A Last Resort

• Ancestry.com has nothing.
• FamilySearch has nothing.
• The people at the Family History Library have no idea. 
• Using Google is overwhelming

Do you give up looking for this ancestor?

No sir! If you find yourself stuck in the details, it's time to back up and look at the big picture. Some questions to ask-

• What was happening politically in this country?
• Birth and Death- are both events in the same country? If not, why?
• Do they show up in documentation in other members of the family?

Hopefully this will help challenge and change your thinking.

Example- 

• Your ancestor was born in Ireland and dies in U.S.
• You believe they must've immigrated around 1850 because, they don't show up in other documentation of their family who died in Ireland.
• Looking at the big picture- In 1850 Ireland was in the potato famine, on of the largest in history.
• You might ask- What was the "last straw" to make them leave?