ge·ne·al·o·gy

ˌjēnēˈäləjē, noun

1. A record or table of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or ancestors; a family tree.

2. Direct descent from an ancestor; lineage or pedigree. 

3. The study or investigation of ancestry and family histories.

The Family

A family is a collection of people who are related by blood through a common line of ancestry or marriage.  So when you look at your ancestry, those who came before you, look at the siblings families as well as the direct line when researching your family.

Having a maiden name of "Smith" I already knew that researching my family was going to be difficult. But I actually began doing research with the father's mother, B Hazel Doll Smith, who would never let us use her real first name (Bertha). We would spend hours together going over all her notes and pictures trying to figure things out.  So my beginning into the Genealogy world was due to my Gramma around 12 years of age.

12/26/2014

Now, Smith is still really difficult to figure out, even when you have death certificates and marriage records. I have recently begun my search again for the parents of George Benton Smith, my 2nd g-grandfather who lived and died in Lowell, Massachusetts.  Death Certificates are great for finding out when and how a person died, where they lived and who their spouse was.  But as far as who their parents were is a different matter.  You are relying on the child knowing the real names of the grandparents.  So in this case, when George died it was listed that his father's name was William. But then you find a hand written ledger, unknown writer, that when George got married his father's name was Warren.  So you begin looking for both and find nothing.  Result - still have that brick wall on who his parents are.

I did find information though on another child that George and Mary Elizabeth Barnes had beside my great-grandfather, George Sumner Smith.  I had found two census records that listed an Isadore and a Lillie.  As it turns out that is the same person and was definitely a sister to George Sumner with several years between them.  Lillie did get married but had no children that I can find.  She married a Knowlton and lived and died in Lowell, Massachusetts. 

So I continue to search sporadically since I do find it very frustrating searching "Smith" and hope that someday I will find the answers.