Question of the Week: What's on your genealogical bucket list? [closed]

Question

Is there anything on your genealogical "bucket list"?

Tell us with an answer below. You can also answer on Facebook or use the question image to share your answer with friends and family on social media. 

Comments

I hope to find the parents of my 3rd great-grandfather Charles Morris and the parents of my husband's great-grandfather Isaac Gravatt.  Finish project for our grandson with documents and pictures of his both his grandfather from WWII and other family members. He will be 10 next month and interested WWII. I am hoping that will give him something to build on for the family research.

Answer 1

To find out my fathers fathers name

Comments

Same for me, Barbara. Good luck and best wishes to both of us  :-)

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You never know. After my father died, my mother told me that my father's family was a mystery and suggested we visit the National Archives to see what we could find. We did, and there was no trace of him. Many years and several mysterious DNA matches later, we found him. He had left home, changed his name, and gone west. We could never have found him without those DNA matches.

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Thank you

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Its always been a mystery my father was never told who his father was his mother and grandmother took it to there graves. I did go 23nme and a person did pop up its been a waiting game for the person to connect with me who ever my fathers father is the person that popped up is my 2nd cousin

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What I do is add any name/dates/locations of the mystery person to a special research Ancestry Family Tree, along with any dates/locations that are attached, and then wait. If I'm lucky, Ancestry will come up with at least one possible match, and then it's pretty easy to build a tree from that. I specify Ancestry because the last I checked, it had twice as many people in its database as any other genealogy program - although MyHeritage has been growing and is becoming a good second source.

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Awesome thank you

Answer 2

Find out who my 2nd great grandfather was. No name on the baptism record, no social security claim that I can find, all I have are 3 DNA connections with the same last name. It's not a very common name on the island so I know they have to be from that line.

Comments

Good luck! I didn't know my 3rd great grandparents, and I looked for them forever with no luck. One day, a guy messaged me and said, "I'm a DNA match to you, but I can't figure out how. I know what family line you fall on though, maybe these links to records will help you out." It had my 2x great grandma, her parents, her siblings, her grandparents, their children, marriage dates, locations and addresses, signatures, etc. It happened so fast, I went from having nothing to more records than I knew what to do with. I hope the same windfall happens to you, it could be just around the corner.

Answer 3

To publish one or more family history books: Tirrells/Tyrrells, Lohses, Gottschalks, Nelsons.

To input as much as I can into WikiTree's One World Tree.

To find my husband's paternal great grandmother's parents.

To figure out my husband's maternal great grandmother's other two husbands (not spouse's great grandfather).

To find more about my maternal great great grandfather's (Lohse) family who were from Chemnitz, Germany/Prussia

Comments

Lynette, I strongly encourage you to pursue the first item on your bucket list.   Publishing my own family history book was an incentive for me to persevere in my genealogy hobby,  I was so delighted when the book was published (2015)!

   One "minus" to the finished printing is that I had plenty of documentation but got tired of citing it all according to standards.  Therefore, my endnotes look sloppy.  So, please don't make this mistake; I don't want you to feel the same emotions I do about my carelessness - laziness.

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Two thumbs up!

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Thank you so much for your encouragement and advice, GlenAlan!

And thank you for your encouragement as well, Scott!

Answer 4

Now that I've broken through the Gullo brick wall, I want to expand that tree.

I also want to fill out the Coppola side. 

Speaking of Coppolas, I also want to do a second cemetery run at St. Patrick's cemetery in Haverhill to see if I can find any Coppolas I might have missed my first run through.

Answer 5

To prove my ggg grandfather's parents, then my gggg gf's parents, using DNA. In the book "History and Genealogy of the Milk-Milks Family", the authors concede that the lists of children per couple are probable, not proven. This had to do with the lack of records found for New York State for the 1700's. From the book, "New York is where genealogy goes to die."

Comments

New York is Where Genealogy Goes to Die

New York, in my case the Finger Lakes region, can be a challenge!

