With all the tools available today to do research, it is a wonder that the individuals who are just beginning could begin to feel a little overwhelmed and yet for others, each new tool being invented offers the hope of new found information.
Message boards were an integral part of Web 1.0, long before social networking, online videos and all one contends is now what the web has become and is today. A message board or a forum is an online discussion done through posting messages back and forth as if in a conversation. The actual conversation is known as a “thread” and one can follow that thread back to the very beginning and pick up all the clues and information along the thread to reach a conclusion or an answer to a problem.
Some message boards require a log-in and others can be done anonymously. One major advantage to these online discussions is that they are archived and can be searched long after the involved parties have moved onto other discussions and research problems. The archives alone have great genealogical value as many who responded to the original questions did so with factual data connected to an ancestor.
As message boards and forums have stemmed from the early 1990s, there could be a chance that someone who responded may no longer be here but was able to document important family historical facts and resources to help their descendants with ancestral research. There are as many types of message boards as there are ideas, but the ones that aid genealogy and family history are very active.
Family Search’s Forums provide great genealogical research and advice to all who come there with their questions. The whole forum is broken down not only by localities but additional topics to assist all who are looking for help with their research.
Message boards can also provide opportunities to connect with others who have similar research interests. Some of the well-known message boards for genealogical and/or family history are at Ancestry.com, Rootsweb.com, GenForum.com, and MyHeritage.com; however, one can view a lengthy list at Cyndi’s List. She has broken it down into a number of categories to choose from relating to genealogy and/or family history.
In closing, the use of message boards can be a big help to all who are researching their ancestors, one may just find a new cousin!
Busco Datos de la familia DI MAURO de Sant´Alfio o Giarre –
Di Mauro Mariano e Nucifora Giuseppa – tra 1820 e 1835 Giarre
Di Mauro Michele – Leonardi Caterina -tra 1844 e 1855 Giarre
Di Mauro Salvatore – Emanuele Sebastianatra 1885 Sant’Alfio
Cerco informazioni sul mio bisnonno di Sant Alfio province di Catanea in Via Nucifora Nº 52 –
… … Michele Di Mauro sposato Caterina Leonardi (+ o – 1860 ) i loro figli sono nati nel 1885 Salvador, Mariano, Juan, Jusepin, Alfredo, Miguel Angel
Salvador venuto in Argentina 1905-1909
……se qualcuno ha un invio di dati per familiadimauro@hotmail.com
If you need assistance with your italian research, please post your questions on the Facebook Genealogy Research page for Italy or in the FamilySearch Discussion Forums for Italy.
Were your Banks’ in Elberton GA at one time?
There is a story that there were once 3 or 4 Banks brothers who sailed from England to other areas and one being the United States. My Banks are from Scotland at this point and could be related to those brothers but have not got that far back at this time.
I congratulate the church in digitally indexing the Civil Records of Italy. Unfortunately you cannot search these or browse them as you would receive image not available. When will this be available?
Hi James Tye, May I ask which of the Italy Civil Records you are asking about. I will find more about the collection you are wanting to access.
I am searching for a family member, my grandfathers mother, her name was Octavia Gertrude Campbell, I have found her name on one family record on this website. However, I cannot find any other information about her. She left my grandfather when he was very young, and took his sister. My grandfather was lied to about how old he was and his birthday his entire life. He has now passed as well as my grandmother and we are trying to figure out what happened to his mother and possibly where she went after she left them.
I am searching for any answers possible, and I found her name on her daughters death certificate on this website. Please help!
- Kelsey
Hi Kelsey- Do you have any possible dates and places for your great grandmother? I have some hits but nothing positive; https://familysearch.org/search/records/index#count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3A%22Octavia%20Gertrude%22%20%2Bsurname%3ACampbell. Submit an email for further information to FamilySearch through the help tab; https://familysearch.org/help/contact?wicket:interface=:4:emailLink::ILinkListener::
yes, that record is the right person, Octavia Gertrude Campbell, however that is one of the only records I can find with her name even on it.
Hi Kelsey,
Would be happy to help but you need to provide more information, if you have it. When or approx was your grandfather’s mother born? From where? When was your grandfather born? Where? Even if your grandfather had a wrong brithday, the year is probably within one or so.
Where did they live?
Best.
