The Young and the Restless - MESSAGE BOARDS

Quote phattpatt: Thanks All!

O.T.

Anyone researching their Ancestry? Any genealogy Buffs? The 1940 census will be released on Monday. I can not wait. Anyway, have a fantastic Saturday!

Quote Blue 501:

Welcome to the board and wow! You sure have my attention! I am totally insane about genealogy and history. I spend hours a day looking for my far flung cousins. Most of the lines of my family were here by the early 1700's & some earlier so there must be millions of us by now. I have found 14,100. I did the framework by hand, poring over crumbling original documents at the Archives many decades ago but am now using the online records to fill in the branches & twigs.
It has been frustrating to not have info after 1930 except death records. Do you know if Ancestry will have the 1940 census? Thanks.

Quote phattpatt:


Wow... I am so jealous. You got far! Lucky... Being that I am African American... It is hard to locate anything before 1860... due to slavery. Yes Ancestry will have the 1940 census up. Another good free site is Familysearch.org..

Your welcome... I have to remember you so we can share our Ancestry progress!

Quote Blue 501:

Yes, you do have an additional challenge in finding the early records. I know a few African Americans who have had good luck getting back past 1860 but they knew exactly where to look.
I found a long slip of blue stationery in an estate settlement from Jones County dated just before the Civil War that contained the first names of all the slaves. Then I looked in the 1870 census and found some of them, by their distinctive first names, & ages, living nearby. None of them had taken the plantation owner's name but did have surnames. I have not taken it further but if anyone out there had connections to the Gillette family in Jones County, NC, I might be able to help.
If you know what county and state, and can find your ancestors in the 1870 census, you might be able to find something more in the estate settlements and in the court records. You might have to physically go there though, or at least to the Archives in that state. Not everything is online, unfortunately.
I share some of your frustration. One of my grandfathers represents a big blank area. His father sent him to Florida to live with an older couple and I have never been able to find a thing about him. It is if he dropped from the skies. The few things he told the family just do not match.
Also, I am pretty sure I have Indian ancestors from the 18th century and will probably never find the proof. I have some tantalizing clues but they were shut out of the system & only survive as DNA in some English colonial families.
Good luck with your search and if I can help in any way I would be glad to. I have been searching records for over 40 years.

Quote grammylove: Hi Blue - regardng the Indian ancestry: I did my husband's genealogy first, mostly because he was always told he was 1/8th Cherokee & I thought that was terribly interesting. I found nothing, but I was told by a seasoned genealogy lady that although many men took Indian wives they often didn't want to disclose it to census takers. A few wive's first names seemed as though they might be other than caucasian, but I could go no further. Very disappointed.

Patt, good luck with your search, & please do share when you find something exciting.

Quote phattpatt:

Yes, it is a challenge, but I am up for the task... It is a good thing my mother has a pretty good memory.. I have found at least 4 greats and that's pretty good. I am hoping that the 1940 Census holds some secrets that I can uncover!

I wish I lived in Dallas Texas or Jackson Mississippi... That is where my mom and dad family are.. It would be great to look in the court house archives and the libraries!

I am looking for The Thompson's Thomas' Bass' and Johnson's ... Yeah I know... another hurdle for me... Oh well

Thanks for the words of encouragement!