It’s Never too Late to Start Your Genealogy!

January 27, 2011

Recently, I was helping a patron get started on his research.  I asked him if he knew someone who would have been alive during the 1930 census.  His response: "Yes, me.  I was."  When I asked what his birthdate was, he replied, "May the 5th, 19 and 11".  I looked him up in the 1920 Census, and there he was as a 9-year-old son.  So, we then had his parents' names, and I was able to help him go back a little farther.  I’m not sure how much research he got done while he was here that day, but he told me he would be back when he could spend more time.

So the point is that it is NEVER too late to start your genealogy.  This gentleman who was just a beginner was only four months away from his 100th birthday.  If he can do it at 99+ years of age, you can too!

Ellen M.
Midwest Genealogy Center