When I learned that my uncle’s great-grandfather was in the Battle of Waterloo, I assumed it was his great-grandfather Trautvetter and began searching for men with that last name.
The problem is that my uncle had four great-grandfathers –I only know the name of one.
I can’t assume it was his great-grandfather Trautvetter who was in the battle.
And the information in the county history could be incorrect as well.
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When my husband says “Were they related to me?”, what he actually means is “Were they Perrys?”. People tend to forget that we have 2 grandfathers, 4 great grandfathers, 8 great, great grandfathers and there is a grandmother to go with each one.
I was reminded of this just yesterday. While researching my step-grandfather I was able to locate him and his sister with their father and mother in the 1930 US Census. Then, in 1940 I found both children in an orphanage. My first thought was,”Oh no, both parents must have died and left them as orphans. I wonder how they died?” Fortunately, my mother is still living and so I asked if she ever knew her step-grandfather. She proceeded to tell me how he lived with her in the 1950s. Sure enough, my step-grandfather’s mother had died in 1937 (I found the death certificate) and his father probably couldn’t care for the two children alone and so placed them in the orphanage so they could be cared for and receive a good education. And, yes, I did check to see if he was working at the orphanage, but no, he wasn’t. It was a good reminder to me that things are not always what they seem to be at first glance.