r/Genealogy

Just curious to know your research methods

Last time I posted here, someone pointed out that my "Origin and Meaning" section

contained neither the origin nor the meaning. He was right. Noah was showing up as

Germanic. Noah.

So instead of arguing I spent the week shipping the whole thread:

- Real meanings and etymology now, with the dictionary source cited right under each one

- Added official birth records from England, Scotland, Ireland and France, so you can

see where a name is actually popular right now

- A "% of babies" view, name days (with an explanation, because nobody knows what

those are), fictional characters, similar-sounding names

- Every section shows a small badge for where its data comes from

The idea behind the site is simple: name sites mostly copy meanings from each other

and cite nothing. I want the one where you can check every single fact yourself.

Free, no accounts.

Round 2. What's the first thing you'd check to decide whether you trust a site

like this?

As a Canadian I never thought that I had any connection to the USA. It wasn't until I started doing genealogy that I realized how many white and black Canadians have ancestors from the USA (loyalists, pre-loyalists, freed slaves, etc.) I was reflecting this past July 4th about how many of my own ancestors immigrated to Canada after living in America. Most were from New England and the northeast. Before genealogy I would never have known I had roots in America. I have been able to visit some of the states where they lived. It's crazy to think about how connected we all are. 🇨🇦 🇺🇸

My grandpa was adopted by the Loney's in Iowa but his surname was Slaven and I have no idea how to find out who his real birth parents were

Back in the 1990s, someone reached out to my paternal grandfather (now deceased) in search of their biological father. He was enraged and denied having any children outside his marriage (with my grandmother).

I was a young child at the time but overheard a conversation about it, which is the only reason I am aware of the incident. My own father basically chalked it up to a nasty prank.

But I've reflected on this several times throughout my adulthood, and I believe it is very possible that my grandfather could have had a child outside his marriage. My grandfather (and most of our family) are US Southerners, born and raised and still live in the South to this day. But my grandfather joined the Navy during WWII when he was a teenager, and he spent some time in California, the South Pacific, and Alaska. So I feel there were definitely opportunities there, and being so far removed geographically from the local community, no one would ever know.

Additionally, pretty much everyone on my dad's side of the family are all very self-righteous, very hypocritical, and very "religious" people who never accept responsibility for their wrong-doings. They always deny, deny, deny. So I don't trust my grandfather's reaction to the person who reached out to him. And I also can't ask my dad about it, because I already know with complete certainty that he will just get defensive and be offended.

Anyway, I don't know who the person who reached out to my grandfather was, I don't know if it was a prank, and I don't know if it was a legitimate attempt to find their father. I also don't have much money to invest in searching for "maybe-but-maybe-not" long-lost family members. But I do have a desire to make some kind of effort to try. Does anyone have any recommendations on starting points or smart strategies?

Total newbie here trying to figure out Ancestry (using Ancestry.com). I’ve identified a 2nd great grandmother born in Canada, then moved to Michigan. I’ve found plenty of USA census, marriage and death information from Michigan records, all listing her birth as Canada and her mother as Canadian. I think I know her birth date but that seems slightly inconsistent. (I’m wondering if she lied about age at first marriage). I can’t figure out how to find some birth records, I believe from Ontario. Velmay (Velma) Russell, born in either 1861 or 1863 to Mary Smith. Any suggestions, or recommendations on hiring a genealogist? Thank you!

Hello there. My dad and I have done extensive genealogy research on our family. So has a few of our relatives. We have hit a very strange brick wall. During the Revolutionary war in America supposedly my great x4 grandfather was “kidnapped” from his family and raised by the Jones family. His name was changed to Abraham Jones. He was born around 1790 around Chesterfield South Carolina and passed 1845 in Marshall County Alabama. There is ZERO leads anywhere but down the tree. There was one story that he was Native American and another that just claimed the British took him from his family. My father does have 1% unexplained Native American DNA. Where do you go from here to find any additional info?

Hi! I'm trying to find out what happened to a Draper Chipman, born in Bath County, KY around 1789, moved to Ohio, and disappeared. I'm also trying to find out who his wife was. Here's what I've found so far:

1. Born 1789 in Bath County, KY as the second son of Draper Chipman - per book "The Chipman Family: A Genealogy of the Chipmans in America 1631-1920."

2. married. His eldest son is named John Noble Chipman (probably born around 1810), so her maiden name might have been Noble. Some Ancestry trees have Melinda Noble, but I've never seen a source for that. In later land transactions there are references to "his wife Mary." Per the Chipman book he also has a son named William.

