Confronting Obstacles and Roadblocks and Using the Internet for DIY Research

curvychristina
Jun 3, 2015
3 min read

During the course of your research, you’re bound to hit some walls. There may be inaccurate records from people being less than honest when filling out their census record or names may have been mispelt. The Census Bureau has collected records every 10 years since 1790; however, a single record cannot capture and relay the entire story of that family member.

Another obstacle that you may run into is when a living family member refuses to talk about their past. They may be worried about a secret they’ve been holding in, or may not be proud of a part of their past. Also, if you are adopted and have very little information to go on, such as only a birth place, it can be really difficult to trace down your ancestry.

Here are six things you can do to help get around roadblocks:

When approaching a family member to talk about their past, take something specific with you such as a photograph or census record, and ask them to tell you about it
Ask specific questions about the home and the neighbors of your family member to encourage the stories to start flowing
Share your research on a website like Ancestry.com and make your tree public so others can help you connect
Reach out on social media to see if anyone can help
Hire a Private Genealogist to help you

Much genealogical research can now be done online and a wealth of information is available at no cost. Instead of rummaging through bins of microfilm, you can simply punch in names and birth dates to start finding information.

Types of records that are searchable online include:

Census records (U.S. Census records are sealed for 72 years, at which time they are publicly available. The 1940 census records were unsealed last year.) UK Census records start at 1840 and go up to 1911. In 2021 the 1921 Census will be available online
Birth, death, and marriage records
Religious records (baptisms, christenings, confirmations, bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs)
Military records and draft records
Land, deed and property records
Voter registrations
Passenger manifests (particularly for ships carrying immigrants)

Some of the most popular online genealogy databases with these records are:

FamilySearch.org: Free | A free searchable archive of genealogical records maintained by the Church of Jesus Chris of Latter Day Saints
MyHeritage.com: Free | Another free database and family tree builder
Ancestry.com: Subscription | Ancestry.com is a subscription service but has significantly more records than FamilySearch.org. A free trial is available.
World Vital Records: Subsription | A competitor of Ancestry.com owned in part by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen that offers access to its archives of 3.6 billion documents for $90 per year. A seven day free trial is available.

These websites not only allow you to find interesting records, but include tools that allow you to build your family tree, collaborate on research and share with others.

There are many detailed guides online designed to help novice genealogical researchers, but here are a few simple tips to help you get started with your search:

If you are trying to build a family tree, start with facts that are known with 100% certainty. Use the known facts about the present and living family members to work backwards in time through generations.
Be skeptical of dates on documents from the 19th century and earlier.
Be aware that data which is transcribed from handwritten records (this includes all currently available census records) may have inaccuracies due to transcription errors. Consult the original documents to affirm accuracy.
In the search forms of genealogical databases, use as much information as you have to ascertain accuracy. For example, a query for “John Smith” would have brought back millions of records and finding the right individual would have been hopeless. With a middle initial, birth year, and specific place of birth, you will be able to identify the right individual with a reasonable degree of certainty.

Lists of births in a family Bible

Don’t limit your search to online databases. Consult family records such as: