Genealogy Found

Brick Walls

Any genealogist who says they have finished researching all their families is not telling the truth. Every genealogist has their brick walls where it seems that you are the only person out there who is researching a troublesome family.

Breaking down the Thompson Brick Wall

When I started researching my family history, more than 30 years ago, I started with my maiden name of Thompson. This name was also my first frustration and brick wall.
Thompson is among the top 10 most common names so I had that going against me right from the start. It wasn’t until 2007 that I finally found the key that opened that locked door in the Thompson brick wall.

Campbell and Miller Family Mysteries

Another brick wall was my grandmother’s maiden name of Campbell. A beginner genealogist is told to interview older relatives when starting family research and that’s what I did. My grandmother, last of the Campbell family, was still living so I asked her about her parents, siblings, and anything she could remember about her grandparents. Grandma gave me a wrong name for her father’s mother and a nickname for her eldest brother. Years were spent trying to find people who fit. After 20 years I found the real name of her brother and things improved from there.Never give up on your brick walls. Be patient, someday, something will be revealed and set you on the correct path.

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Who are all these people?

We knew that was great-grandfather Elvin D. Thompson, at the upper right. Grandmother handwrote "age 19" -- thus the picture had to have been taken about 1894. Five others long remained mysteries.

Years ago, Elvin's youngest daughter, great aunt Mid (last remaining member of the family) said maybe the elder woman was called "Aunt Jane Mallot". Years later, research upturned that Elvin's mother, Anna Hickman, had a sister, Elizabeth Jane, who married Johnson Mellott!

So it's likely the elderly couple in the picture is Johnson and Elizabeth.

Now, who are those other people?