/catalog/?keyword=haiti
I Have been trying to find the parents of Samuel Emmett Hudson who is my second great grandfather, he was married to Elizabeth Vail. I have all his children . He died oct 6 1883 birth approx 1818-1822 in New york state. I have so much information on him it is crazy .. tons of sources . Including books about him as a sharpshooter for Company D Michigan in the civil war. There is a memorial for him in Lansing Michigan. There is a ton of info on him. including the fact that he was married illegaly to two women at once and after he died they went to court to claim his pension and rights. It is crazy what I have on him .. but I have been trying for 3 years to find his parent and I can not for the life of me find this ... HELP ... I have tried so many avenues ...what to do ?
Since you haven't been able to locate any direct evidence regarding Samuel's parentage, you will likely need to assemble some indirect evidence into a convincing proof argument.
Where was he living at the time of his first marriage? Search in that county in the 1840 and 1850 census records for families with the last name Hudson. How many of them are there? Can you locate those same families in the 1830 census? Do any of them have a male child the right age to be Samuel? Once you have identified those families, trace the lives of each of those heads of household down to their death. Locate probate records for them to see if any of them list a son named, Samuel.
I have a problem. I was looking for my great father's father Jacob Kowalsky born in Germany. His son was John Frank Kowalsky and I ordered a death certificate from Milwaukee, and they only sent this death registration. And it said Jacob Kowalsky was his father born in Germany and unknown mother. Short of hiring a geneologist or going over to Europe, I don't know want to do. Another problem I have is my great grandmother Marie Speichert, no information on her either. I want to order a death certificate on her also. But there no information on her. She was John Frank Kowalsky's wife and came over with him from Germany. Please help.
You might find this video helpful:
Top Tips for German Family History Research - czcams.com/video/5G7quTs_zno/video.html
Thank you for the information. Been trying to find my grandfather Earl Watts born? In Kentucky, Lexington on my unclrs death certificate. I have searched 20 Years and still nothing. I got his death certificate , nothing. Tried looking for marriage between Earl WATTS and Hazel White/super, nothing. I'm part of s African American GENEALOGY group for over 20 years, I've had other genealogist even when I went to Washington DC to try and look for him, nothing I can't find his parents I can't find siblings it has been such a thorn in my side.
Where was the last place you know he was at? Have him at the center of a "pond" circle and keep widening it -- have you looked in other county histories and records surrounding the last known place? Did he change his name or spell his name differently, than the way you have always have spelled it. Check census records at the last known place for all possible variations of the "Watts" spelling. Did he attend church somewhere? If he did, have you checked Bible records, church, denominational or ministerial records? Was he in the witness protection program? Have you had your DNA tested to see if you match anyone?
Yes, I've looked in surrounding counties, looked at census, saw a 1900 that name was spelled" woots" and thr 1940 had E W Watts, death certificate had no information he died on poor farm. The last place I know WAS him was the 1940 census in west Virginia Kanawah county cabin creek, my grandmother Hazel Watts and great grandmother Mary Supple were in the household. My grandfather was 56-65 years old my grandmother 25. They both say they were married she would have been 17 him 50 ? His age changes. On my uncle who died at 1 day old is how I got Lexington Kentucky as Earl WATTS birth place before I only knew Kentucky. My grandmother goes by Mary White, Mary Supple, ( my great-grandmother was married and outlived 3 husband's), I have done my DNa on ancestry, 23&Me, Ftdna. I got my aunt ( my moms sister) 23 and me to be a proxy for my mom who died in 99 before DNA research was feasible I have had some matches with people that I have no idea it's still hard especially being an African-American because I'm not sure whether it's from my grandfather's side or my grandmother's side only thing I can try to do is ask them if they have lineage in Kentucky and from then I can't go anywhere because I don't have my grandfather's parents names or any siblings.
Funny you should mention Daniel Boone. I just happened to really be related to a Boone's first wife and am a cousin to their 6 boys. smile!
How do I correct mistakes? I have 2 sides of my family in the same tree.
Start a separate tree
Also I've tried to contact other tree relatives who do not respond
My experience as well.
I
am assuming that some official document of some kind would have to be filed in
order for a spouse to get remarried? A divorce decree, a death certificate or
such would have to be recorded even in the late 19th century? My problem
is my great grandfather dropped right
off the face of the earth. I have my great grandparents marriage certificate name and everything, not one document can be
found if they divorced or whether my great grandmother was widowed or he just
ran off. I even
have my great grandmother’s marriage certificate to her second husband. I can assume she did
not commit bigamy.
If your great-grandfather abandoned her, there might not have been a death or an official divorce before she remarried. Check local newspapers in the area for any announcements prior to her second marriage about looking for her husband, notices of his death, or a divorce degree. (Crista)
I have searched for weeks on ends to find more information on my Italian side. I've gotten everything up to the point of my 3rd great-grandfather and grandmother on both of my 2nd great-grandparents sides. There's literally no information on them whatsoever. Is there any way you could give me some more advice on where to find more information?
