Finding the past is an exciting adventure. Not until we visit the old homeplace or search through tombstones do we realize how our bold and hardworking families built a community in that very spot! The past may not be entirely visible, but it is not gone. We visualize the chores and hardships of the farmer’s family and the footprint that it left on accomplishments and progress. Throughout the ages mankind has struggled with his existence, and although he is vaguely remembered for the communities that he built and the wars that he fought, our heritage goes even back into time. From the middle ages to the 19th and 20th centuries, human sacrifices were made on the seas of immigration, in Indian battles, and major wars. Many people recall an Irish or Scottish heritage. Yet, they do not realize the full context of persecution and starvation suffered by thousands of families before they ventured across the seas to the colonies that became known as America.
Genealogy Tips by Jeannette Holland Austin
- Volumes of passenger lists are online on virginiapioneers.net, those records can never been complete. The reason is sinking ships and passenger lists that did not survive the times. Nonetheless,, if we search diligently in county records, written books, cemeteries, church records, bibles, etc. the probability exists in connecting some data. Because families traveled together on frontier trails, they also intermarried and shared the wilderness country. This reality should prompt the researcher to write down the names of witnesses on documents, adjoining neighbors on tax digests, and tombstones in the “old part” of the cemetery.
- The old wills and estates are formulated according to years, such as 1750-1780. They represent a body of the old neighborhood…the friends, relatives and neighbors of their ancestors..
- One should also consider reading history books published in earlier time periods, such as the late 1800s and early 1900s. The reason is the author was nearer to the time period in question.
The real secret of success is to get started. There is much to be learned about your families, and it is actual research in a variety of records that reveals exciting and wondrous family stories!
