Genealogy Experts

[Erik88]

I've recently become interested in learning more about my family and I'm curious if we have any experts here. So far I've only been using findagrave.com which can be surprisingly useful. I have a relative that was killed in WWII that I'm trying to find out more info about. Has anyone been successful in obtaining old military records? It seems they have to be requested from the archives in St. Louis. 

 

 

[No_0ne]

Many local libraries have genealogical societies, and most of these have people who can help you get started.  A lot of that type of information can be accessed through the Mormons, as that's an essential part of their religion and they probably have the most comprehensive genealogical records in the world.  Fair warning, once you get involved with folks interested in this stuff, be prepared to listen to their stories and lists nonstop.  This stuff bores me to tears, but my mom was really big into it for many years ...

[Daniel]

So I was lucky and found two facebook groups.  One I knew about by going to our family reunion which is held at the Sugarlands visitor center just outside of Cades Cove.  They have a huge database of family info because in the early 20th century some of the family started doing all the work for us.  They issued quarterly magazines and did a ton of the tracing.  I have a book with stories and info.  Coincidentally the other side that I know goes much further back also is working on a new book and has one done 60 or more years ago but it's quite expensive on the used market and includes about 4 families from the same area.  Their FB group is also very helpful.  I went to a reunion in NC year before last and met some people I had only known via FB.  That german immigrant I mentioned on the other thread brought a bible with him.  The historical society in gastonia has it and sells prints of the illustrations.  It was passed down through the family for years and ended up in a branch that doesnt share my name but the history of it is known.

So yeah my suggestion would be to check for FB groups... hopefully your last name isnt jones, johnson, smith, or the like.  

Also, many libraries have ancestry.com memberships and are even accessible through their website.  A friend of my wife is the head librarian at a library in AL and she tipped me to that one.  The LDS Church has done a ton of work for all of us by cataloging people that they can baptize after death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptism_for_the_dead

Edited January 18, 2021 by Daniel

[10-Ring]

I've done a lot of genealogical research, I've even been to the Mormon Genealogical Research Library in Salt Lake City Utah.  I too have a grandfather who served in WWII and would love to find more information about his service.  I use familysearch.org which is hosted by the Mormon Church and is free.  There is a lot of good information on there and oftentimes you can get leads on where to find documents or information that you are looking for.  A word of caution: anyone can add anything to these records, so use them as a guide and verify information on your own.  Unfortunately, a lot of the WWII records were lost when the records house in St. Louis caught fire in the 1970s.  Good luck. 

Edited January 19, 2021 by 10-Ring

[superduty]

Check out your local Books a Million or Barnes and Noble.  They should have a selection of genealogy reference books to look at.  My grandfather used to do a lot of this work, and had several books about research techniques and websites. Some sites were free, some not.

[Erik88]

19 hours ago, 10-Ring said:

I use familysearch.org which is hosted by the Mormon Church and is free. 

This has been a great suggestion. Within a few minutes I had more info than I ever expected. 

[No_0ne]

28 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

This has been a great suggestion. Within a few minutes I had more info than I ever expected. 

Turns out I'm a descendant of the kings of England, by way of Edward III.  That also makes me a many times great grandson of Henry II and William the Conqueror, formerly known as William the Bastard prior to his victory over Harold at Hastings.  Makes sense, in more ways than one ...

[Darrell]

21 hours ago, 10-Ring said:

I use familysearch.org which is hosted by the Mormon Church and is free.

Never heard of it until seeing it here an hour ago. Amazing! They have records of my mother's family going back over 1000 years. Very cool!

[peejman]

1 hour ago, No_0ne said:

Turns out I'm a descendant of the kings of England, by way of Edward III.  That also makes me a many times great grandson of Henry II and William the Conqueror, formerly known as William the Bastard prior to his victory over Harold at Hastings.  Makes sense, in more ways than one ...

 My F-I-L got into genealogy a while back and found that William Wallace (the Braveheart guy) is their 16th great uncle, so apparently I'm obligated to not like you now.

