I'm stuck...how do I find the father of a relative with only the surname and sta

Question:

I'm stuck...how do I find the father of a relative with only the surname and state of birth?

I'm stuck at my great grandfather, who was born about 1863. I have the 1900 census, which lists the state where his father (my great-great grandfather) was born. I obviously have the surname, but no idea of the birth year of this relative. Any suggestions? I am a member of ancestry.com, so have access to all kinds of records - I just need to know where to start.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Work backwards from the known to the unknown. Write down every thing you know - even the tiniest thing. Then, as someone mentioned, try looking in the 1880 census - and the 1870, but only once you have checked the 1880 thoroughly. Make a record of every possible family in 1880 in the particular state, that you think is your ggrandfather's family (of course there could be several). Try checking the siblings and parents in the 1880 families in the 1900 - any connections between them and your known ggrandfather in 1900?

Also, I would see if I could find any wills or probate records which are often key in linking a person to their families. Same goes for land records - often family members deeded land to each other.

Have you tried tracing your ggrandfather's siblings? That can be a good round-about way of finding an ancestor's family.

I read once that one is not just tracing an ancestor but really a whole family history, into which big picture one's ancestor fits - and I think that's quite right. Good luck!