Almost two years ago I participated in a genographic survey [1, 2]. The survey, conducted by the National Geographic Society and IBM, involved the use of DNA testing. The focus was not on the individual but rather large-scale migration patterns out of Africa some 50 to 100 thousand years ago. This data placed my ancestors in the Turingia/Saxony area of Germany about 5 to 10 thousand years ago. What is interesting about this is that these ancestors arrived there so long ago and remained there.
So, what happened between then and now? To fill that gap requires tracing backwards in time from what I know today. Not that I expect to go back 5 thousand years.
I’m lucky in that I have a good starting point. I’ve known my grandparents on both sides of my family and many of their siblings. I’ve been to my father’s home town and found information there. I have my grandmother’s collection that includes some documents and photographs she kept.
But what initiated this round of investigation was my Dad arriving at Christmas with a stack of photo albums. From those I digitized nearly 200 pictures, for the most part, taken between about 1908 and 1960.
I have spent the last week scouring the web for information. The investigation started off with a search on the term genealogy. With that I came across a number of sites, some summarized below.
These sites have offered a lot of data: dates, places, events. But gaps remain. For these I will likely have to undertake a physical search for records. That phase I will plan out and then execute during our planned trip to Germany next May.
Beyond the base data there are other contextual data to find. What did my ancestors do? This will require a different approach requiring a different plan yet to be formulated.
I have kept track of many of the sites in my public bookmarks, published under Genealogy. But some of the key ones are:
This site includes the passenger list of all or most ships arriving in New York between 1892 and 1924. Here I found the entry dates for my paternal grandfather, grandmother, my maternal grandmother and various great aunts and uncles. To date I have not found my maternal grandfather although I think I have found 3 of his brothers and his parents.
Library and Archives Canada: Immigration Records 1925-1935
This site includes the entry records for those arriving between 1925 and 1935. Here I found the entry dates for my father, uncle and grandparents into Canada.
The National Archives: World War II Enlistment Records
This site includes the enlistment records for those joining the US Armed Forces between 1938 and 1945. Here I found my uncle’s enlistment record.
This site maintains a record of those who were killed in action, and where they are buried. This is where I found my uncle’s information.
This site can be seen as a portal providing access to both publicly (free) and privately (subscription) held information. Access to this site requires a subscription. In addition to providing access to the information above, it includes: census data, newspaper articles, birth certificates, marriage certificates, obituaries etc. As well it provides a networking capability allowing one to contact others doing the search.
The major inhibitor is the lack of complete information. For example, obituaries are only available for certain states and/or over certain periods of time. Information outside the US is very scant. I will quickly find and consume what is relevant to me.
My next steps are to consolidate and organize the information I have gathered.
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