[buck1032]

I have done the Military records request for my wife's grandfather who was Navy in WW2. They will also do a one time replacement of ribbons and medals. We did that and made a shadow box and gave it to my MIL. I looked a few weeks ago and they were not processing requests due to COVID. I am not sure if they have started again.

[Erik88]

26 minutes ago, buck1032 said:

I have done the Military records request for my wife's grandfather who was Navy in WW2. They will also do a one time replacement of ribbons and medals. We did that and made a shadow box and gave it to my MIL. I looked a few weeks ago and they were not processing requests due to COVID. I am not sure if they have started again.

Yes it appears they are still closed. I was able to find out this relative was part of the 242nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd division. According to Wikipedia "The 42nd Division moved across the Rhine on March 31, captured Wertheim am Main on April 1, and captured Würzburg on April 6, following four days of intense fighting. After hand-to-hand fighting from 9 to 12 April, Schweinfurt fell. My cousin was killed April 9th, 1945 I can only assume he was killed during that hand to hand fighting. Then again, I have no idea how many soldiers were in that regiment. It pains me that he made it so close. I tried finding a survivors group but most of those guys are nearly 100 years old now. Probably not many left. 

I'm really curious what records they might have on him. 

[Luckyforward]

On 1/18/2021 at 4:44 PM, 10-Ring said:

I've done a lot of genealogical research, I've even been to the Mormon Genealogical Research Library in Salt Lake City Utah.  I too have a grandfather who served in WWII and would love to find more information about his service.  I use familysearch.org which is hosted by the Mormon Church and is free.  There is a lot of good information on there and oftentimes you can get leads on where to find documents or information that you are looking for.  A word of caution: anyone can add anything to these records, so use them as a guide and verify information on your own.  Unfortunately, a lot of the WWII records were lost when the records house in St. Louis caught fire in the 1970s.  Good luck. 

Ditto to familysearch.org - It is free and amazing what I have found about my family there!

[buck1032]

4 hours ago, Erik88 said:

Yes it appears they are still closed. I was able to find out this relative was part of the 242nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd division. According to Wikipedia "The 42nd Division moved across the Rhine on March 31, captured Wertheim am Main on April 1, and captured Würzburg on April 6, following four days of intense fighting. After hand-to-hand fighting from 9 to 12 April, Schweinfurt fell. My cousin was killed April 9th, 1945 I can only assume he was killed during that hand to hand fighting. Then again, I have no idea how many soldiers were in that regiment. It pains me that he made it so close. I tried finding a survivors group but most of those guys are nearly 100 years old now. Probably not many left. 

I'm really curious what records they might have on him. 

Keep in mind there was a fire back in the late 60's or early 70's that destroyed some records, so temper your hopes that nothing may come of it. You should be able to get at a minimum his discharge paperwork, cant remember the form number and it was Pre- DD-214 days. With that said what we learned of my wifes grandfather, he was on a ship that was in the battle group that recovered an enigma. Pretty cool piece of history. 

[No_0ne]

10 hours ago, peejman said:

 My F-I-L got into genealogy a while back and found that William Wallace (the Braveheart guy) is their 16th great uncle, so apparently I'm obligated to not like you now.

We are disinclined to concern ourselves with the opinions of commoners

Edited January 20, 2021 by No_0ne

[Snaveba]

17 hours ago, peejman said:

 My F-I-L got into genealogy a while back and found that William Wallace (the Braveheart guy) is their 16th great uncle, so apparently I'm obligated to not like you now.

Ha. My BIL was doing research and figured out my dad’s side is related to Robert the Bruce. 

[peejman]

7 hours ago, No_0ne said:

We are disinclined to concern ourselves with the opinions of commoners

My wife's family is from Scotland and minen is from Wales, so the wishes of royalty are equally trivial. 

[Erik88]

In the past 48 hours I have learned that the outlaw Jesse James is a distant relative. My dad had heard this as a kid but wasn't sure if it was actually true so I searched for him in that website and it confirmed it. I've also learned that my 9th great granduncle came over on the Mayflower. This guy- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Samson

 

[Chucktshoes]

Either I don’t know how to use that family search site, or they just don’t like beaners. I can’t find anything about my family in there. Total dead end. 

