SEARCH ORGANISATION HELP

wini · Post by **wini** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 11:23 am

At the moment I find I am going from one side of the family to the other.
When I run out of steam on one I jump to the other.
I have found some who have gone to Canada in 1847
Another couple who seem to have disappeared after the 1901 Census and would be very unlikely to have died after 1955.

Now what do you people advise, do I keep plugging away at one branch or swap around as I am doing just now?

Do I start trying to find the Canadian connection or start trying to find out where the others who have disappeared have gone?

I just feel I am going round in circles so advice on the best track to take would be gratefully received.

Hope this isn't dementia setting in.

wini

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 1:11 pm

Hi wini....

Well....to he honest.....I usually end up circling just as you're doing so if it's dementia you're not alone

When one line hits a wall and no further progress is forthcoming then I usually set it aside and pick up something I've not studied in a few weeks or months. It can be amazing the new insights possible with the change of focus. Not that it guarantees success but it does tend to get you out of a rut and thinking along new possibilites which is always a good thing.

From the sounds of it you might know more about the recent couple disappearing after 1901 as you have data on them right up to that point from Scotland. It makes it much easier to locate in a new country if they perhaps remained in a family group....either with siblings or with children already born in Scotland. It's the ones who go off alone and then marry in a new country and start families there and never return to Scotland that are most difficult to detect. Why not post some details (if you haven't tried already) and see if anyone out there can give you a hand?

Best wishes
Jean

Post by **emanday** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 3:10 pm

I do the same thing and, as Jean says, sometimes the break away from one line for a while can sometimes clear your mind a bit. Agreed, it doesn't always work, but I've had a couple of good results by going back with a clearer mind.

pinkshoes · Post by **pinkshoes** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 6:03 pm

I agree with Jean and Mary - put away the brickwall and have a look at something you've not tried yet, or go back over older stuff and see if anything jumps out - its amazing how often that happens. I've also found on a number of occasions that the answer to something pops up when I'm looking for something else.

If all that fails, I poke my nose into something quite unrelated to me (see "hipflask"

). That entertains me for a while, then I can go back to the brickwalls and have another crack.

Sounds like you're doing much the same as the rest of us Wini - above all, keep popping in here - always so much to learn and invariably a laugh or two into the bargain.

Best wishes
Pinkshoes

Post by **emanday** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 6:14 pm

Right now, I'm doing a "Single Name" research project.

My Grandmother's middle name was Girtrig, but on her MC her mother's surname was given as Girtridge. Further searches with wildcards (Thanks David for that bit of advice) and it turns out that this name's spelling was altered throughout the various generations and places.

Hitting a bit of a

tracing them backwards, I decided to try travelling in the other direction

following the family from a 1666 Testament.

It's really quite fascinating and this family seemed to stick quite seriously to the naming convention, so making things a bit easier.

As usual, when I reach a block on this, I will go back to one of my principal lines. In the meantime, another wee bit of history is being added to my knowledge.

StewL · Post by **StewL** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 2:41 am

Like the others I do the same. I will leave one lot alone for a while and go on the hunt for others. Then when that comes to nothing, or I cant find who I am looking for, then I will wonder off to some other distant line. Just the other day I got a 1841 census page for my Matheisons which gave me a few more children. Just a taste to keep me going, so now I have that line back to around before 1800? Then I went to my ggggrand aunt's husbands line again back to around 1800.

and some more children to boot.

Post by **Anne H** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 4:48 am

Give it a break for a while, but don’t give up.

I had been looking for my Russell family in Larbert and Cumbernauld and surrounding areas on an off for about three years then I finally found two of the brothers DC’s in Maryhill…never thought to look there, but don’t know how I missed them since I’m sure I searched all of Scotland and SP had the mothers maiden name included. Anyway, finding the 1855 DC for brother John told me his wife was deceased and that he had two children and also that both his parents were still alive. Then with brother James, I discovered his mother had died between 1855-1858 but father was still alive (still can’t find any trace of them), but I did find his wife and eight children, the children’s families, census records, Wills, Inventories, Trusts Dispositions…I could go on and on. So, good things come to those who wait, and wait, and wait, then try again. Good luck!

Regards,
Anne H

wini · Post by **wini** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 11:00 am

I am glad to hear I am not the only one going round in circles.

I'll take your advice and leave it for a while and go on with the paternal side of the family. At least they never seemed to go far from Glasgow, although one stumbling block is a ggrandfather who came from Ireland and as luck would have it he never mentions where.

Apart from his birth he is in all the Census returns after 1861 and his Marriage & Death Certificates are there and not once is his county mentioned.

He has been abandoned too at present.

thanks wini

Jockbird · Post by **Jockbird** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 11:55 am

I'm like the rest of you, banging from one brickwall to another

Quite often I'll google a name and place to see if anything comes up, I've had quite a few successes with that. A useful tip is to put " " round the name.

I was hoping to go backwards but then you get to a point where people died before 1855......now that's just not on! I've then gone sideways to go backwards but then I'll find an interesting story and want to find out more.

I also delve a bit deeper into certain families if there is a 'story', if they were an unknown entity - my Millars and I'm finding out why slowly but there's a story waiting to uncovered 2 generations ago but still unravelling the one from 3 gens ago - and finally if that person had special meaning, like my dad's granny whom he adored.

It is nice to give a little back though and I am glad when I can help....also relieves the ache of all the heidbangin'!!!!

Donna

x

p.s.

Wini, were any of your Irish rellies kiddies born in Scotland? Their BC may show where parents were married. I have a family that came from Ireland to Ayrshire in 1855/6, managed to track the marriage through the BC, found an IGI that matched and got the transcript through AncestryIreland.com....that said I've another that came pre 1830 and have found diddly squat on him.
Good luck
x

Post by **joette** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 12:56 pm

Yep & sometimes I have a wee chat with them(no I am not bonkers)& tell them if you want to be found then give me a nudge in the right direction.
Sometimes info comes from an unexpected source or I find something I already had but didn't connect.
Then sometimes nothing appears & I put it to the side until I am at another brickwall or inspiration or new data comes out-like the release of the Censuses on-line at SP which helped me break down several brickwalls.
I honestly believe that some don't want the truth to be found but that doesn't stop me from trying.