Re: help with lampkin history- tx
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In reply to:
help with lampkin history- tx
alyssa lampkin 4/02/04
Hi, Alyssa,
That is not much to go on.
Just a general hint: To pursue the research of your family history, there is one important thing to do before it's too late.That would be a lengthy interview with every known living relative who might remember something.Write down every word or rumor they report.Don't throw out ANYthing as preposterous or inconsistent.Just write it down.You can sort it all out later.
Often, if your family is generally unresearched, older relatives are very happy to talk to you about it.You will also get into their memories and have a little better chance of actually owning some photographs or original paper work.
Lesson: While searching for those who have passed on, do not neglect those who yet remain.
Three quick stories:
1) In an interview with my father-in-law, he stated that his grandfather on one side had married his grandmother on the other side.We all just laughed and laughed, thinking he had lost his mind.On further discovery, we found that both grandparents had lost their spouses, they both were living with their common grandchildren, and it simply must have seemed far more convenient to maintain only one household, so they married.We were wrong to laugh.
2) We have a family legend that two toddlers were buried in a certain cemetery, in a certain spot.There remains no evidence of such a burial, even after cemetery-sniffing dogs covered it with some attention.Is the legend wrong?Hard to say.This is still just a legend, but we're thinking about it.
3) The 1920 census where my grandparents are listed shows a date approximately three weeks after my father was born.My father is not listed as a member of the household.Did my grandfather forget they just added a new son to the family?I actually met my father, so I'm pretty sure he exists.Did the census worker date the record correctly?No record is perfect.
Good luck.You will have a joyous search, but you'll have to start with a bit more information.Get to them before they go.