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| LIFE IN SOLERA | NOVEMBER 2023 | 45 ANCESTOR DATA SITES In our treasure hunt for information on our ancestors we of course use the major databases like Ancestry.com or Familysearch.org for sources of information. However, there are sources to explore that provide data on an ancestor the major databases mentioned above may not provide. For example, within your immediate family there may be diaries of now deceased relatives with bits of information on some of your ancestors. The family bibles are sometimes used to record births, marriages, and deaths of family members both past and present. You can also 'Google' an individual and see what information nuggets can be found. Your search may encounter sources, such as a book written about individuals (possible ancestors) who were pioneers or lived in certain cities or counties. Sometimes a whole biography and their family members may be included. There are certain groups of individuals, such as the people on the 'Mayflower' that have whole societies dedicated to studying the people involved and their subsequent families. The same situation applies to similar groups of people, such as, revolutionary war patriots, religious groups (Quakers, Jews, etc.) and many more. Newspapers covering where your ancestors lived can be contacted via the internet, sometimes through libraries, or in person to research articles on vital statistics on your ancestors. Even high school yearbooks or college graduation records can be of some help. Direct contact to the applicable archives covering where your ancestors lived can provide vital statistic information. These can be found at city, county, and state level, as well as specific professional organizations. If your research takes you back to Europe, many records were kept by the churches in a town or city. Some of these can be found online and many more have to be contacted directly. An excellent source to help identify various sources for information on where to find vital statistical data is 'Family Tree Magazine.' It has articles that explain and guide you to various source sites for vital statistics and subjects to help you in building your family tree. So just because information for populating your family tree does not exist in the Ancestry.com or Familysearch.org databases does not mean that it doesn't exist in other data sources. You just have to dig deeper for those information nuggets. ~ Bill Cramsie ANCESTRY GROUP On Nov. 6 from 4:30 to 5:30 pm in the Oakmont Rooms 1 & 2 Marty Mangan will give the first of a two-part lecture on the History of Cosmology (the study of outer space). HISTORY GROUP