So I was searching ancestry.com for information about Mosella Dodson, Solomon Koonce's and Amy's oldest daughter. I knew where Mosella lived in 1870 and 1880 because I had found it on the census transcribed on Tennessee's genweb page. That page's webmaster, Natalie Huntley, has done a fabulous job with Dyer and Crockett Counties. For some reasons, however, my great-great-great aunt has never surfaced in any of my searches on ancestry.com even though I narrowed and broadened the search parameters.
This was extremely frustrating but while I was tearing my hair out I discovered a few great tricks on ancestry.com. It was a good thing too because I was nearly ready to give up on site.
First of all, let me acknowledge that ancestry.com is great for viewing the original documents--if you can locate your ancestors first, of course. It is easier on the eyes than actually looking at the microfilm.
Lately I have tried a new tact on locating relatives, a sort of sideways search. It has proved very fruitful, at least at finding living relatives. I clicked on the link that leads to other persons researching the same names that I am researching. So far it has yielded two cousins--one I knew and one I didn't. I've emailed them both and they responded. It is a wonderful tool because hopefully the other person may have data that I don't. Plus it is wonderful finding another cousin who is as addicted to genealogy as I am. Two heads better and all that.
The third thing I found on a whim. Ancestry.com has a link that will tell you if you are related to somebody famous. I never expected to find anybody but lo and behold and I found several somebodies, the most exciting one being Audrey Hepburn! I have always been a fan of hers. I think she was the epitome of class. And now I find she was my distant cousin. In fact, I found so many famous ancestors that I will have to write about it in a separate blog.
Using these two new links have slowed down my hair-pulling. Both are definitely worth a look see.
4 comments:
where is the link to tell you if you're related to someone famous? I must have missed that!
It's on your family tree page on the lower right hand side. Once you click on a person in your family tree, the link will appear on that data page. That means you have to have a family tree on ancestry.com, of course.
Ancestry is definitely a good place to get in touch with fellow researchers/distant relatives. Another way you can get in touch is through the Correction/Comment function; I have had people get in touch with me and I have contacted people who have posted these corrections and comments. It was very helpful.
I have a subscription to Ancestry and never saw that link. I will have to peruse it because I do have three family trees I also have found cousins there.
First time visiting your blog, I like it. I was glad to find someone has the same questions as I.
http://claudiasgenealogyblog.blogspot.com/
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