3. 1820 - living in Fayette County, OH per 1820 census, then purchases land in Greene County, OH (found in a full-text FamilySearch)

4. 1821 - sells land in Greene County, OH (found in a full-text FamilySearch)

5. 1822 - dies, per the Chipman Family book. However, he is referenced in his father's 1830 will in a way that sounds like he is still alive (will found via full-text search on FamilySearch)

6. 1825 - son John Noble Chipman is a runaway cabinet maker's apprentice in Wilmington, Clinton County, OH (newspapers.com)

7. 1826 - listed in will of David Smart as owing a debt to the estate (FamilySearch)

8. 1830 - mentioned in his father Draper's will

I can find nothing for him after this. Complicating matters is that there are at least four Draper Chipmans living in the midwest in the 19th century - his father, him, the Reverend Draper Chipman (I believe he might be his nephew?) and the Rev. Draper's son, who died in 1863.

I've reached out to the Fayette County OH archives - they have nothing on either Draper or John Noble in their records, but I believe there was a fire in 1828. I've also reached out to Clinton County (pending) and will contact Greene County this week. Any suggestions as to where else I can look? Thank you so much for any help you can provide!

I'm northern italian (from veneto, more specifically on the Garda Lake). My grandpa had a First cousin that married a woman from the US and moved there. I'm curious if i manage to find Someone that might know them or actually be a relative of mine. My grandpa's First cousin should be named Augusto Sega... Yet, i'm still trying to find more Infos since my grandpa doesnt Remember him quite well.

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/510393773/ I think this is the link

It is the Sioux CIty Journal Monday 19, 1955. page 10 Two Runaway... Delbert Koenig of Whiting, Iowa...

I'd be much obliged! I thought I had downloaded it during their last free research window, but I can't find it now!

this is so silly, but I’m a huge Unsolved Mysteries fan. In one of the first seasons, they aired a story that was based in Vancouver, BC that got my attention (because I’m from around there); the fate of Annie Ellen Fry. I’ve been researching this on and off for a few years, and I still feel so far away.

So in this Unsolved Mysteries segment, Jim Currie was trying to locate his mother, Annie Ellen Currie, nee Fry. His parents, Annie and Donald Currie, got married in the UK during WW2, and then moved back to his father‘s home in Canada, Vancouver BC. Heres what I know so far

They eventually divorced in 1949 in Vancouver after she had an affair with a neighbour, and Donald received custody of both their children. He ended up putting his youngest up for adoption, and eventually moved to California. Jim (James) Currie ended up being an investigator for an attorneys office in California, and eventually moved back to Vancouver. Once his father died, he started looking for his mother. As far as I know, he never found her and I believe he has passed away. He did however reconnect with his brother, Darryl

Annie married Charles Alexander MacDonald (1912) in August of 1950, and this is the last record of her I can find, and only became available this year in accordance with B.C. privacy laws. From the unsolved mysteries wiki, it says they got divorced. I tried to find a record of Charles’ death, to see if they had children, but I also can’t find anything. From family obituaries I’m fairly certain he passed before 1981, as he was not listed as living in his half sisters Vida’s obituary. He was listed as living in his father’s obituary in 1968 so it would be in this window. From all the evidence I’ve collected from records and newspapers, he lived in BC most his life, with some time spent in California living with his mother, her husband Wilbur Coover, and his half brother.

From Charles‘ father’s obituary (his name was also Charles Alexander McDonald, note the spelling change) he had a grandson named Charles W. MacDonald, who is most likely Annie’s husbands Charles’ child. However, I do not know if she’s the mother.

I also can’t find a ton of information about the fate of Annie’s parents, who I was trying to find an obituary for to see if she’s listed as alive when they passed away in the 60s. Their names were Arthur Herbert Fry and Frances Fry nee Grundy, though on her marriage certificate to Charles it says Frances Morgan. Annie went by three last names in her life, and could have been in Canada, the US, or the UK. All Ancestry and FamilySearch trees either end with the parents, or do not have a death date for either Annie or Charles.

Without knowing what her last name was at her time of death, it's starting to look like an exceedingly difficult task to find her. Her name is Annie Ellen Currie, born in or around 1925. Married Donald Currie in 1943 and moved to Canada in 1944. Divorced in 1949, remarried Charles MacDonald in 1950. From there her movements are unknown. I know so much about her, her husbands and their families. But I still don't know where she ended up. Sigh.

Growing up, in the days before the widespread ubiquity of the internet (1970s and 1980s), I was told by my maternal grandmother (born in 1923) that Meriwether Lewis was her great great great great uncle. Her maiden name had been Lewis, and she said she remembered her grandfather telling her stories about him. I always took this as the truth because my grandmother was not a liar.

I did not learn until I was an adult that it used to be a normal thing to pick someone notable with your same last name and claim them as family whether that was reality or not. And when I saw that Lewis's only brother (it would have to be a brother, since allegedly the Lewis name was passed down through the generations) did not have children... Well, it just doesn't seem likely that was the case.

So... it isn't like I'm trying to get back to the Scottish Highlands in 1400 or anything, but is there nowhere I can go just to prove to myself that this was only family legend and absolutely not true without traveling to genealogy libraries or paying online for a subscription? One of my mom's uncles had put together a lot of family history, but I cannot understand how it all fits together and he can no longer explain what it all means.

