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Jan. 10th, 2014
I thought that I would put this out there and vent some of my frustration.
I'm huge into genealogy and anyone that's into researching their family trees knows it can be the most aggravating search; ever! It is also the most gratifying experience when you find family members you'd never heard of before or find new countries your family emigrated from. It's an amazing feeling.
Then you hit a roadblock.
You have that one ancestor, that, despite your best efforts, eludes you. I've had several and I still have several. But there's one person that just aggravates me the most. It's where my British roots come into play.
Everyone who starts out in Genealogy and Ancestry always wants to find their Irish roots first; I want to find the British in me. I've already determined that I'm more German than I ought to be; with more than three ancestral lines dating from Germany, I'm seeking something different. I'm sure there's Irish in me; with an ancestral surname of Reed, it's almost a given...almost. And let's not forget the Matthew's and the McCann's, whose census records indicate Irish ancestry. But, back on topic; my British ancestry.
With Genealogy coming a long way in the last decade or so, you'd think it would be easy to find your ancestor who, at two years of age, emigrated to the United States from England. That's not the case. I have her name: Eunice Bradshaw, but no records to match; and more importantly, NO PARENTS NAMES. Eunice is my roadblock. The one person that makes me want to throw my hands up and say: WHATEVER!
Here's what I know about Eunice. She was born in England, whereabouts unknown, in July of 1856. At about two years of age, she left England, presumably with her parents or close relatives. I'd imagine she wouldn't be traveling with complete strangers. Eunice landed in the United States about 1858-1859, but I have no records of ship or port. I have nothing for her until 1880, where she's living in Newark, NJ and married to my 2nd great grandfather. She gained naturalization in 1879 through marriage, but I have no marriage record. It's likely there is none to be found.
Until recently, I didn't even have a death date for Eunice. Thank you FindaGrave for giving me that vital information: September 16, 1922 in Newark. I was elated. I thought the new information would throw the door wide open, that I would finally find my British roots. I was crestfallen. I was, and still am, in the midst of my toughest roadblock.
My next recourse would be to travel to New Jersey and search for obituaries in libraries or genealogical societies, but my time is limited and funding is non-existent. It's compounded by the fact that I don't drive and I would have to rely on another source of transportation. It's impossible.
That leaves me no choice, but to take my chances with a death-record. They've proven useful twice before when I've hit a roadblock. But those records were coming from Pennsylvania, though; not New Jersey and were much easier to research. Pennsylvania has a wonderful death record indice. New Jersey has nothing. NOTHING! And the prices vary shockingly. Pennsylvania is cheaper, by far. So, I'd be spending money on a blind search that may not pan out.
But if it's successful, I may just have Eunice's parents names and that is all I'm looking for right now. I'm hoping to send that off in the next few weeks, when money permits, and hopefully, I will have my answers. ^_^
I'm huge into genealogy and anyone that's into researching their family trees knows it can be the most aggravating search; ever! It is also the most gratifying experience when you find family members you'd never heard of before or find new countries your family emigrated from. It's an amazing feeling.
Then you hit a roadblock.
You have that one ancestor, that, despite your best efforts, eludes you. I've had several and I still have several. But there's one person that just aggravates me the most. It's where my British roots come into play.
Everyone who starts out in Genealogy and Ancestry always wants to find their Irish roots first; I want to find the British in me. I've already determined that I'm more German than I ought to be; with more than three ancestral lines dating from Germany, I'm seeking something different. I'm sure there's Irish in me; with an ancestral surname of Reed, it's almost a given...almost. And let's not forget the Matthew's and the McCann's, whose census records indicate Irish ancestry. But, back on topic; my British ancestry.
With Genealogy coming a long way in the last decade or so, you'd think it would be easy to find your ancestor who, at two years of age, emigrated to the United States from England. That's not the case. I have her name: Eunice Bradshaw, but no records to match; and more importantly, NO PARENTS NAMES. Eunice is my roadblock. The one person that makes me want to throw my hands up and say: WHATEVER!
Here's what I know about Eunice. She was born in England, whereabouts unknown, in July of 1856. At about two years of age, she left England, presumably with her parents or close relatives. I'd imagine she wouldn't be traveling with complete strangers. Eunice landed in the United States about 1858-1859, but I have no records of ship or port. I have nothing for her until 1880, where she's living in Newark, NJ and married to my 2nd great grandfather. She gained naturalization in 1879 through marriage, but I have no marriage record. It's likely there is none to be found.
Until recently, I didn't even have a death date for Eunice. Thank you FindaGrave for giving me that vital information: September 16, 1922 in Newark. I was elated. I thought the new information would throw the door wide open, that I would finally find my British roots. I was crestfallen. I was, and still am, in the midst of my toughest roadblock.
My next recourse would be to travel to New Jersey and search for obituaries in libraries or genealogical societies, but my time is limited and funding is non-existent. It's compounded by the fact that I don't drive and I would have to rely on another source of transportation. It's impossible.
That leaves me no choice, but to take my chances with a death-record. They've proven useful twice before when I've hit a roadblock. But those records were coming from Pennsylvania, though; not New Jersey and were much easier to research. Pennsylvania has a wonderful death record indice. New Jersey has nothing. NOTHING! And the prices vary shockingly. Pennsylvania is cheaper, by far. So, I'd be spending money on a blind search that may not pan out.
But if it's successful, I may just have Eunice's parents names and that is all I'm looking for right now. I'm hoping to send that off in the next few weeks, when money permits, and hopefully, I will have my answers. ^_^