Quick GenTip 9

Genealogy tip 9—How to see with “Fresh Eyes” in ancestry research.

Being a history researcher comes with the need to learn and understand how to research records, find the key information and develop a plan that will take you to all available information.  Through the years, I have had the pleasure of conducting historical and genealogy research throughout the United States and Europe. Every time I conduct research in a new location, I feel like I have to learn/relearn how to conduct historical research.  Why? I need to learn where the records are kept, what is available, develop a plan of how to research this location and so much more. I have written a series Quick GenTips to introduce you to what I consider to be the most foundational skills I use over and over. In this article, I want to share Learn about Quick GenTip 9: Research with Fresh Eyes.

Genealogy Tip Series

Click on an of the following Genealogy Tips to be taken to the article.

Genealogy Tip  Series for History and Genealogy Research
1. Focus on One Ancestor at A Time 15. Obtain and Search the Record
2. Prayer is an Essential Tool 16. Use Multiple Sources to Correlate Information
3. Nine Ways to Stay Focused in History and Genealogy 17. Every Record Has Value
4. Build An Identity Profile About Ancestors 18. Use and Record What You Learn
5. Set Realistic Goals for History and Genealogy 19. Detailed and Exhaustive Research
6. Follow Every Clue in History And Genealogy 20. Cite and Verify Ancestry Research
7. Remember the Power of One 21. US Census, Vital Records, and Other Records
8. Five-step Process to Discover Your Ancestors 22. Events Create Records
9. Research with Fresh Eyes 23. Search in County and Date Records
10. Genealogy Requires Preparation 24. Start Ancestry Research at Home
11. Expect the Unexpected in Genealogy Research 25. Start Organized and Stay Organized
12. Learning Begins with A Research Question 26. Strategy for Searching Societies and Libraries
13. Learn and Use the Genealogical Proof Standard 27. Genealogy and Social Networking Sites
14. Conduct Evidence Analysis 28. 16 Forms to Gather, Manage and Guide Your Research

Genealogy Tip 9: Research with Fresh Eyes

Whenever possible, I make it a practice to collaborate with other genealogists on researching specific family lines. As a team, we will review our research, analyzing documentation, notes, and logs; identify the key questions we want to research; develop a research task list for researching each question; assign tasks and deadlines, and schedule regular meetings to review, compare, and discuss projects and research.

During my collaboration with fellow genealogists on the Schreiber line, I requested the opportunity to help her create a digital record that included scanning and spreadsheet catalog organization. Throughout the project, I compiled a list of seven of the family lines that seemed to be a dead-end (meaning no further extension of the line) in the 1750s. The surnames included Schreiber, Mullins, Fauber, Rennick, Bland, Lee, and Caldwell in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. During one of our scheduled project review meetings, we explored the following questions:

  • Who did the original genealogy research on the family lines?
  • Why were there so many dead-ends?
  • Is there documentation or a research log for the research showing all the resources that were evaluated?

Most of the research, which was well documented, had been done by my collaboration partner during the 1980s and ’90s, but a research log no longer existed. We concluded that we would re-review the research and available resources. I found and reviewed available resources for the period at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Over the next ten weeks, I spent my research time reviewing period resources for every county in Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Surnames organized my findings into a spreadsheet that would allow us to quickly review the data and look for clues that might help us answer our questions and extend the various family lines. Even though other genealogists researched the resources before me, I often found bits of information that may have been overlooked or dismissed that shed new light on the research.

As I researched the Rennick and Fauber lines, I sought to find Ann Rennick, the wife of Christen Fauber, and their children who lived in Augusta County, Virginia, in the 1700s. In my research, I came across a single notation that a Rennick from Augusta County went to Ohio to see another Rennick.

Clue 1: A Rennick from Augusta County went to Ohio to see another Rennick. My first inclination was to dismiss the clue as irrelevant. Then I should focus on researching the account of the Rennick who lived in Ohio.

Clue 2: As I searched available Ohio resources, I came across an entry in the 1959 historical society newsletter stating that they had acquired a book called Rennicks of Greenbriar, Virginia. (Green- briar used to be a county in Virginia and later became part of Monroe County, West Virginia.)

Clue 3: I searched the Family History Library catalog and found the book in a small collection of Greenbriar county resources. Next to the book, I was seeking was another family history book on a related branch of the Rennicks.

Clue 4: As I read the books, I came across a section that mentioned that the Rennicks also came through Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Clue 5: I searched the Lancaster records for both Fauber and Rennicks. I found Christian Fauber and the Rennicks but could not find any Ann or Barabra Ann Rennick.

Clue 6: I decided to retrace my steps from the previous three clues to see if I had missed anything. I came to an entry of a Thomas Rennick who had four children, one named Ann. The entry for Thomas said, “Little is known about this family.” This was the only Ann that did not have a spouse. Was this the Ann I was looking for? At least I knew that the Rennicks and Faubers were in Lancaster County at the same time.

For the next step, I went back to the Lancaster County area and looked through the four bookshelves, looking for a Christen and Ann Fauber. I didn’t find them, and I went home around 4:30 in the afternoon. For an hour and a half, I pondered all of my research that day, and I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I needed to return to the Library that day to find the information I knew existed. I arrived at the Library at 7:30 p.m., went back to the Lancaster shelves, and looked over the same books I had looked through earlier. As I was getting ready to close the second-to-last book on the fourth shelf, the thought entered my mind to look again. There it was—a child born to Ann and Christian Fauber. I was excited. I didn’t find a wedding record, but I found several births for the Fauber family.

For over twenty years, people have been looking for this family.

Lessons learned:

  • Follow every clue, no matter how insignificant it may seem.
  • One clue leads to another clue.
  • Clues are linked together to form a picture.
  • Research = Re-search the available resources to find overlooked clues.
  • If you only search for surnames, you may miss the clues you need.
  • Use spreadsheets to view all available findings.
  • Follow the thoughts and promptings you receive during research

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