Fast Forward in the Records

Sometimes we become so locked into tracing back in time we forget there is also a forward to these records. For example, if your Irish ancestor immigrated in the 1870s to the United States, we tend to think our immigration search should be in the 1870s. However, what if your ancestor some 30 years later went back and forth too Canada visiting relatives. This places your immigration search in the 1890s. It may actually be in the 1890s border crossing records you find the clues identifying where the family was from in Ireland.

Ancestors Often Traveled

The same holds true with a passport record. We often tend to think the Irish never went back to Ireland. Many actually did for whatever reason. After spending a decade or two in America, they often had expendable income to afford travel. So fast forward your research by a couple of decades and look at the passports and passenger’s list. If you don’t already know where your family was from in Ireland, these late nineteenth and early twentieth century records will help.

Ancestors Didn’t Sit on the Farm Doing Nothing

Newspapers can fast forward your research. In rural areas, where news was hard to come by, newspapers would mention anniversaries, people visiting from out of town, locals who were visiting relatives elsewhere, and just about anything else considered “local” news. These odd ball entries can lead you to lost relatives, former residences and provide other clues which may help in your research.

In using this approach think in terms that your ancestors had lives and didn’t stay on the farm 24 hours a day. They were out and about doing their business. Yet, this “business” may document them a decade of more after they settled on the farm.

Seeing Old Records as a School Abacus

Think of records as an old school abacus we used as kids to learn arithmetic. The beads go this way and then they go that way on a wire. Back and forth as if there is not a difference between the beginning and end. Then you can see the old records in a new light.

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