How to Find Descendants in the United States: Difference between revisions

*research direct-line ancestors and their children.

== '''Value of Descendancy Research'''  ==

'''More names per generation.''' One advantage of descendancy research is the potential number of names you could find. Most families have more than two children per couple. If all those children marry and have more than two children, there is a potential to find more relatives by descendancy research than in the same number of generations of pedigree research. However, to be fair, pedigree researchers also usually research the immediate children of each couple on their pedigree. In theory, assuming each generation has exactly four children who live, marry once, and have exactly four children, in three generations, pedigree researchers would find 42 relatives (counting spouses and immediate children), and descendancy researchers would find 106 relatives. With larger families the difference can increase dramatically. This way of counting names does not change the number of actual people who have lived—it only changes because of who you count as a relative.   

     

'''''It may be harder.''''' Some genealogists consider descendancy research more difficult than pedigree research. This is because finding children is sometimes more difficult than finding parents. There are always exactly two parents of each child, but the number of children of each set of parents can vary widely. In many cases there tends to be more documents that are likely to name the parents of a child, and fewer documents that list all the children of a set of parents. Finding children who died young and between censuses is often more difficult than finding parents.  

'''''No shortage of pedigree names.''''' It is true you can find more names in three generations of descendancy research than in three generations of pedigree research. So what? There is no shortage of names for a pedigree researcher willing to go back a few more generations and concentrate on the immediate children of direct line ancestors.  

'''''Protect privacy and the feelings of others.''''' When doing descendancy research please be protective of the privacy of living people. Please be respectful and considerate of the feelings of living relatives regarding their deceased ancestors.  

== '''Doing Descendancy Research'''<br>  ==

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Someone else may have already started gathering information about the family you have selected. Your extended family members may have this information, or you may be able to find it in published family histories or on the Internet.  

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| align="left" valign="middle" bgcolor="#ffff99" | '''Expert Tip:''' Many family histories can be accessed on the Internet. You can also request them at your local library through an interlibrary loan system, or they can be sent to a family history center. The following are great places to start your search for family histories:  

'''Finding family records.''' Contact family members for information. They may have access to family Bibles, photographs, letters, and personal histories, or they may know where you can go to find these records.  

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| align="left" valign="middle" bgcolor="#ffff99" | '''Expert Tip:''' Your search may result in several sources of information about an ancestor. These records may not be accurate or complete, but they will give you a starting point.<br>

'''Internet search engines.''' Search engines, such as [http://www.google.com/ Google] or [http://www.yahoo.com/ Yahoo], help you learn if someone has posted information on the Internet about your ancestors or their descendants. Search engines may help you find pedigree charts, family Web sites, cemetery records, personal histories, family Bibles, and so forth.<br>  

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| align="left" valign="middle" bgcolor="#ffff99" | '''Expert Tip:''' You may find many references to your ancestor in a search engine, especially if he or she has a common name. The following search strategies can help to narrow your search:  

*[[United States Obituaries|obituaries]]

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'''Expert Tip:''' Search a few census pages before and after a family for possible relatives living nearby. Watch for similar names or place of origin.  

#Look for "Probate Records" listed among the record types. Microfilms of the listed records are available in the Family History Library and can be ordered from a local Family History Center.<br>

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| valign="middle" bgcolor="#ffff99" | '''Expert Tip:''' The U.S. Social Security Death Index shows the birth date, death date, and death place of Social Security card holders who have died. The index covers deaths from 1962 to the present. Click [http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi/ here] to search one of the free versions of this index.<br>

*[https://www.familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/descendancy-research/568 Descendancy Research] (40 minute online video)

*George D. Durrant, "[http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=165c6f708ee71110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1 Branching Out on Your Family Tree]," ''Ensign'', April 2007, 44-47.

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