Have you hit your brick wall? Let go of what you “know”
Frequently, I’m approached from others about their brick wall. Just in the past few months…
…A family looking for their grandfather who died in Ohio in February 1913. I found he was murdered in Kentucky in November 1914 while betting a watch on a game of cards.
…Two separate families for information on Rose who had five children, all by different fathers in the 1890’s. I found three of the fathers; still looking for the other two.
…Several families looking for the father of two children, born to a woman in the 1860’s whose husband was tried, convicted, and hanged. Contrary to public belief, the father never hanged; one of the children was his and the other was adopted.
…A LOT of families with their brick wall about Stephen Farmer (1766-a.1840), progenitor of Harlan County, Kentucky. I can trace his roots all the way to 1066. Yes, that’s ten sixty-six.
They all have a common theme: holding on to what you “know.” How many times do you convince yourself because “family history is…” or “this genealogy book has…” or the worst culprit of “everyone says…”? Here’s another personal favorite: “Families stayed in one spot, so it can’t be XXX because they’re living in YYY…”
Sometimes, you need to let go of what you know… not completely, just enough so you do not limit your search or neglect what was always true. It may require you to continually ask “what if…?” or “is it possible that…?” Family history is that Rose’s daughter married a sheriff. Actually, her father was sheriff, but knowing/keeping that tidbit helped.
And Stephen… Almost every family tree has John as his father which can be traced back to two genealogy books as early as 1966, yet can be refuted with DNA and good digging. His ancestors lived a fascinating life, and while we can’t yank the wrong books off of the shelf, I wrote one to correct it. More info at www.philipalanfarmer.com.
Now back to finding those two missing fathers…