For any ancestor presenting you with research challenges, can you think of five ancestral associates–people your ancestor interacted with in a significant fashion–other than blood relatives?
Associates could be geographic neighbors, sponsors of children, witnesses on a record, etc.
5 Responses
Why would I do that?
Because in some cases, particularly for newly arrived immigrants or Americans on the frontier, knowing something about their associates can help one trace the migrating ancestor to their previous residence as people tended to travel to new areas where they had some connection. At least some of the time.
LOVE this tip! It gives so much life to an ancestors story!
Thank you for your reply. That’s a good idee.
You are welcome. Doing it always gives me a bigger perspective on the person in question. From a practical standpoint, there is not always time to do it and sometimes it isn’t necessary to trace the family further.