Jeff
Well, this is all the information that I have…
Octavia was born 1899 in Loma, Cavalier, North Dakota. Her parents were James J Campbell and Emma Campbell (as reported in a census I saw).
Her sister Irene G Campbell was born in Montana, and they had two brothers Arther and Howard.
In abt. 1916 they lived in Edmonton Alberta Canada. As the census reports. That would have been where Octavia and my Great grandfather met (Alfred Gordon Hopkins).
My grandfather was born in Edmonton March 3, 1922. They also had two other children, Eunice Vera May Hopkins and William.
Sometime before 1925 ish, when my grandfather was around 3 she left and took Eunice with her. After that, no one knows what happened or where they may have gone. Eunice passed away in Vancouver BC in 1962. That is basically all the information that I have. My grandpa and his brothers birthdays they were told they were 2 years older than they actually were and their birthdays were wrong by a month or so I believe.
Kelsey,
Try searching on FamilySearch.org and on Ancestry.com using given name, relationship and year of birth, WITHOUT a surname. I have had success doing this.
Also try posting on the big message boards that James refers to. I have had success on those as well. It helps to have many eyes viewing your information. Message boards can be especially helpful for events within the past 100 years where privacy laws limit access to public documents.
A free personal blog on blogger.com is another good way to get your message out. Blogger is part of Google, so it gets indexed very quickly. In fact I will post your query on my blog. It may speed-up the search.
Eunice’s death certificate might have useful information too! If her mother remarried, it might have the stepfather’s surname and other info that would help you to track the family.
Kelsey,
I don’t have contact information for you. It will work better if you if you create your own blog and post to it.
i am reserching my grandparents on my mothers side my grandfathers name was thomas holwill brooks i think he was born in 1988 possibly in tavistock as this is the only thomas holwill i can find but not certain, he married my grandmother not sure when but she was mary ann yabsley the gave birth to my mother jessie violet edith brooks on05/09/1924 in liskeard cornwall but moved to plymouth after she was bornnot sure when or where mary was born but if anyone out there remembers the family would you please get in touch
Jospehine, Looks like Thomas and Mary were married in the 3rd quarter 1916, in the registration district of Plymouth, in Devon. You can order the certificate from the General Record Office (GRO) or the County Record Office (CRO) in England. This can be done online with a credit card. // To connect with others post on message boards, etc. for the area you are researching in. best of luck! Claire
recherche informations sur le mariage de Francisco Antonio GUTIERREZ POMARES avec Ysabel Maria Manuela LINARES GIMENEZ le 15 octobre 1825 à GRANADA natif de ADRA . Je ne connais pas les prénoms des parents .Merci pour votre aide .
Please post your question on the France Genealogy Facebook page and/or on FamilySearch ‘discussion forums’ under the learn tab. Claire
I noticed someone has been researching Solomon Rickers. His daughter Harriet Hannah Rickers was my grandmother and I have an old family bible page which lists all Solomon’s children, which shows more children than is shown on the family tree registered. I would love to know more.
George, you don’t specify where and so I would suggest that you provide a bit more information and post it all on the Facebook Genealogy research page for that area and/or post in the Forum in Family Search under the learn tab.
I am researching my GGgrandfather William Hayes who came from Limerick Ireland to Rome, NY bat 1851. I’d like to know exactly where he lived in Ireland. His wife was Honora ?Cahill. He died 1863 with a gravestone in St Peters cemetery Rome NY. any help with Irish parish records will be a big help.
Barb, If you place your question in our ‘Discussion Forums’ you will get some answers that could help you with your questions. One thought is that “sometimes” the county they are from or the location is on the gravestone so that would be one place to start. To get to the discussion forums, go to the Learn tab above, click it and then go to the ‘Discussion Forums’ on the lower right of the screen. Once there, look for the area that will cover Ireland and start a ‘new thread’ with your question. If you are not signed in you will be asked to do that. Best of luck!
I have old pictures of (2) male infants from the early 1900s that a family might want. These pictures have ‘The Royal Photo View Co.’ on the back of them.
The pictures are of the Riedling family from Louisville.
Ted, It is possible that some of these message boards would have a group for the Riedling Family. You could also post it in “DeadFred” which is a website for such situations as this. There may also be a Riedling Family website where you could email them and see if the picture belongs to them. Good luck in returning it to the right family.
