How can I find out my great grandmother's name?

Question

Is it possible for me to find out who my great grandmother was...I only have my grandmothers name and want to find out who her mother was.......DO you know where I can find this info? If you suggest ancestry.com would I be able to find the info I need?? Thanks in advance for your answers...

Answer 1

Depending on when grandmother was born then you may be able to find the answer through the census returns.

Answer 2

Ancestry.com may have the answer.  You won't know until you do the research.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, there's many ways to go about finding that information and it's difficult to determine the level of success unless you try one of the multiple services that specialize in such.

Try gathering as much information as you can on your own. Check public records. May be you can come up with a birth certificate. Run a few searches on the various search engines available.

There are also services that do DNA matching and so forth.

Your success will probably depend on the amount of time, research, and money you're willing to spend in your pursuit.

Good luck.

Answer 4

If your grandmother is no longer living, you can order a copy of her death certificate.  Death certificates usually include the names of the deceased person's parents... unless the person who filled out the death certificate didn't know their names.  So it's worth a try checking it out.  To order a death certificate, you'll need to know the state and county where your grandmother died, and the date of death (or at least the year).  The records usually cost between $10-25.  This website has information on how to order the records for each State:  http://www.vitalrec.com/

Another option is to order a copy of your grandmother's Social Security Application (again, you can do this only if she's no longer living).  Social Security applications also had a space for parents' names.  To order the record, go to http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ and click on Social Secuirty Death Index, and search your grandmother's name.  When you find her, you'll see a link to the right which says SS-5 Letter.  Just print that out and mail it to the address provided.  The cost is $27.

Some other options:

Your grandmother's obituary might list her parents' names.  Someone in your family may have a copy of it, but if not, you can write to the library in the city where she died and ask if they have newspapers from that date.  A librarian will often look it up for you.

Your grandmother's marriage record may list her parents' names.  If your family doesn't have a copy of it, you can write to the courthouse in the county where she was married and request a copy of the record.

If your mom or dad still has their baby book, take a look inside.  Baby books often have a family tree for the parents to fill out.

Call or write to your relatives. Chances are, someone remembers your great-grandmother's name.

And finally... yes, it's possible that you could find your great-grandmother's name online.  If your grandmother was born before 1930, she should be listed on the 1930 census with her parents.  You'll just need an idea of where they were living in 1930; it will also help if you know some of your grandmother's siblings names, so you can distinguish the family from others who had a daughter with your grandmother's name.

You may even find your grandmother listed in someone's family tree on Ancestry's OneWorldTree, Rootsweb's WorldConnect, or other such databases.  But unless she passed away quite a while ago, it's not likely.  Genealogists are very careful about not posting information about living people (to protect their privacy), and most software programs filter out anyone who might possibly be alive.

Good luck!