In a message dated 10/1/98 10:58:25 AM Pacific Daylight Time, Gavials@aol.com writes: << I am at my wits end. I have no living relatives other than my two brothers. My father had done some research and it was all lost when his house burned. My father did not have a birth certificate. His military records do not mention his parents. I have posted to more lists than I can count, no luck. I have checked the SSDI and my grandparents aren't there either. I contacted the county where I think my grandparents are buried, and still no luck. All I have to go on is their names. What other information is available on my father that I haven't tried? Thanks for any direction! Vance >> Vance, When you run into brick walls like this it can be very frustrating. I think we have all been there! What has always worked for me in this situation is to start at the beginning and use the tried and true basic genealogy techniques. 1. Get your birth certificate. 2. Try to locate a copy of both your parents' birth, marriage and death certificates, if applicable. 3. Locate copies of all of your siblings birth, marriage and death certificates. 4. Get copies of all the military records for your father, uncles, grandfather, etc. 5. Write for copies of the Social Security SS5 applications for your parents, yourself and siblings and your uncles and grandparents. 6. Look for birth, marriage and obitiuary notices in newspapers. 7. Find any family friends, neighbors, employers or fellow employees that may have information. The trick to it is acknowledging that you may not be able to start at #1 and move down the above list in any given order. You might know where someone worked and you may need to get info from an employer before you can figure out whether or not someone applied for a SS#. You might not be able to find out your father's parents' info from your father's military records, but you might find it in an uncle's military records. Find all the backdoors and alleys that you can. If we find the info we are looking for through the front door, we got lucky!! That's half the fun, though! Figuring out the puzzles! Let me know if you need any specific help with your searching. Cheryl Hawley ============================================== http://www.webbergroup.com http://www.echoesarchive.com http://www.chrislist.com Senior GIS Technician Microsoft NT LAN Administrator Webmaster, Snohomish Pilchuck Cemetery Project Webmaster, Mantrackers & Search Dogs, Inc. St. Coordinator, CT/IN/NY/OH/VA Tombstone Projects St. Coordinator, Ohio & Virginia Biographies Projects Co. Coordinator, Champaign/Erie/Huron/Logan Co., Ohio Biog.Projects Co. Coordinator, Patrick County, Virginia Biographies Project Co. Coordinator, Kosciusko County, Indiana Biographies Project Co. Coordinator, Kitsap County, Washington GenWeb Page Contributing Writer/Webmaster, Country Gazette Newspaper, Orting, WA Newsletter Editor, Washington State Genealogical Society President, Echoes of the Past Archive Founder & Co-Owner, New Life Enterprises Chief Operational Officer (COO) The Webber Group "Glad to spend the rest of my life Climbing Trees!!!"