Saturday, February 21, 2009

DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE THIS TROUBLE?

I have often said, of myself, that a lot of my computer troubles are caused by operator error.

This has morphed into Genealogical Problems as well.   I belong to many Roots Web Groups  and have left many messages on their boards.   I am subscribed to Ancestry and posted queries on the boards at that location.   I search the information on the LDS Site, I find a little but not a lot.

I am jealous of people who can trace their ancestors back to 1500, or even Adam and Eve, when I can get back no further than my great grandparents.  

Is this Operator Error again?   What am I doing wrong, and how can I correct it?     I am finding information in the USA, but when it comes to tracing people in Europe I am finding NOTHING.    I can understand the problems with trying to understand German, but I can not even find information in English. 

I am pretty frustrated with myself, but I shall continue.  I keep hoping that some information will become known to me and I will be able to continue my research.  Maybe it is because the earliest of my ancestors who arrived came over in 1872 and the latest in 1926.  I haven’t found the mother lode yet, but I am trying. 

5 comments:

  1. Hi Claudia,
    As someone else whose ancestor's were late arrivals to the country, I know it is often difficult to get information from before they got on the boat. It seems like it would be so much easier had they just been on the Mayflower or had another relative done research on them that I could find... but I'm sure if the challenge went away i wouldn't like genealogy so much.

    Have you tried your Family History Center? They have a lot of microfilmed records for European countries. Do you have naturalization records or anything that gives their birth town? I have to go through microfilm, as my ancestors are not too often/never on Ancestry.com, Footnote.com or familysearch.com, etc.

    The newest thing I found if I had a question was to post on my blog the search so far. The tips, hints and even look-ups were amazing and pointed me towards records I know nothing about, such as Canadian land records.

    Good luck on your search and let me know if I can help in any way!!!

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  2. Hi Claudia,
    My family also were late arrivals in Canada. I'm only first generation Canadian on my mother's side and second generation on my father's side. I can't even use the latest census records in Canada as my grandfather only arrived in 1919. Land grants may also be difficult as they mostly rented their land. I have however managed to find my great-grandfather in Ireland, so there is hope!

    I have awarded you the KreativBlogger award and you can pick it up at http://twiginmytree.blogspot.com

    Alana

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  3. Don't give up! When I first started genealogy, I said I would be happy if I could just find out who all my great-grandparents were. A lot of the research taking families back to the 1500s and before is sloppily done and even outright bogus. Many of the inquiries you have placed may not get responses until much later, but may pay off very well. Plus the geneabloggers have a lot of good advice. Those brick walls will give way sooner or later.

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  4. Hi Claudia! I'm really enjoying your blog! Frustration in this hobby is inevitable, I think, but there's bound to be so much to be found if you keep at it. It's so rewarding and you never know where the next piece of info will come from!

    I have chosen you for a KreativBlogger Award . Hope that helps keep your spirits up!

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  5. Frustration is part of genealogy. It makes uncovering even the most mundane fact a joy. No matter how long you research, there will always be more questions, more ancestors to discover. Take breaks but don't give up.

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