John, consider that not all records have been digitized and are available online. First, we recommend you researching what records are available in the Italian National Archives here: www.antenati.san.beniculturali.it/en. You may want to also look into what records are available for the location where you great-grandmother and grandmother lived in Italy by contacting a local genealogist in Italy via ApGen: www.apgen.org/directory/search_results.html. ApGen members are professional genealogists and often have a deep expertise in the records of the area you're interested in researching. If you're not interested in hiring a researcher, you can also find fantastic resources and guides available for Italian research on Cyndi's List here: www.cyndislist.com/italy/how-to/ Good luck in your research!
What if you know nothing about your family members I know my mom adopted name and I know my real dad's name but he does he doesn't know anything about me and I know where he lived and some of his information but I don't know nothing about his family and I don't know very much about my mom's group family so what do I do
What is proof?
I discovered just a few incorrect entries even in official records. I adopted my mother because our names were switched on the adoption form. My great grandfather, Carl, was listed as Charles in a census. An Ellis Island index is not linked to the correct ship’s manifest record. Children visiting a relative listed as the relative’s children and later listed with their own parents in the same year’s census. Family history documents being incorrect as for who is the parent and mother.
Do we connect to our living relatives?
My cousin, whose grandmother was my aunt, contacted me and we are now best friends! All due to genealogical searches!
On ancestry...try messaging your relatives
I'm going crazy trying to find my great grandmother she died when my grandfather was 6 so we never new much about her she died in Scotland and all family migrated to Australia I hate that no one knows anything about her.
I keep running into cousins attaching the wrong spouses to ancestors. Which is irritating. And they insist they're right, even when I point out that actual court documents say otherwise. So there is a false family tree floating around.
I have never been able to find my great grandfather’s real father. The man his mother was married to died during the Civil War, several years before he was born. His death certificate even says father unknown. Sad thing is, I will never know my true surname.
Dna testing !
This all made sense. What if you don't know who your great-grandparents and so on?
often times you can find them listed on a child's marriage certificate or death certificate. for example my parents are listed on my marriage certificate and both sets of grandparents are listed on my parents marriage certificate.
My screen doesn t look like that when your doing search
His video is several years old
When I was 13 years old I went to school with a cousin in my class. We were close, did everything together. We lost touch as my father move us to another close by town. I am trying to find her, and I do not know her mothers name. If I could find her birth record, I would know her mothers name, and then I can find out who she married, and possible locate her. I know who she told me her fathers name is, but she is not on a family tree because of her father may have fathered her on the sly.
I can't find her birth record, because Mo and ark are not on ancestry,.
Can we get subtitles for these videos 😅
Hi I'm struggling to find my father's biological father as he was adopted at birth where do I start
Hi there, have you or your father taken the AncestryDNA test? One of the best ways to find members of your biological family is to take an AncestryDNA test. Even if the person you're trying to find hasn't taken the test, a close relative of theirs may have.
I've taken one, but my father never as he passed away,,
Thanks for getting back to us. Please note that your father does not need to have taken the test for you to find his biological family. You will be matched with any relatives on his side of the family who have taken the test. We've linked an article from our support center below which contains some tips and advice for finding biological family on Ancestry. We hope this helps!
support.ancestry.com/s/article/Finding-Biological-Family
What do you do when you're adopted,,,i have my adoptions papers but I lost my orginal birth certificate...the state has no record of my birth so I can't get a copy. I've been looking since 2008 and there's still absolutely no record of my birth! I'm stuck
If you had an original birth certificate, the state should have a copy of it. Maybe try contacting the county.
I added information that shouldn’t be there I turned my husband into a child of my parents. How do I edit certain things. Like I would like to add my maiden name with my name, which when I started this I left it out. So far those are the only two things I’d like to edit
Hi there Corinne, thanks so much for stopping by. We would love to let you know how you can make these edits. If you click on a person in your tree, you can click on the 'Edit Person' button and it will allow you to make changes to the details that you have added such as name and date of birth. You can also edit relationships through profile pages within your tree. We have linked some instructions on this below for you:
support.ancestry.com/s/article/Fixing-Relationships-in-Trees
We hope this helps!
This doesnt help at all. I know the persons name I am searching. The date of birth. Spouses name. Children's names, and I cannot find any kind of death notice or document whatsoever. :/
Golly, I wish this video was even a little helpful in breaking down my brick wall. I have tried pretty much every suggestion, without success. My great grandfather brought his family from Pennsylvania in abt 1867 to western Iowa. Apparently the UFO landed them in Pennsylvania. I have found a possible family, but I just can't prove the connection! If only I could find him in the 1860 US Census!!! I have tried coming at this search from every direction Crista mentioned and a few more. No luck! It seems possible that the part of PA he was from was NY at this time. No luck! His name is Hiram Smith; there were 14 Hiram Smith's from PA in the Civil War, none of them seem to track down to my guy(pension records either). I'm probably missing something obvious, but... So far frustration is the name of the game!
