Why are Collatoral Families Important?
Saturday June 06 2020
As many of you know, my current project is working on a narrative for my family lines. I want to get to the 3rd generation (ancestor, children, grandchildren) for each one before heading to the next. I am working on the Curtis family (almost done) and the Brooks line is also almost done as R.T. Brooks had done quite a bit for me to use. Alexander, Curry and Conrad are next.
One wonderful thing happened this past month - remember I have been looking into the Curtis 4th gen (before I streamlined my plan) and found this family on the census with "extra" children and wives.
These are people - Sam Curtis' family - I mentioned in an earlier post. So, in more detail, here is what happened…
I found a descendant on Facebook - she (Mimi) is the daughter of one of the children. I found Mimi using an obit of one of her mom's sisters that listed her married name. Her mom, Virginia, is 90 and I called and spoke with her. Virginia and one brother had been sent to work with another family (there turned out to be 10 kids in her family) and had lost all contact with her family. Her brother died in Japan during the Korean War. It was so wonderful to speak with her and hear what had happened and what she knew.
Then I went to Mason Co WV Genealogy FB page and asked if anyone knew the family. One gal replied "I grew up next door and am Jimmy's friend. Here's his phone number!" The phone number was incorrect but, due to some diligence by Mimi, we got the right phone number. Mimi called Jim and left a message and he called his sister, Virginia, a few weeks ago! Here's what Mimi told me:
Well, James called mom today and they had a great conversation. He is making arrangements to come and visit. It is wonderful. They both said they never dreamed after all these years they would find each other. He told mom he loved her and would be calling her often.
Made me cry - it is such a neat off-shoot of my genealogy work that I never thought much about. Since then Jim has made plans to travel to WV in the near future to see Virginia and her family. He plans on bringing their brother-in-law along (someone else she has never met).
It has always frustrated me when people only do their direct lines - no brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc - as it means that so much found in the records can be lost. These collateral families, as well as friends, acquaintances, and neighbors, add not only so much richness to the story but also clues to our direct lines. And who can argue with such a great outcome as this?
While there is so much talk of connections through DNA, you just can't beat the old-fashioned way - looking through records. And I find that Facebook is a great resource as well - especially since so many history groups and societies now have pages. Check these out and also join the historical societies in the area where you are researching. They need the support and are happy to help - I found a marriage record that named parents we had been looking for for decades this way.
One wonderful thing happened this past month - remember I have been looking into the Curtis 4th gen (before I streamlined my plan) and found this family on the census with "extra" children and wives.
These are people - Sam Curtis' family - I mentioned in an earlier post. So, in more detail, here is what happened…
I found a descendant on Facebook - she (Mimi) is the daughter of one of the children. I found Mimi using an obit of one of her mom's sisters that listed her married name. Her mom, Virginia, is 90 and I called and spoke with her. Virginia and one brother had been sent to work with another family (there turned out to be 10 kids in her family) and had lost all contact with her family. Her brother died in Japan during the Korean War. It was so wonderful to speak with her and hear what had happened and what she knew.
Then I went to Mason Co WV Genealogy FB page and asked if anyone knew the family. One gal replied "I grew up next door and am Jimmy's friend. Here's his phone number!" The phone number was incorrect but, due to some diligence by Mimi, we got the right phone number. Mimi called Jim and left a message and he called his sister, Virginia, a few weeks ago! Here's what Mimi told me:
Well, James called mom today and they had a great conversation. He is making arrangements to come and visit. It is wonderful. They both said they never dreamed after all these years they would find each other. He told mom he loved her and would be calling her often.
Made me cry - it is such a neat off-shoot of my genealogy work that I never thought much about. Since then Jim has made plans to travel to WV in the near future to see Virginia and her family. He plans on bringing their brother-in-law along (someone else she has never met).
It has always frustrated me when people only do their direct lines - no brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc - as it means that so much found in the records can be lost. These collateral families, as well as friends, acquaintances, and neighbors, add not only so much richness to the story but also clues to our direct lines. And who can argue with such a great outcome as this?
While there is so much talk of connections through DNA, you just can't beat the old-fashioned way - looking through records. And I find that Facebook is a great resource as well - especially since so many history groups and societies now have pages. Check these out and also join the historical societies in the area where you are researching. They need the support and are happy to help - I found a marriage record that named parents we had been looking for for decades this way.