Location, Location, Location

What is a location in regards to Genealogy research?

Honestly, about thirteens years ago I learned the answer to this question when I moved to a small town in Iowa.

I started volunteering at the Nodaway Historical Society Museum which had gotten it's start with a group of ladies trying preserve the past in Page County Iowa.  These ladies would clip obituaries for people who lived in the surrounding communities and counties.  They then found the funding to open a great museum and great genealogy resource.

While volunteering there I had the opportunity to learn lots of things about genealogy and geography.  
Most of us only think of location in the USA as:  City, County, State when in actuality most states use a form or another of Townships; which makes City, Township, County, State, USA.  So if we go to the back to the Nodaway Historical Society Museum is in Clarinda, Page County, Iowa, USA but its full location is:  Clarinda, Nodaway Township, Page County, Iowa, USA or Clarinda, Nodaway Township, Page, Iowa.  If there is no city the location is always simply:  Nodaway Township, Page County, Iowa, USA

A common mistake when people document location is believing that a Township is a town or vice versa.  When I come across a town I do not know even after decades of doing genealogy, I always do search of the location.  I am never positive what I will find, but usually there is not a town or ghost town by that name it is a township or even things as a mill. Yes, there are towns named after a mill or the owner of the Mill these will show up as a city if they are.  So when in doubt, always search for the location if it's someplace you have never heard of.  I use Google and/or Wikipedia when I check location.

Let's all help each other to try and keep he facts correct as possible.

Happy digging up your ancestors!

Why you ask Back Door Ancestry?

After decades of researching genealogies for family, friends, and myself, I have discovered that the direct method does't always work.  

Ever get stuck with a mountain or brick wall in front of you to large to get around or over?  That person you are looking for is just invisible?  Well sometimes the best method is the 'Back Door', try tracking down everything you can on the children and the siblings (I mean everything)  You never know where you will find them living or buried.  

Example:
I had been looking for my Great Grandfather William Mathias Fredrick Holt's 2nd wife Nevada 'Vada' Johnson and her children with her first husband WMF to finish his family. 

I had Vada's parents and children's names nut nothing much on them.  Great Grandfather 'WMF' & 'Vada' seemed to have a strained marriage he divorced her 2 times but they remained together remarrying.  I seriously wondered if he disposed of 'Vada' under the new dam, lake or river in Stone County Missouri, she just vanished.  Even though I never gave up looking.

I stumbled upon a tree for my Grandmother's half brother William Bert 'Boy' Holt found a great picture of him and a prayer card for Vada Stroud.  They didn't know much about her just the Holt children and the name Stroud.  

No husbands first name but 2 censuses in Arkansas: 1st with Vada Dwight and 2nd Vada Stroud a widow and Bert's sister Pansy Marie Holt Fair living with her, gave me a time frame to narrow down the search.   

Next came a marriage of Vada Dwight to I L Stroud in Arkansas. Then to confirm the information on the 2  as being the correct person, I looked for a Holt marriage to Dwight. I found her marriage to Ward Dwight.  

Now one child to find and all children are complete except: Evaline Holt b 1903 Stone County Missouri.

Moral:  Never give up looking, just be sure to open the 'Back Door' you never know what will come out; and think creatively!