"The first time I saw my grandfather's face was in his obituary, a few years after my dad died. When I noticed the obituary did not include my dad's name, he reality of their estrangement hit. Although my dad had already died, I question what he would have thought if he saw his father's obituary, knowing his biological father did not recognize him at all."
"I turned to my computer for answers To find some answers and fill out at least part of the family tree for my dad's side of the family, I realized I'd have to fend for myself. I decided to use Ancestry.com to help fill in the gaps. First, I put my grandfather's name in Ancestry. I used his obituary as a starting point for his birth and death, his parents' names, and his brother's name, then I searched for census records,"
A woman knew little about her paternal family and felt embarrassed when her son needed information for a school project. Her father died in a house fire at 63, leaving few belongings and erasing family records. An obituary revealed estrangement between her father and his own father, and memory of only a few fragmented details persisted. Curiosity and necessity prompted computer-based research. She used Ancestry.com, entered her grandfather's name and obituary details as starting points, and searched census and other records to begin rebuilding the paternal branch of the family tree.
Read at Business Insider
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