I've hit my reveal of "brickwalls" in the investigation of my own family tree. What I've discovered is our ancestors were much more mobile than we actually thought. To help you in your search for missing ancestors and the "lacking links" that'll solve your genealogy mysteries I am sharing the methods that have led to locating persons you may be thinking were lifeless or never relied on community records.
1. State Lines: The US was a rapidly building place beginning in the 19th century. Geographical features occasionally blurred where one county began and national archives and records administration another finished and at other times areas were included as governmental districts were reassessed and areas were integrated or expanded. Long lasting reason don't write off the potential that the ancestor may possibly take an alternative state than expected or that documents may possibly exist in multiple counties.
Idea: Try neighboring counties and greater areas that may have grown in distant counties. I came across multiple ancestor relied twice (and in two various counties) on the census records!
2. Migration: It's known from even grade school record courses that there is a tremendous migration to the western United Claims and territories. When an ancestor goes lacking from the records it's a great exercise to try looking in the files of adjacent claims or just opened territories. Learning when territories were exposed for homesteading and wherever land was presented with for military service also helps in investigating evasive ancestors.
Hint: Use Wikipedia to locate times counties were formed, territories were exposed, and when claims were granted statehood.
3. Reverse Migration: An avenue of ancestry research that's usually neglected is reverse migration-when the land wasn't best for farming or the situations were also harsh, or homesickness became too much, our ancestors sometimes went home or returned to the East. My own beloved case may be the 1860 Census of Lee State, VA. The census taker not just was careful about listing the delivery state of every resident, but in addition shown their birth county. The number of individuals born in Eastern Tennessee to parents who were natives of Lee State is fascinating.
Suggestion: Do not exclude individuals of related names but born in different claims as you possibly can kin to your ancestors. See your face born in Missouri who shows on a Virginia census can be a missing connection!
4. Touring: We shouldn't assume that traveling began with the invention the large jet! I've found ancestors in New York resorts and on ship manifests sometimes going to or returning from visits abroad. An ancestor's occupation might have needed travel. For example I discovered persons selected to political company living much at home in Washington, DC. I discovered one family who seemed to possess faded on a UK Census!
Suggestion: Even when you're persuaded an ancestor was a non-traveling farmer, research line crossings, vessel passenger lists, and also foreign census records-you may be in for quite a surprise!
5. Civil War: The War Between the Claims was the initial war which triggered a significant modify in many of our ancestors'locations. Soldiers were transferred from North to South, and South to North, and in one part of the country to another. Crops were destroyed alongside livelihoods creating families to go from homesteads. The African-american American citizenry comprised largely of lately separated slaves, were first enumerated by name on the 1870 census after several had left the plantations where they lived ahead of the War. I discovered one ancestor from Tennessee who was simply caught by the Union military in the North and stayed there following his release.
Suggestion: When studying an ancestor who offered in the Civil Conflict be sure to look at their date and place of launch as it could be a concept to where they could have slept after the War.
Do not provide up. With perseverance you will discover who you are searching for where you least expect to locate them.