Thanks for any readily available resources. It feels like 4 generations shouldn't be too difficult to track down, but obviously I'm not having any luck.

So, get this, my 3rd generation grandparents, Stefanie Standacher (1887-1971) and her husband, Joseph Schranz Sr. (1883-1967), had immigrated from Austria, Stefania in 1910 boarding the La Savoie, and Joseph boarding... Chicago.

Stefanie had apparently immigrated from Austria with her grandmother, Elisabeth Standacker, and an unspecified family member named 'Anton Fritz Standacher'. However, we don't know her parents, same would go for Joseph, who also immigrated from Austria.

Joseph had come in 1911, going to America with his friend, Otto Velli, and another unspecified family member named 'Alois Schronz'. It seemed determined that Alois may be his father, but we are not sure.

Stefanie and Joseph married in 1912 in Cook, Illinois, but the question still goes: "Who are the parents of this Austrian couple?" Which is why I turn to you guys for the 392nd time, because somehow, you people find everything to the point I think if someone was buried with the records, someone would be insane enough to dig it out.

So off you go with your new task, of finding the parents of said beloved Austrian couple, and come back to me if you happen to find anything.

Joseph Schranz Sr: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/about/PDBV-K5X

Stefanie Standacher: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/about/PDBJ-LVS

Other: It seems I had looked at this before, but Joseph Schranz apparently had a father by the name of Ignatz... dates match up, death is merely off by a few days. But that has the question of who is Alois Schronz? https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2MX-PKLF?lang=en

There is also this Joseph: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XS56-T62?lang=en , but birth dates do not match up, and neither do spouses. I have doubt this is the same person... so watch out!

He is buried in a family grave, not in my family's cemetery, but in my great aunt's cemetery, in Canada. They came to Canada from India in the 1960s and according to USA newspapers he died soon after in a controversial death ruled an accident, for some reason, south of the border. Our family is only in touch with one relative on that side of the family, but never talked about him. I only knew of him by accident through my grandmother's detailed memory of all the family members when I had asked her when she was alive. The only thing that makes me certain it is him is that there were not many Indians in the USA back then so Indian names would stand out. A newspaper has his name and death date the same year and claims he died in an accident in a southern state of the USA. I do see relatives in the USA, yet only he among US-based relatives is buried with my great aunt and uncle in Canada. A small news clipping of the case mentions some big name US civil rights lawyers including the Kennedy family were involved for some reason in his legal case, so I am wondering if this explains the reason for the family's silence, and how I would go about finding more information.

I'm hoping someone here might be able to point me in the right direction.

I've been researching my family history for the past several days and I've hit a wall. I recently discovered the name of my biological grandfather and, through Ancestry, was able to identify his brother and my great grandparents.

I'd really love to trace the family back further, but I can't seem to get beyond my great-grandparents. My great grandmother was born in Poland and my grandfather in Lithuania, but every search seems to end there.

I've tried multiple spellings of their names, searched using birth years, locations, and every combination I can think of, but I'm coming up empty.

Does anyone have recommendations for websites, databases, or research strategies that might help me break through this brick wall? I'd really appreciate any advice. Thank you!

--

If it helps, here are their names and other variations in the English documents I have seen:

Piotr (Peter) T. Niwinski / Nivinski

1892–1973

Madeline (also Maggie, Maggie Ryan, Madel, Margret, Margaret) Ritz / Ryz Niwinski / Nivinski

1896–1966

Both arrived in America in/Around 1914. They lived in Hartford, Connecticut and had two sons Henry (1927 - 2002) and Frank J Niwinski (1919-2006).

My (F) grandfather never knew who his grandfather was. Aka, my great grandpa never knew his dad. His mother died and refused to tell anyone. My papa is 82 and it’s something that he would like to know before he passes on. He took an AncestryDNA test and I’ve been looking through it but not much progress has been made. I think that a Y-DNA test could help significantly. Is this the right move? What specific Y-DNA test would suite my needs the best?

https://www.newspapers.com/image/120534361/?match=2&terms=%22John%20Marion%20Lloyd%22 I hope this is allowed but does anyone have the full version? Im looking for the death announcement of John Marion Lloyd (possibly just John Lloyd idk). He died sometime in 1967

Is there a way I can track down family that is the Father of Malka Beile Safir Died in Germany 1910 Born in Poland 1850 Mother Gendel Rosenbaum information unknown

You have all been so helpful before so thank you in advance

I got a new computer and I’m trying to move all my FTM data from my old computer. I’ve tried to do it through syncing and I tried to transfer the files on a thumb drive. My issue is that all media became “uncategorized”, my citation notes changed how they look and my source info is cut off in the middle of the documentation. I’m so frustrated! I really don’t like this software but I also don’t like the alternatives. Has anybody experienced this problem. I’m running FTM 2024. I appreciate any help.