It Doesn't Have to be Hard

     My mom and I were talking recently about how we were stalled out in our research.  In frustration, and a bit of free time (which seems to be hard to come by these days), I was determined to find any kind of a breakthrough I could.  I chose a family we hadn't worked on in a while - the Tanners.  Now this family is kind of funny for us because for 3 or 4 generations we have absolutely nothing on the wives of the Tanner ancestors, maiden names - yes, parentage - no.  So, I decided to pursue my grandma Dinah (Elwell) Tanner, mostly because I have always loved her name!

Dinah Elwell stone

     Since I had exhausted Ancestry.com's databases, I did a basic Google search - nothing new.  My back up is always Google Books.  So, I typed in "Aaron Tanner, Dinah, Tompkins County, New York" (where they originated from) - BINGO! It brought up a journal for the Montoyne family that basically said that Dinah had a sister Melissa who married John Montoyne.  Melissa went from Tompkins County and settled in Tioga County, Pennsylvania which is where Aaron and Dinah last resided as well.  Too cool!  So, I went back to Ancestry to enter in my new info.  While I was there, I was reminded that Aaron and Dinah had a daughter named Melissa.  Ok, there's a name from the Elwell family.  Then I got to thinking, my ggg-grandpa Ebenezer E. Tanner (Aaron & Dinah's son) was not named after someone on the Tanner side that I could see.  I had always assumed that his middle name was Elwell, but now the origin of his first name got me to thinking.  So, I typed in a basic Google search of "Ebenezer Elwell, Tompkins County, New York".  Paydirt!  There was an Ebenezer Elwell who had been involved in the Revolutionary War that died in Tompkins County!  On further examination of the previously mentioned journal on the Montoyne family, it speculated that Ebenezer Elwell was the father of Dinah & Melissa.  Cool thing about Ebenezer Elwell is that he served with the Connecticut regiments in the Revolution and was at Valley Forge that horrible winter.  I can't wait to find out more about him!
     Don't ever discount the benefits of a Google search.  It has aided me once before in discovering a family mystery.  My hubby's ggg-aunt had done some family history and had written down that his ggggg-grandpa, Moses Thompson, had died while out in a snowstorm - that's it, no dates, just that tidbit.  So, I had his daughter's death dates and I could approximate his dates and location, but could never find anything.  Once on a whim, I typed in a search of "Moses Thompson" "Beaver County, Pennsylvania" and found a death notice for him!  It explained the circumstances of his death in the snow and gave a date. From there I was able to find out his wife's maiden name! 
  In short, genealogy doesn't have to be hard (although we can make it that way).  You don't have to buy expensive subscriptions (although they do help immensely at times!).  You just have to be clever and use the info at hand.  Sometimes the answer is almost right under your nose:)

Rules of Research

Always answer your phone!
The phone rings at 7:45 this morning, I'm in the middle of making breakfast before we head out to homeschool co-op at 8:45.  I almost don't answer, but the inclusion of an actual person's name on the caller id with the unknown area code intrigues me.  I answer.  The gal asks if she has the right person & then says she's trying to find out more about my ggg-grandfather Ebenezer Tanner's 2nd wife. Hold the phone!!

A picture of Ebenezer Tanner that always hung in our living room.

Never, ever give up on genealogy forum posts!
This gal had found a post I made on GenForum 13 years ago in 1998.  She was so excited to find a reference to her gr-grandma's maiden name, she took a shot in the dark, Googled my name & called the number she found.  People's e-mails change, but if someone has sheer determination,  they will track you down.  I don't use forums much anymore, some of that comes from lack of available time, but I am even more convinced of their usefulness after today:)
Always cite your references!
Early on in my research, it seemed like a mad dash to find all there was to find, after all there were a ton of blank spaces on that family tree!  In my rush, I was very lax in writing sources down.  So when this gal asked me today how I knew her gr-grandma's maiden name, I couldn't tell her for certain.  Hopefully I have it written in my notes somewhere.  Sourcing things is becoming increasingly important in this age of information.  People take a quick glance at a source & take it as their own without much thought as to the accuracy of the item.  I have seen many a family tree on-line clouded with mis-information.  It only helps you in the long run to keep track of where you got that nugget of info.  You never know when you'll be asked to prove something, even at 7:45 on a busy morning:)