Many times when gathering family history, we come across a person who seems to have been left out of all the records.
You start to wonder, were they hiding when the census taker came around? Did they live so remotely even the census folks couldn’t find them?
Sometimes, people had a surname change because of adoption. Sometimes, they spelled the name differently; always use the phonetic SOUNDEX system to search just for the basic root of a name, as spelling variations can stump you. A woman could have had an earlier marriage that could throw you off. Someone could just assume an identity (as was offered in the book/movie “Cold Mountain”). Recently, a friend found that a long-lost kinsman had gone off to the California Gold Rush and died en route. Later on folks went off to the Alaska gold rush.
When I was searching for the L. P. Grant family of Atlanta, they missed the Georgia census because they were on vacation in California. DNA is showing us that more people than we previously knew were informally adopted and raised by other family members, creating a name change. So when looking for a lost ancestor, think of all the possibilities, because they are out there somewhere.
Beginning Genealogy workshop in Decatur
“How to start, where to go, what’s the truth?” is the theme of a beginning genealogy workshop to be held at Decatur’s City Hall October 21 from 9 a.m. until noon, sponsored by the DeKalb History Center (DHC). This columnist will be the speaker and will give three lectures. The first, how to begin doing you genealogy research, followed by a discussion of where to go to do research (besides the Internet) among the many libraries and archives in metro Atlanta. The third lecture will be a discussion of how to determine what’s the truth in a family story or legend. Cost is $20 for DHC members, $25 for nonmembers. Limited to 50 attendees. The registration deadline 5 p.m. on October 19. Register with Fred Mobley at the DeKalb History Center, at mobley@dekalbhistory.org, or call 404-373-1088, ext. 23. The center is open for research by appointment, see dekalbhistory.org for more on the archives and events.
Apprenticeships
Apprentices are often found in British records, but I have found them in North Carolina court records. A good article on the subject is in YourGenealogyToday.com by Ed Storey. There were three reasons: to train young people for a craft skill, for churches to help destitute children with a living/career skill, and for local governments to keep orphans off the public welfare rolls.
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