Research the Relatives and Friends
by
Emily Anne Croom
Tags
No tags are currently set for this article.
- Genealogy expert Emily Anne Croom shares everything about Research the Relatives and Friends
- Learn more at Family Tree Magazine
You've heard the expression, "We're all in this together." Try thinking of your
ancestors the same way. Just like you, your ancestors were not isolated individuals:
• They were part of a family, with siblings and cousins, aunts and uncles, parents and grandparents. Groups of relatives often lived near each other, worshipped
together, witnessed each other's documents and were buried in the same cemetery.
• Like you, ancestors had friends and neighbors. Often their spouses came from neighboring families or were the siblings
of classmates and military buddies. They and their friends were lodge brothers or
officers in the ladies' literary society.
• Your ancestors had business partners and co-workers, were clients of local doctors and lawyers and bought dry goods from the local mercantile store. They were known in their communities and occasionally got their names in the local newspapers.
• Sometimes, even small communities had several families by the same surname. When you start researching, you may not know whether these same-name families were related to yours. They may have been, and it could be to your benefit to
find out.
Studying your ancestors in the context of this community of relatives, friends, neighbors, associates and same-name families is practicing "cluster genealogy."
Emily Anne Croom is the author of four books on genealogy, including the best-selling Unpuzzling Your Past (Betterway Books, $18.99), recently released in an enlarged, updated and revised fourth edition. She is also teaching an introductory genealogy class at Barnes & Noble University.
Re-printed by permission of Family Tree Magazine. Click here to read more from Family Tree Magazine
|