I have found a marriage certificate from Texas dated 1899. It turns out this is for my great grandparents! How do I preserve this document?
FamilySearch Wiki offers many topics including “Preserving Photographs & Documents” https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Preserving_Photographs_%26_Documents Another option is to digitized your document. https://familysearch.org/blog/en/preserving-our-family-letters-inspiration-from-rootstech/
I hope one of these articles help you find what is best for your document
Carla, The best thing to do is to scan it and keep the original in an acid free environment. You can easily look that up using a search engine of your choice. Congrats on find it!
I am trying to find great grandparents in Recklinghausen, Germany. They came to US on ship Darmstandt arriving in Baltmore in 1907 from port of departure of Bremen, Germany. Their names are Josef and Anna Jasper en route to Skippers, Virginia. Do not know how to go back into Germany from 1907. There is info on Ancestry.com to take me back from Josef Jasper but it is incorrect. How can I research without knowing the language?
Hi Charlotte,
By 1907 the passenger lists included the place of birth in the last column on the second page. So I took a look at the entry for the Jasper family. As it turns out, the family’s last place of residence was Recklinghausen, and the couple’s three children were born there between 1901 and 1906. The father’s birth place is Boerste, and the mother was reportedly born in Stolzhausen.
You know the places; that’s the most important thing. With that information, you can write for more information and order microfilms to a family history center in your area.
The birth records of the two younger children still fall within the German rights-to-privacy restrictions, which allow access to birth records older than 110 years. However, you should be able to get the oldest child’s birth record and the parents’ marriage without any problem by writing to the town archive
Stadt- und Vestisches Archiv
Hohenzollernstr. 12
45659 Recklinghausen
Germany
If one of the younger kids was your direct-line ancestor, you can request that record from the civil registration office in Recklinghausen. On the town website https://www.recklinghausen.de/buergerinformation/Standesamt/urkunden/Urkunden_anfordern.asp , the section “Urkundenservice” has instructions for requesting records online.
You can use translate.google.com to help you navigate the website, but don’t use it for writing letters to request information. The cost for records should be 10 Euros [about 13 Dollars] each plus postage.
As for researching without knowing the language- it can be done !!! This online lesson gives you some ideas:
https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/my-ancestors-are-from-germany-and-i-dont-speak-german/554 .
As this is getting to be a long post, I will talk about filmed records separately.
Good luck!
Baerbel
\]
Hi Charlotte,
For Recklinghausen, both Evangelical and Catholic parish registers are available on microfilm through FamilySearch. The Catholic records include baptisms through 1901 and marriages through 1904. The records of the evangelical city church include baptisms to 1907 [Film # 0462283] and marriages to 1922 Film # 462284] These films can be ordered to a family history center in your area.
The baptism records for the parents Joseph and Anna Jasper will be found in their respective parishes, since civil registration did not begin until October of 1874 in this area. Before going there I would definitely try to get a copy of the couple’s marriage record. The civil record should include the age and place of birth for each party; the church record may, but doesn’t have to.
Boerste was a village in the greater Recklinghausen area. In 1905 the Evangelical parish was the Bruch church in Recklinghausen, but those records don’t begin until 1894. I’d try the city parish before that. The Catholics also belonged to the Recklingausen parish.
It is important to get another take on those two birth places, since there is always a chance that the place names were not spelled correctly on the passenger list. The only Stolzhausen
I can find is miles away from Recklinghausen, which is feasible around 1900 , when train travel made it easy to get around, but still slightly questionable. Perhaps it was really Stelzhausen or Stolzenhausen or Stolzheim, for example.
I hope this gives yousome ideas on how to progress in your research. 19th Century records are tpically pretty nice to use. You can always post images on the familysearch forums and get help reading them there.
Press forward with courage!
Baerbel
Do others find the printing on the ordinance list way too faint and difficult to read? Also the color choice seems very odd—two of them are very close together and easy to mix up.
Steve Kelsey
Steve,
From which program are you referring, there is an ordinance list in a few programs? Also you can send in a feedback for your problem to support@familysearch.org.
Claire
Looking for any information on family of Martin Reagan from Fayette/ Union Town Pennsylvania. Born 1852 passed around 1930. Father of Martin B Reagan born 1890 passed 1981 in Cleveland (suburb Maple Heights), Ohio.