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| Capt. Oscar F. Brown, date unknown. Personal archives of author. |
I recently viewed a webinar presented by Michael Hait, CG, on the topic of a "What is a Reasonably Exhaustive Search?," and what that really means. [You can preview or order the webinar from the Legacy Family Tree website.] It was well done, and challenged me to go back to Oscar to see what else I might be able to come up with. I have decided to present this in a multi-part series, presenting each argument on his behalf to see which comes up as the most reasonable, which has the most holes.
You see, the real problem with determining Oscar's lineage is his father: right now, there are at least three, perhaps up to five, candidates. William, Tolman, Abraham, Isaac and a possible unknown, have been distressing me for at least a couple of years each. It's time to end this madness! I am truly hoping to be able to present a reasonable conclusion by the time I am done, or at least a "to-do" list of further research necessary.
Opinions are welcome! Please contribute if you know of another source, another place to look.
In the meantime, we're waiting for our DNA test to come back to see what it will tell us. Keep your finger's crossed.
(If this is sounding familiar, you are right. I've blogged about Oscar's Pa before, but not in as much detail as I'm going to present now. You can read through that summary here.)
Keep reading to learn more. Up first will be Abraham Brown, listed as Oscar's father in his obituary.
Looking forward to this series, Jen. We all know the frustration of brick walls.
ReplyDeleteI'd be particularly interested to see the marriage record that ID's Tolman as Oscar's father. Is it an index? A record copy? Got an image we can evaluate?
From a recent post of mine "Obituaries are also wonderful leads. Unless they come with a by-line though, they suffer the same shortcomings as headstones – we don’t know the source of the information or the credibility of the writer."
What land record work have you done, particularly in Michigan? This is where ESM's FAN principle could really help you.
Lastly, Fitzallen is a pretty distinct middle name and good chance it is a family surname, possibly from the mother's side. Any work there?
Sorry! Getting Excited :-)
Rorey, don't be sorry! This is exactly the kind of engagement I wanted!
ReplyDeleteOne thing about brick wall's is that we get stuck, and it helps to put it out there - even if just as a tool for reviewing our own research, but it certainly helps when others get involved in the conversation.
There's a lot coming, and I'm starting with Abraham because he seems to be the least likely, however the second post will be on Talmon, so it's a long one with lots of info to evaluate.
Maybe together we can break down my brick wall! Thanks so much for reading, I'm looking forward to seeing what everybody has to offer!
~ Jen
Jen, this sounds extremely frustrating. This brick wall must reach back into the times before the US Census? Do you have obituaries, wills, headstones, newspapers, even old family stories? As a relative newbie, I will be fascinated to see how you break down this brick wall and finish your "Reasonably Exhaustive Search." I sometimes find myself getting annoyed with my ancestors for not keeping better records ... but then, how did they know the fervent interest we would have in their lives?
ReplyDelete