PILGRIMS, PIONEERS & ALIENS

 

By Diana L. Smith

 

"Researching Around Brick Walls:

Using Collateral Lines"

March 2000

I can just hear you asking, "What is a collateral line, and what use is that to me?" Those are wonderful questions, and I hope you'll pay close attention.

I have had great help from collaterals in working around brick walls, so I would like to share some of the reasons and methods for using them in your research. 

What Is A Collateral?

First, a few definitions to help as we go along (from Webster's Ninth Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1989):

So, in genealogical terms, a collateral line is any line of descent from one or more of your ancestors through any other than your own direct line.  This can be at any point in the line of descent: close to you (researching your aunts and uncles, for example), or "way back" (for example, researching your Mayflower ancestor through research done by someone in an entirely different line).

What Good Is Researching A Collateral?

First let me say that I recommend you always do SOME research on what I call "immediate collaterals".  These are the siblings of your direct ancestors (full or half).  At the least you should get the vital records for all siblings – birth, marriage, death.  Remember that at least one of the parents of these siblings is also your direct ancestor, so the information you obtain is documentation of the whereabouts of that ancestor.  In addition, you may just glean additional details about your own ancestor from it.

Let’s assume, just for the sake of argument, that your ancestors didn’t all leave perfect records.  You’re missing just one piece of vital information – let’s say, it’s your grandmother’s father’s name.  You’ve tried your grandparents’ marriage records, census records, birth records, death records, wills, deeds, and everything else you can think of to check.  No luck!  All you find is that her name is Mary and she was supposedly born in Ohio (but you already knew that!).  Now what?  This is a perfect situation to try a collateral line.

Does your grandmother have brothers or sisters?  Try THEIR marriage, birth, death, will, deed or other records.  Chances are one of these other records mentions father’s name.  If you do find a name, be sure to verify that they actually had the same father … but at least you now have something to work with now.

No luck there?  Change tactics.  Try your grandfather’s siblings.  Maybe one of his brothers married one of her sisters or mentioned some “cousins” that you can’t identify anywhere else or had neighbors with a daughter named Mary who was the right age.  Again, this isn’t proof, but it is a good “working hypothesis” until you can disprove it or find something better. 

Still no luck? Go back another generation on your grandfather’s side.  Look for wills and deeds which might mention the daughters-in-law.  Look for property or census records again to see who the neighbors were and look for daughters of the right name and age.  Still not proof, but another "working theory" to start investigating.

How Do I Research A Collateral?

Here are a few examples of information on direct ancestors obtained through collateral relatives' records:

Sometimes you need to dig a little deeper, or vital records don’t have the information you need.  Your own ancestor may not have left you exactly what you want, but someone else may have. 

Missing a widowed mother or aged father?  Try the census records of all the children. 

By the way, also try to research the "step-parents" of your ancestors … sometimes for several generations up and down the line. Why do that? Think about the factors that influence us as we grow up … the parents who raised us have a great impact on our lives - and those may not be the biological parents. Therefore, I believe in researching the step-parents and their families to see what factors influenced an ancestor's life.

“Step-relatives” may also lead to direct ancestors through the back door – remember those ancestors who married had to meet somewhere.  The most likely places were homes of friends, neighbors, or other relatives.  Be alert for these connections in all your research.

In short, to research collaterals, do the same things you do to track your direct ancestors. Look at vital records and other primary sources, work your way back from the known to the unknown, and watch for clues. Once you find clues in the collateral records, use those to look for proof that they apply to your direct line as well … it's usually much easier to prove or disprove a hypothesis than to find facts with no starting place.

·       When you hit a brick wall with your ancestor, start a timeline for the family (if you haven’t before).  Log every life event you have found for that person, spouse, children, and parents.  Indicate the event, date, and place.  Then look for gaps to begin your research.

·       Record what you already know about the collateral relatives, especially those who were (or may have been) in the same place at the same time. Put them on a similar time line and again look for gaps.

·       Consider what records might be available for the relatives that you haven't yet searched. Make a work plan of records that might be helpful in obtaining the information you need.

·       Start gathering records. Document the source of every record you find. Don't forget to look for information on all family members while you're in a particular record group or database.

·       Log every tidbit of information on the timelines you started before. Create new timelines for new family members found in case you need to expand the search.

·       Periodically review all the timelines for new gaps or clues. Follow up on these new hints and keep logging the results.

·       If you use a numbering system for your direct ancestors, determine early in your research how you want to track collaterals. It may not be necessary to worry about numbers for collaterals, particularly if you use a computer database and don't assign numbers for your direct ancestors. Check the references below for suggested numbering systems.

·       Be as careful in maintaining and documenting these sources as with your direct ancestors - this proof may be all you ever find! [Sorry, I know that's not what you want to see … but sometimes that's the bottom line.]

·       And don't forget to post queries for some of those who are most likely to be sought by others - these are usually the ones who had lots of descendants, so there's more chance that one of those descendants is doing family research.

It may sound like too much work, but remember, your objective is to know your family, right? Well, what better way to understand the dynamics of a family than to know all you can about all the family members?

Further Reading (please!)

Books:

Magazines:

Web Sites:

Other Resources:

Repeat Performance records many presentations at national and regional genealogical conferences. These are available on audio cassette for about $7.50 each on-site, through mail order, or through their web site. A search engine also allows you to search for other presentations by title or presenter. http:/www.repeatperformance.com/ Specifically look for these:

I am always interested in hearing from readers, so if you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please email me at: talkgenealogy@aol.com. Stop by next month for more Pilgrims, Pioneers & Aliens! Happy Hunting!

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© Diana L. Smith, Olmsted Falls, Ohio. 2000. All rights reserved. Clip art images © Imageline, Inc. All rights reserved. Clip art images © International Microcomputer Software Inc. All rights reserved. Clip art images © T/Maker Company/Broderbund Software, Inc. All rights reserved.