Narva, Greeno/Greenough, Larson genealogy

Question

these are family names and i've been having one h**l of a time trying to get any kinda info on my ancesters...... not exactly easy with those last names....... i know my grandpa narva was in the military in WWII but haven't found anything about that...... any help would be MOST appreciated!!!!! PEACE :D

Answer 1

Bronco, my main advice is to stop looking for surnames. I mean,if your dad is a Smith, you SURE are not going to be looking at every Smith in the world, for MAYBE some clue.  

What you want to think in terms of, is EXACT persons, and records about that exact person and relatives.  And, the way to find that, is through records. You start with yourself, and "prove" your parentage.. using your birth certificate. Next, "prove" who your grandparents were, again with valid documents (birth/death certs, obits, family pics, funeral home records, tombstones, military records, blah blah).

If grandpa is James Miller.. you know he had a child who is your parent. With his records, you will learn that he was born maybe 1943 in Joplin, Missouri. You only will be looking for records for Miller in Joplin, in the 1940s.. not ones in other places. As you get back further, you will find that records open up. Recent records are normally confidential.

Let's say you are looking for a complete Narva family tree. Why assume that there is one? or if there is, it may not be online. Instead, your own history is built one PERSON at a time, and as you go, you connect the dots. And each person is several different facts and records.

Once you get to 1930 and before.. you'll get into the census, which (US) goes back to 1790. That will be your roadmap. Caution.. only ancestry.com has the whole thing, and not free. If your local library has it, you can use it there. Grandpa's military info (dates) is probably there as well. Once you have that info, try for his obit to see if it includes reference. You can order his military file, once you have full identifying info, but again, that will cost.  It will be worth it. His unit MIGHT have a website online with background history.

Trust the gray old lady. When you start asking SPECIFIC facts (names/dates/places), you open the doors.