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@George, I feel your pain! At least you're not stuck like a friend of mine: researching small villages in Poland that are no longer there, or a church in Czech Republic that has no records predating 1800...

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New York. Is really tough because town clerks often took the records home with them when their term of office was over.

https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/  Is one source which is good for searching by counties.  

Answer 6

I would like to find records to confirm who I think is one of my paternal 3x great grandmothers.

Find the maiden name of a maternal 3x great grandmother.

Connect my 2x great grandfather to his Scottish roots. I have found his father and some siblings in England but have not found the connection in Scotland.

Find my husband's 2x great grandfather who was from Ireland. He went back there to visit and died while there - we don't know where and cannot find records of his family.

Answer 7

I'd like to compile my research into the Grismore family into a book or several books. Realistically, I think it would have to be two or three volumes. Once it was complete, I'd like to contact as many cousins as I can and provide them copies of it. First cousins, 4th cousins, 9th cousins... it doesn't matter, I'd try to contact them all. I'd also like to donate copies to libraries and historical societies. The more places and people who had a copy, the better.

Comments

Great goal. Perhaps you could start with short stories and build a mailing list of cousins which in turn would help with the final volumes?

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That's good thinking! I have a small mailing list already, but I know it pales in comparison to the one I'm going to have to build. I figure I'm years away from reaching my goal (If I'm lucky), so that'll be enough time to build up a huge list.

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Two thumbs up Trevor!  A fantastic and meaningful goal.

Answer 8

To trace the journey of the Oldroyd's from Yorkshire England to Salt Lake City and/or to Australia.

Answer 9

All I want right now is a tiny bit of enthusiasm from my family when I share an interesting fact about our ancestors with them!

All I get is a blank stare, and a grunt. Oh yes, I heard “if you say so” from a cousin.

My immediate family is small so there doesn’t appear to be anyone who is interested in picking up the banner when I pass away…

Comments

I feel you about small immediate family and no one that seems to care. Yeah, it hurts.

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Susan, this is a problem for me as well. Relatives listen, sometimes with interest, but usually with a chuckle. My designated successor, who has agreed to curate the family archive (a large collection of photos and documents), shows no interest in WikiTree and keeps track of some of our large network of cousins on Facebook. This is not bad, but it would be nice to have their participation on this forum.

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I told my mom about a cousin in Portugal I got in touch with who was giving me lots of information about one of our family branches. She looked at me amazed and said: "And he's interested in genealogy as well? What are the odds?". She certainly meant: "How on earth did you manage to find another weirdo like you in the same family?" So, basically, you're not alone Susan.

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When you pass away if no one is interested in your research be sure you donate it to a Genealogy Library, they would love to have it. Then it is available to others later researching that family.

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I think that many of us here know exactly what you are talking about.  It is interesting to say the least, that my kids, my grandkids, and brothers and sisters etc are not really that interested in genealogy.  I ran my own website Lee and Miller Genealogy for several years complete with sources and photos for some I forget, 70 related families, notable cousins etc. and they weren't inspired, also a Ancient Ancestor group page for sometime on Facebook, not much interest there either.  I think that the best thing to do is what Trevor (above) is doing.  Write it all down and make sure some family members have a copy.  I know that I really appreciate a certain cousin from the turn of the century who did that.  It is the copy that got me interested after I retired from my career!  Keep up the great work for someone will use your research one day.  That is what I believe!

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Don't give up. I new family member could come along. For now just enjoy doing it for you.

Answer 10

Like most of the others, mine is to break through a brick wall:

Salome (Unknown) Coon 

She is at https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-556428

Answer 11

To break through this brick wall: https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Amon-234&public=1

Answer 12

My goal is to build a profile on WikiTree for all of my ancestors and their immediate family. I’d like to share my research with others and learn about distant cousins.

Comments

Two thumbs up!  More if I had'em!

Answer 13

As I've written elsewhere, it would be:

• To prove that the Weddington families originating in Kentucky / Virginia are related to each other (my current theory). Will require DNA testing.
• To prove that the Weddington family originating in North Carolina is not related to the Kentucky / Virginia Weddington families (my current theory). Will also require DNA testing.
• Break through the brick wall on my Weddington lineage. It dead ends with no reliable hint.

