It's amazing how much you can discover about a person just from gathering vital records at
http://www.familysearch.org.about them, especially census records. Depending on the year of the US census records starting in 1850 when names of children and their parents, approximate ages and birth state are lislted. Some censuses will tell you what the dad's occupation was and where his parents were born.The parents age when married, how many children born and how many stilll living at time of the census,etc. From there you can look for vital records like birth, death and marriage records, probate, wills, newspaper obituaries and count histories. It's like a puzzle that each piece makes clearer a picture of their lives. Of course, the best thing is if you can find photos and journals of your ancestors. All of this is available for free on
familysearch.org a website available for the use of all by the Mormons or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Check it out today. You'll be amazed.
Let me till you more about
Wm. Marion Johnson Sr-my great grandfather's family in Williams County, Ohio. Click on links above to find more about him in past posts and on my research process of discovery. Here's info from an 1850 census as an example. Note the last name was at this time Johnston but it shows Wm.'s father names Orville and lists all his brothers to that point. A later census shows a sister born later. What a discovery.
Orville Johnston-United States Census, 1850
| Name |
Orville Johnston
|
| Event Type |
Census
|
| Event Year |
1850
|
| Event Place |
Canaan, Morrow, Ohio, United States
|
| Gender |
Male
|
| Age |
41
|
| Race |
White
|
| Birth Year (Estimated) |
1809
|
| Birthplace |
Vermont
|
| House Number |
317 | |
|
Variations on the Johnston/Johnson/Johnsen histories are fascinating. My hubby has Johnsen relatives.
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