What are some other resources I can use to find my ancestors if nothing is coming up on ancestry.com?

Question

My paternal grandfather's parents seem to have dropped in Texas out of nowhere, because I can't find any record of their families, and my grandfather doesn't have much information to share about them. I'd really like to get past my great-grandparents on my family tree, I just don't know where to turn now.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Answer 1

You have some good answers.

It is according to what you are trying to find.

If you are trying to find family tree with your paternal grandfather, he might not be on any of them if someone in your family on that side hasn't done the tree and submitted it.

You shouldn't take as absolute fact everything see in family trees on Ancestry.Com or ANY website, free or paid.

The info is user submitted and mostly not documented or poorly documented.  You might see different info from different subscribers on the same people. Then you will see repeatedly the same info from different subscribes on the same people.  That is no guarantee at all it is correct.  A lot of people copy without verifying.

Don't know when your paternal great grandparents were born or died.  Clayton Library in Houston can furnish you copies death certificates on persons on the Bureau of Vital Statistics Death Index from 1903 to 1976 for $3. Death certificates normally have the names of both parents including mother's maiden name.

Answer 2

this is the website i use

www.genesreunited.co.uk

lynn

Answer 3

I think that posting the information in the form of a question is a better bet than e-mailing people individually.  This forum can yield 5 or 6 answers to a question, with each one providing different information.  There are quite a few of us regulars from Texas so iIm fairly confident that with the talent pool here, you have a good chance of getting  some good answers.  Post names, places, and dates as much as you  know to get the best results.  Cheers!!

Answer 4

If you want to email their names to me, the town in Texas, and when they were dropped by aliens, I'd be happy to snoop around for you.

Answer 5

You should start by asking all your living relatives about family history.  Then, armed with that information, you can go to your public library and check to see if it has a genealogy department.  Most do nowadays; also, don't forget to check at community colleges, universities, etc.  Our public library has both www.ancestry.com and www.heritagequest.com free for anyone to use (no library card required).

Another place to check out is any of the Mormon's Family History Centers.  They allow people to search for their family history (and, NO, they don't try to convert you).

A third option is one of the following websites:

http://www.searchforancestors.com/...

http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=2739...

http://www.usgenweb.com/

http://www.census.gov/

http://www.rootsweb.com/

http://www.ukgenweb.com/

http://www.archives.gov/

http://www.familysearch.org/

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/...

http://www.cyndislist.com/

http://www.geni.com/

Cyndi's has the most links to genealogy websites, whether ship's passenger lists, ancestors from Africa, ancestors from the Philippines, where ever and whatever.

Of course, you may be successful by googling: "john doe, born 1620, plimouth, massachusetts" as an example.

Good luck and have fun!

Check out this article on five great free genealogy websites:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

There are lots more sites, etc., as well as so many books, periodicals, etc.

Answer 6

post the names and dates of what you are trying to find.

There are times when ancestry HAS the info.. but it can be in how you are utilizing it.

The more specific you can be with a question.. the better your odds of getting real help.