…trace your ancestor to his death and burial to eliminate persons who have the same names or similar identities. If you use the pedigree chart I designed, I search for death and burial before I look for birth records. It is easier to document the death than the birth in part because there is usually more information available at the time of death.
When you need proof of emigration or immigration, document your ancestor’s death and burial before searching passenger lists. Crossing the ocean to begin a new life is one of the most stressful things your ancestor ever did in his life. Not everyone survived. And families on this side of the ocean may re-build their family creating an identity that will differ dramatically from the family pictured on the passenger list. You need to know what happened to your family after arrival in the U.S.
Linking marriage and birth information as you go back in time is much easier when you work from the known to the unknown–death back to birth. Why not try it on your hard-to-find- ancestor?
Build a profile of the ancestor’s life or a timeline you can test each document against–death back to birth! Your favorite genealogist, Arlene Eakle
http://arleneeakle.com
PS Searching in reverse order is not just a gimmick–it really is a strategy that works!