"Margie" <margie92@earthlink.net> wrote: > Here's an unusual method of searching that has surprisingly resulted > in finding 2 ancestors (my grandfather's sister, and my > grandmother's brother) for me recently. Shoot, forget how you found them. I'm more interested in how your grandmother's brother and sister became your ancestors! <g> I think for older persons, I would go FIRST to the Social Security Index and, if not found there, then to the birthday site. The latter, I think, has some large gaps. Regards, Richard Pence "Richard A. Pence" <richardpence@pipeline.com>

> > Here's an unusual method of searching that has surprisingly resulted > > in finding 2 ancestors (my grandfather's sister, and my > > grandmother's brother) for me recently. > > > > "Margie" <margie92@earthlink.net> > > Shoot, forget how you found them. I'm more interested in how your > grandmother's brother and sister became your ancestors! <g> > > I think for older persons, I would go FIRST to the Social Security > Index and, if not found there, then to the birthday site. The > latter, I think, has some large gaps. > > "Richard A. Pence" <richardpence@pipeline.com> Richard, I agree that if someone is looking for an older relative, check the Social Security Death Index. I've found a wealth of information there. But in both cases, I was looking for a specific relative whom, I had been recently told, WAS STILL ALIVE. That's why I looked for his birthdate, which would also give me his zip code. My aim was to call him and ask him some questions about his parents (my great-grandparents.) As for the ancestral relationship--you're right, I did not find direct line ancestors, since they were my grandparents' siblings. But whenever you find the record of a lateral relative (aunt, uncle, etc...) there's potential for finding valuable information that does apply to your direct line. Ummm... just for the sake of brevity, I wasn't detailing the ancestral relationship in my prior posting. My focus in the posting was on the method. And now, the long story... My great-grandfather, Lionel GAGNON, died in 1970 in Worcester. I went to the library and checked the newspaper archives, but was not able to find Lionel's obit, for whatever reason. Lionel was the father of my maternal grandmother, Elsie. I wanted more information about him, so I was trying to track down his son (my grandmother's brother, Edward), to interview. It turns out Edward had passed away in 2002--information I found using the previously discussed method. Specifically, here's what I did: The birthdate site said Edward's birthdate was August 1924, which I estimated to be just about right, using the 1930 census record. So I had a good idea that was him. The zip code was for Lowell, Mass. That's what I was looking for--a location. At the time of his sister's obituary in 1992, Edward was living in Nashua, N.H. At the time of his mother's obit, in 1960, Edward resided in Chicago. Anyway, using the www.411.com site, I looked for Edward GAGNON in Lowell, but didn't find a listing. So, I thought I'd check the SSDI records, now that I had enough information to know approximately what location he would have been if he died recently. I found him in the SSDI records. (Keep in mind, Richard, my aunt had informed me that Edward GAGNON--her uncle--WAS STILL ALIVE, but she didn't know where he lived. So I was looking for a living relative to interview.) I found an online newspaper for Lowell, which had free archives available. And...using Edward's obituary, I was able to get valuable information about his parents, Lionel GAGNON & Ellen DUCHARME, who ARE my direct line ancestors. And, knowing Edward was born in Worcester, in 1924, I now know where to look for Lionel & Ellen during that era. (All of Edward's other siblings were born in New Hampshire.) Similar story for the other "find". But I'll spare you the details. I'll try to make my postings more clearer the next time. Margie "Margie" <margie92@earthlink.net>