Good morning Brooklynites! I received an email concerning how mail can be slow on the list at times. I suggested that she start a thread that others can pick up on. There are many ways to research your line, sometimes they are not within the normal range of tracking down the elusive ancestors we didn't know were there. When I started, I knew very little. So I started at the one place I did know. The cemetery where my mother's father was buried. I copied the names from the tombstone, paid the fee to get a complete listing from the cemetery office, then the real detective work started. I took every name and searched for death cert's, obits, last of kin, addresses's from directories and sent out posts to area churches where they had lived. Again, gave a donation, (many time, they weren't answered), but kids in car seats, across the bridge I went into Brooklyn, and traced some of the streets, thru the hall of records, stopped for feedings, bathroom runs, going thru rolls of microfilm, school graduate lists, and home before nightfall. AND when I thought, this is nuts..I found I had a cousin (from a child no one knew existed) and where was she living? Around the block from me! TRUE STORY. When I contacted her, we couldn't believe we were related. She had pictures of my grandfather! I had a picture of our great great aunt, that raised her father. MORAL, don't give up. Get off the beaten path and open a new road.. Use different spellings of the surname, even the ethnic one, and even though your mom and dad swear their parents swear their family was always one religion. Check around for yourself. You may be surprised at what you find! So let's hear some of those off the path suggestions, for those who don't know where to go now. Nancy **************Psssst...Have you heard the news? There's a new fashion blog, plus the latest fall trends and hair styles at StyleList.com. (http://www.stylelist.com/trends?ncid=aolsty00050000000014)

Hello List, I read Nancy's email and thought I'd add my story.? When my grandfather died there was a document in his strong box which notified his father (my great-grandfather) of the death of my second great uncle (my grandfather's great uncle - I'll call him Charles from now on).? I know this sounds complicated but the document was a notice that Charles'?wife was contesting his will.? Because of that, and because Charles had died without having any children, every known living relative of his had to be notified.? The document contained 33 names.? I knew of about 5 of them at the time.? After years of searching, I now know who every single one of those people were.? Several years later a very kind soul?went over the probate proceedings for me and she discovered that Charles' wife was not happy that he had left half of his estate to the church.? She ended up getting less than she would have if she'd left it alone!? Serves her right - she was his second wife and they had only been married for a couple years.? I think we call that a "gold digger" these days! So, I always suggest that researchers check probate records.? Even if a person dies without a will, if they had any kind of estate at all, there will be probate proceedings.? My husbands third great grandfather died in Philadelphia in 1859 while owning several properties.? His probate proceedings lasted over 15 years and contain all kinds of wonderful information.? Karen -----Original Message----- From: NancyL916@aol.com To: NYBROOKLYN-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Thu, 18 Sep 2008 7:36 am Subject: [BKLYN] out of the norm..results Good morning Brooklynites! I received an email concerning how mail can be slow on the list at times. I suggested that she start a thread that others can pick up on. There are many ways to research your line, sometimes they are not within the normal range of tracking down the elusive ancestors we didn't know were there. When I started, I knew very little. So I started at the one place I did know. The cemetery where my mother's father was buried. I copied the names from the tombstone, paid the fee to get a complete listing from the cemetery office, then the real detective work started. I took every name and searched for death cert's, obits, last of kin, addresses's from directories and sent out posts to area churches where they had lived. Again, gave a donation, (many time, they weren't answered), but kids in car seats, across the bridge I went into Brooklyn, and traced some of the streets, thru the hall of records, stopped for feedings, bathroom runs, going thru rolls of microfilm, school graduate lists, and home before nightfall. AND when I thought, this is nuts..I found I had a cousin (from a child no one knew existed) and where was she living? Around the block from me! TRUE STORY. When I contacted her, we couldn't believe we were related. She had pictures of my grandfather! I had a picture of our great great aunt, that raised her father. MORAL, don't give up. Get off the beaten path and open a new road.. Use different spellings of the surname, even the ethnic one, and even though your mom and dad swear their parents swear their family was always one religion. Check around for yourself. You may be surprised at what you find! So let's hear some of those off the path suggestions, for those who don't know where to go now. Nancy **************Psssst...Have you heard the news? There's a new fashion blog, plus the latest fall trends and hair styles at StyleList.com. (http://www.stylelist.com/trends?ncid=aolsty00050000000014) _______________ ____________________ The Bklyn Info Pages Website: www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com/ List Administrator: NancyL916@aol.com Post to List: nybrooklyn@rootsweb.com ___________________________________ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NYBROOKLYN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message