The first thing Diane Florence Gravel, CG told her audience
was to join the FAN club! For genealogists
this means following Friends, Acquaintances, and Neighbors of your
ancestors. She credited Elizabeth
Shown Mills for this concept.
A good place to look for FANs is in the family bible. Family lines may be written there,
though Ms. Gravel warned to check the publication date against the dates
written in the family pages for verification of information written there. Was
it noted as the event was happening – birth, marriage, death, or were these
events recorded well after?
If you are not in possession of your family bible, and wish
you were, try searching Cyndi’s List, the National Genealogical Society,
Biblerecords.com, local historical societies and libraries. Even check ebay!
Other sources you may not have thought of where your
ancestor might be listed are lineage societies, church records, Library of
Congress, military records, account books, poor farm records, land maps, Google
books, and criminal records.
Ms. Gravel suggested that when using the Library of Congress
NUCMC index of manuscripts print the instructions as they have to be followed
exactly if you want a successful search.
Her parting advice was don’t give up. Use the FAN club to
push through those brick walls.
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