In recent years, I’ve heard many people on TikTok or other social media platforms refer to the “ancestors.” It’s such a general term to throw around, but do you even know who your ancestors were? I mean directly. I became curious about my family myself.
For the most part, my father’s side has already been researched. My dad’s sister and other relatives have done quite a bit of digging and found information dating back to slavery times—around the early 1860s, I believe. My mom’s side of the family, particularly her mother’s side, has been more of a mystery in terms of dates, locations, and origins. That’s where I figured I’d begin my search.
My mom’s mother’s side of the family (my beloved Grandmother Alice, who passed away in 2005 after heart surgery) and her mother (my great-grandmother) passed away three years earlier, in August of 2002. Many family members who knew a lot of stories and information have either passed away, sadly now have memory loss, or we just haven’t had contact since my grandma passed away 20 years ago. My mother is a wealth of information on some things, but not on the specifics I was particularly looking for.
So, in the spring of 2018, I decided to try and find out a little more about that specific side of my family tree. I took what I had learned thus far and started with that. So, first off…
Try to Gather Up All the Basic Information You Can to Begin With
Who are you searching for? Do you know their birth date or date of death? How about what state or city they may have lived in?
As my main reference, I knew two family names I was searching under—my grandmother’s maiden name and my great-grandmother’s maiden name. My mom had told me stories passed down by both women, but we were still missing dates, names, places, and timelines. I chose to just take what my mom knew and run with that to see what I could find. This side of the family is from Oklahoma—Poteau and Shady Point, to be exact—so I knew that much, and that gave me a good starting point.
Pick Some Ways to Start Your Search
For me, I simply started with Google. I wanted to see what I could find, even though these relatives were deceased. It did give me some helpful pointers. My grandmother lived in Kansas City, Missouri, most of her life but moved there around 1951 or so from Oklahoma. I was able to get this information from my grandmother’s close cousin, which was super helpful.
Searching public records for the state (if you know it) is also helpful. Then there’s the well-known Ancestry.com. I used their trial period since the monthly subscription is a bit pricey for me personally. But it was very useful—I was able to access old newspaper articles and even found that a relative had added a photo and documents about my great-great-grandmother, Ada. I still don’t know who uploaded that, but it was awesome to see an actual photo of her, since I’d never seen one before.
Another resource that helped me greatly was the National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy. There, I found census records dating back to my great-grandmother and great-grandfather’s household in the early 1930s. It listed my great-grandmother’s siblings, ages, and other details. Interestingly, she was listed as “Mulatto.” This kind of resource can help you put into perspective the ages and timeframes in which your relatives lived, and where.
If You Aren’t Coming Up With Anything, Here’s What Else You Can Do
One of our family names is Smith. Yes—one of the most common last names in America. Researching my great-grandmother’s maiden name almost led nowhere. But since I already knew a little about our heritage (being Black), I knew that many of us were given the last names of slave owners or plantations. I think that’s where I left off in my search, and I didn’t get very far—which I understand now.
If you can, try to find out whether the person you’re searching for had a middle initial. I learned that my great-grandmother never had a middle name. Sometimes, dates and names can be tricky to track down.
My advice? Start small. Don’t get frustrated if you can’t find what you’re looking for right away. Genealogy research can be an ongoing process. I never quite finished mine due to time constraints, but I’ll get back to it someday soon.
It’s a bit like putting together a puzzle. Some puzzles are easier than others, and some have so many pieces that it becomes more difficult. And sometimes, some pieces might be missing—and that’s okay, even if it’s hard to accept. But that’s all part of the research process.
With that, I say—good luck. I hope this has helped, even just a bit.
Nicole Alicia 