Monday, November 8, 2010

Brick Wall Demolished


A brick wall in genealogy terms is what it sounds like.  An huge obstacle in the path that looks insurmountable.  I had one of those.  Mary White. She was single, so there wasn't any other name associated with her, besides her son.  She probably died young, or remarried or something, but with a name like that, I thought it would be impossible to find her parents, or anything more about her.

It was frustrating because I had information extending several generations on every other line but this one.

But last week, I found a death certificate for Mary White on familysearch.org.   She died three years after her only son was born, which explains why I couldn't find references to her except for his birth, marriage and death certificates.  And after some easy research, I am sure that this is my Mary White. So now I have her parents names, her siblings, and one set of grandparent's names.  She has a large family, so hopefully I can find out more about her through her family members.

Now the brick wall has turned into a climbable fence.

I know I should be finishing up quilts, and making holiday gifts, but having more than one obsessive hobby is difficult, and I have to go where I am led.

2 comments:

Allie said...

Well that deserves a big round of applause - I would have given up quite soon! Congratulations!

Tina said...

It feels so amazing to finally be able to break through that wall! You must have been so giddy when you found that info! Congrats.