Answer 14

Photos!!!!  As far back as I can. I'm so in love with this.

Comments

Two thumbs up!

Answer 15

To find Billey sterlin and his people. Seems they were either in Alabama or Georgia, 1870s then Mississippi and Tennessee. Never set still !!

Comments

A lot of drifting after the Civil War. Actually, it began before then. When the soil wore out, they picked up and moved, usually westward. One of my 3x great-aunts writes in 1851 encouraging her relatives to come out to east Texas.

Answer 16

I would like to be able to find my Lovelace family in England. They sent me this doll about 1951. My grandmother took me to the photography studio, where they hand colored two 8" x 10" copies. She mailed one copy back to England. I would love to know about my Lovelace ancestors, as for now they are a brick wall. 

Comments

You look adorable wow Alexis thank you for sharing this wonderful photo

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Susan, thank you for your sweet comment. I feel that it is likely that my 3rd great grandfather may have returned to England. There is some reason why my family stayed close to their family in England, and I wish I could find the connection.

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Two thumbs up!

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Scott, thank you for your nice comment!

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Alexis,

My Grandmother was a Nelson , I'm not sure why this stuck in my mind, but I happened to notice there were several Lovelace's in Dorset, England. Also is it possible that the spelling could have varieties? Like Loveless?

[[Pullum-11]]

Answer 17

I know who my 5xgg is &  almost certain who the sixth is in Somerset, England. All i hope for now is a connection, which i know is there, to my Sweet line in Devon & Cornwall.

Comments

Hi, Kevin - I have some Sweeting / Sweeten /Sweeton from around Maryland, in the 1700's, on my Mom's side.

I have 1 Sweet in my Dad's side -Margaret Sweet 1505-1566 who marr. John Clarke /Clark 1503-1559.  A side note: There was a Sweet in my small home town. He is the father of Phil Sweet (the blond guy) in the music group "Little Big Town".  I know all the relatives on both sides of his family - but have never met him.  Bob Cole, in ILL.

Answer 18

My general "bucket list" is full of places I would still like to visit (despite the fact that I'm already well traveled). One of those places is to spend time in the Family History Library. I have been to Salt Lake. It's probably the cleanest city I've ever been in.

Comments

Cool!  When I started this great hobby, every time we traveled in the states I included a stop along the way where my ancestors lived.  You have most likely done that as well, but for those who haven't, I suggest you take that trip, like someone here once said, "there was a special feeling when I stood near her grave...."  or place where they lived.  There is a special reward for those who care!  SLC is clean and was when I lived there back in the 50's!  We just spent some time there two years ago and had a fantastic time!  Go for it!

Answer 19

I have 2 things that I really want to get done in my lifetime.

First, I want to find proof of exactly when and where my Maternal 3x-GreatGrandmother actually died.  I have a variety of information, but nothing specific or narrowed down.

Second, I want to find more information on my Paternal 3x-GreatGrandfather.  For him, the first thing I want to find is a document showing how he got to America from Scotland, not just a census record.  Second, a DOD and place.

Answer 20

For years I have been trying to trace my grandfather Alexander Duffus Horne who went out to buy a packet of cigarettes in 1927 or 28 in Glasgow, Scotland and never returned home. He was born on the 8th of February 1888 in Aberdeen but he emigrated to Canada as a young man before returning to the UK to serve in the first world war. There he met my grandmother who emigrated with him back to Canada after the war. I know that he applied for US citizenship before they returned to Scotland in 1924. He had family in Canada,  Australia and New Zealand and I have been told that he spent time in Chile as a young man. To date I have been unable to find any indubitable evidence of his life or death after 1924. The search is complicated by the fact that there were many Alexander Horn(e)'s from the Aberdeen area of a similar age and indeed my great grandfather shared exactly the same name with his son. Any assistance in my search would be most gratefully received!