FAN

On a hot day, fans can definitely get the air moving which can be a great relief to chickens in a stuffy building.

When it comes to family, FAN Research stands for Family, Acquaintances and Neighbors.The term “FAN club” was coined by Elizabeth Shown Mills, a renowned genealogist and author. The idea is instead of researching only one person, your main ancestor, that by extending your circle to include all the people in your main ancestors life, you have a much greater chance of finding the family. You also may find your self chasing bright shiny objects so keep track of where you are looking and what you find that may be helpful later on.

For example if a child is the main person you are researching and that child seems to disappear and you can’t find where they ended up, look at the siblings and parents records to put together a timeline of where they might have gone. Sometimes a sister gets married and immigrates and years later, you can find her brother or cousins living with her in the new area. Cyndi’s list has gathered many helpful sites to further learn about FAN research.

I’ve seen FAN research work so many times! Especially while searching for Polly. Land records for her son are what finally started to give us the answers we’ve been searching for years!

Another example is finding a census record which lists your family and maybe a nephew or cousin is living with the family. That can be a gold mine of information! If those names were previously unknown to you, find out more. Who are these people? Which side of the family are they related on? This is one way to branch out and find those elusive ancestors that may only come to light in thanks to their family members. So try it out and Happy searching!