I'm from PA. I don't know exactly when the borders changed, but I do know that during colonial times, Harrisburg was chosen to be the capital because, at that time, it was in the center. It is now closer to south central, but I do think the borders had changed by the time of the Civil War
I think I am going to get no where other then a general location with my Great Grandmother or Grandfather. I know one's last name ONLY because thankfully a few with that last name tree's all matchup VERY closely related to me. I know which Great Great Grandparents are ikely...but not which of their children is my Great Grandparent. A ladies name comes up more often, but she could be a G G"Aunt"...but the birth Mom did a closed adoption. Several names seem to be mennonite and amish on the other side. I know it's Pennsylvania Dutch area...that is about it. My Grandfather who was adopted out I found through ancestry. My Father was raised by a man who wasn't his Father . So to make my very complicated story easier there were 3 adoptions in 2 generations right behind me. 🙈 😞 I like that ancestry has provided surnames though dna connections though. At least I've got that. . . and some have connected with me.
I mean the 2 generations BEFORE me had 3 adoptions!
Not much use to us brits really could really do with some helpful tutorials that are pertinent to our records systems - please :))
The principles of genealogy research and the Genealogical Proof Standard are universal. If you look past the specific example about Alabama records used to illustrate the principles, everything in this video can be applied to those doing British research.
Is there something specific you are looking for assistance with? I'd love to put together a video that addresses your needs or point you to one we've already recorded.
Hi
I did my dna test and found that I had 36 cousins but they are all estimated 5to 8th. How can I find my immediate family?
Have your oldest close relative do a DNA test
Pls can I get some help i am lost
I probably won't get an answer here, but here goes. How can census records ( photocopy or microfiche) change in 20 some years? This is LDS center microfiche records vs ancestry photocopy, approx 1995 vs approx 2017. Same exact copy, different media source. I heard ancestry uses the LDS record database. So, how can my gr grandpa on moms side be born in WI in the 1995 records, but the 2017 record shows he was born in Prussia? Which is what he had told everyone way back when he was alive. In 95 we were contesting this claim of his, and the records showed he lied. The records also showed his mom was born in WI! This all started with grandpa ( moms side, son of the gr grandpa in question) telling my mom in the 1950's that they had some native american in them and to not tell anyone as its shameful. I even have a pic handed down of said gr grandpa at a logging camp with native american men around him, and 1 elder woman. I want to know what in heck is going on here. We were looking mainly at census records both times. Either ancestry is off base, or there is a glitch in the matrix! BTW DNA ( mom) test was screwy. No native american and the % count for Norwegan was way off.
looking for Annie R Williams
What do you know about Annie?
Glory to God. I started honoring my ancestors and praying to my archangels. a young man walked up to me with a $800 bicycle and handed me an envelope with $700 cash
What if one don’t know there family
Hi Gerald, Thanks for the question. Are you adopted and looking for biological family? If so, we suggest that you taken an AncestryDNA test. If you are not, then the best thing to do is to start a family tree with what you know.
How difficult would it be to edit out the coughing? Please!
Can you guys do something about finding filipino ancestors because its really hard to find people in my family and I'm full filipino
How can I get someone to search for me?
I’m having a brick wall trying to find my aunts ex boyfriends parents,
Sometimes people's sources are nonsensical too
This is great education But I have no one to tell me anything my older family members are dead. As for Callie Wally Churchwell I have no brick wall she died in 1954 believe to have born in 1898. Can't find death record. Help please!
Do you know where she was living in 1954?
try the social security death index
I'm trying to find my grandads birth certificate he was born in 1888 in Wood green Middlesex died 1925 edmonton
Hi Linda, thanks for stopping by. Have you tried using the Card Catalog? You can use the Card Catalog to narrow your search down by location, time period, and record collection. You can learn a bit more here, support.ancestry.com/s/article/Using-the-Card-Catalog?language=en_US
I know I'm awful to bring this up, but the coughing! I do a lot of public speaking too so I know your struggle. Try speaking more quietly with an indoor voice. It puts less strain on the vocal tract.
Maybe the records just don't exist
Too much personal chatter on stuff we don't need to hear. Too much repeating....state the fact and let it go at that!
Personally, I find her presentation method easy to follow, and very informative.
I agree.
Bobby Ingram you agree with whom? There were two opposing viewpoints expressed!
I need help finding my father
Missing records....a clerk decided to go for-profit genealogist.
I coulda done all of this for FREE.
Ancestry has free account memberships
Need help!!
Need more info to help you