Why the constant dead ends?

Question

I have been trying for many VERY frustrating years to put together a family tree. I always, ALWAYS dead end with my grandparents on both sides. I've found little to know information on Ancestry,My Family tree, Heritage Family tree and a vast many others.

What am I doing wrong?

Comments

Welcome to WikiTree Lin :D The list of sources you have checked, look to be mainly websites for family trees, and it is possible that no one in your family has done any genealogy research yet.  A place to start your research would be census records, marriage, death etc for your grandparents. Family Search is an excellent resource for those records link: https://familysearch.org/search/.  A marriage record will likely give names of their parents and you can use that to search for them on census records and build your tree branches.

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This says that your great-grandfather registered for the draft in WW1. He was in Duval Florida, born Aug 10 1880, and has a tidbit "relat. lives Coolidge GA"

http://files.usgwarchives.net/fl/duval/military/1917arna.txt

You dad's aunt Mary Fairley had a son, and grandchildren, perhaps they can help you? http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timesunion/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=140693484

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Here is you dad's first cousin's obituary, obits are useful as they list the surviving family members as well as their cities or towns. Most of the kids will be on facebook, yuo might be able to find them there and communicate with them them through the messaging system.

http://news.herald-dispatch.com/obituaries/index.php?id=36866221

Answer 1

Let me help a bit.Give me one name,and info you have on them,born,died,

where lived ,who married.Whatever you know.Children they had.

Wayne R. Morgan 5487 Wiki Tree

Comments

And don't forget country. Some sites have more on one country than another. FamilySearch is the place to start.

Answer 2

I note you have your last name as Woods but your father as a Bales?  If you were born as a Bales but go by your mother's name of Woods you should change your LNAB (Last Name at Birth to Bales and you current name as Woods.  Otherwise it looks like you should be approved as a full member soon and you should be able to check to see if there are relatives already here and there are always people here to see if they can find ways to help you.

Answer 3

Lin, I looked at your profile and see that you were born in the 80's. My guess is you are running up against the privacy restrictions.and that if you are in the US your grandparents may not have been born in time for the 1940 census which is the latest one available.

Can you get your parents' marriage certificates, birth certificates, social security applications? If they are still alive will they get full copies of them for you? After that I would try for your grandparents marriage certificates. Will other members of your extended family help with getting these? Also try to get certs of aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.

It's not going to be easy because of the privacy restrictions.

Answer 4

This looks like your grandfather in the 1930 census:

Name:	John D Bales
Birth Year:	abt 1923
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Birthplace:	Florida
Marital Status:	Single
Relation to Head of House:	Son
Home in 1930:	Jacksonville, Duval, Florida
Map of Home:	View Map
Street address:	Edgewood Ave
Dwelling Number:	147
Family Number:	148
Attended School:	Yes
Able to Read and Write:	No
Father's Birthplace:	Georgia
Mother's Birthplace:	Florida
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age Robert M Bales 49 Myrtle Bales 30 John D Bales 7 Mary V Bales 6 Katherine J Bales 2 [2 11/12]

 

Source Citation

Year: 1930; Census Place: Jacksonville, Duval, Florida; Roll: 314; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0062; Image: 895.0; FHL microfilm: 2340049

Comments

Aha, the cavalry has arrived.  Lin, when you see Doug Lockwood or Frank Gill posting on your question, you have the dynamic duo when it comes to getting the sources flowing!

Answer 5

Grandparents divorce:

Name:	Johnnie D Bales
Gender:	Male
Spouse's Name:	Elizabeth Ann Bales
Divorce Date:	1952
Divorce Place:	Bradford, Florida, USA
Certificate Number:	87

 

Source Information

Florida Department of Health. Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001. Jacksonville, FL, USA: Florida Department of Health.

Answer 6

Great Grandparents in the 1920 census:

Name:	Robert M Bales
Age:	39
Birth Year:	abt 1881
Birthplace:	Georgia
Home in 1920:	Monterief, Duval, Florida
Street:	Kings Road-Grand Park North
House Number:	X
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Mytle Bales
Father's Birthplace:	Georgia
Mother's Birthplace:	Georgia
Able to Speak English:	Yes
Occupation:	Engineer
Industry:	Rail Road
Employment Field:	Wage or Salary
Home Owned or Rented:	Rent
Able to Read:	Yes
Able to Write:	Yes
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age Robert M Bales 39 Mytle Bales 20

 

Source Citation

Year: 1920; Census Place: Monterief, Duval, Florida; Roll: T625_219; Page: 22A; Enumeration District: 74; Image: 204