Edited January 20, 2021 by Chucktshoes

[Garufa]

I get all consumed with this every once in a while and thanks to you @Erik88, I'm going down the rabbit hole again.

Thankfully, I've had about 4 generations of people live and die in Memphis.  The Shelby County Register of Deeds has all kinds of old records freely available online.  Of course, that doesn't help if you don't have any Memphis history but for folks down there that get the urge, it is a great resource.

Edited January 20, 2021 by Garufa

[E4 No More]

If you look at a picture of my father - particularly in the summer - you would instantly think American Indian. He has black hair, high cheekbones, and would get dark brown in just a few exposures to a spring sun. My father is from Oklahoma and told us that his grandmother was a runaway from the Indian Nation at the age of 12. As I get older, my sisters tell me that I look just like him but only in a pasty white version. My mother is reportedly from a Irish/Scottish heritage mainly from the Craig Clan in Scotland. My great-grandmother's name was Craig. My sir name is very much so English.

As far as the genetic testing sites are concerned, I took a DNA test from what was supposedly the best rated testing orgs: CRI Genetics. They do a scrape of the inside of your mouth rather than a spit. What did the DNA test show? Zero % American Indian and mostly German/French and even a little Jewish. I'm sure that some will think that I am adopted: however, my oldest sister is 6 years older than I, and she vividly remembers mom being pregnant with me and visiting me at the hospital to see her scrawny, red-faced brother right after my birth.

As far as I'm concerned the DNA testing is a scam.

[Quavodus]

I've meant to get mine tested. I've got some Scottish and Irish from my father's side. Some Irish and Cherokee on my mother's. Who knows what else? The guy I work with has to have some Neanderthal. Lol.

[Erik88]

2 hours ago, Garufa said:

I get all consumed with this every once in a while and thanks to you @Erik88, I'm going down the rabbit hole again.

What better hobby to have during COVID times. I noticed a ton of updates by people in 2020 so I'm guessing this was a popular activity for people during quarantine. 

2 hours ago, Chucktshoes said:

Either I don’t know how to use that family search site, or they just don’t like beaners. I can’t find anything about my family in there. Total dead end. 

I'm having trouble finding anyone on my wife's side either. I'm not sure what the problem is. 

[10-Ring]

1 hour ago, Erik88 said:

What better hobby to have during COVID times. I noticed a ton of updates by people in 2020 so I'm guessing this was a popular activity for people during quarantine. 

I'm having trouble finding anyone on my wife's side either. I'm not sure what the problem is. 

If someone else hasn't already done the work it's just not going to be there.  That doesn't mean that the information doesn't exist, it just hasn't been entered into the family search database.  

Example.  On my to do list is to find information about a set of GGG grandparents.  My GG grandfather immigrated from England to Nashville when he was 15 years old in 1870.  He's pretty well documented, but his parents are not.  I don't even know their names.  I should be able to get information on them by  tracking down his immigration paperwork at the Davidson County archives.  Here's something that I think is pretty neat.  My GG grandfather had a daughter when he was 50 years old who was still alive when I was a little kid.  Kind of neat to  think about knowing a family member whose father was 130 years older than me. 

[Daniel]

7 hours ago, Chucktshoes said:

Either I don’t know how to use that family search site, or they just don’t like beaners. I can’t find anything about my family in there. Total dead end. 

I had to build probably three or four branches and then it found a connection and asked me to confirm and it took the two I built back to the 1400s in Europe.

[Daniel]

4 hours ago, Erik88 said:

What better hobby to have during COVID times. I noticed a ton of updates by people in 2020 so I'm guessing this was a popular activity for people during quarantine. 

I'm having trouble finding anyone on my wife's side either. I'm not sure what the problem is. 

My mom's side will be hard to do anything with.  Bunch of alcoholics with lots of kids who have spread to the wind.