Searching for John Smith

 Professional genealogist Joy Roy recently presented at Diamond Valley Library as part of our Family History Month program 2019.  In Searching for John Smith, Joy discussed her research journey to find her man in Scotland. Her challenge?  SMITH is the most common name in Scotland.

General tips from her discussion included:

Names. Look for a middle name. Perhaps your ancestor’s middle name was a family name (in the case of Joy and many with Scottish ancestry, Scottish naming patterns may be in place) 

Place. Know the specific place your ancestor was associated with. Look at maps and be familiar with surrounding place names at the time your ancestor lived. Explore local history and seek out local publications for mention of your ancestor (and websites).

Online searching. Always include a location in your online searching to help filter your search results.

Occupation. Ascertain occupation via census records, city directories or obituary.

Cemeteries. Explore cemeteries in person and/or online and/or published index to find final resting place. A gravestone inscription or burial record can lead to researching other family members (or even people buried in the same location but who may or may not be related) an obituary or more.

Newspapers. Newspaper Research for your family history via British Newspapers Archive, Find My Past and Trove add life to your ancestors story. Obituaries are especially valuable and look at all versions when copied to other papers. Some may be longer than others.

Get distracted. Going on tangents can be fruitful. Joy’s ancestor was in charge of a prison. She researched the prison including its correspondence files to understand more of John’s life.

Family. Widen your search to include other family members. John can be found as a witness to a marriage or an informant for a death for example.

Criminal activity. Follow up on suspected criminal activity as a “bad” John Smith can be easier to locate in these types of records.

You can find your John Smith with patience and a lot of effort.  Your search can be successful.

This blog post was first published on 29 August, 2019 at Yarra Plenty Regional Library