Great Grandfather/Dead End
I've been doing my best for many, many months to find my great-grandfather. Here is the number for my great grandfather L6LP-47N. I've not only searched here but I've searched other sites and had friends with subscription services search as well. My great grandfather David seems to be well documented. I have an old photo of him. I even have newspaper clippings of his obit and an article from the newspaper because he was quite old when he passed and was celebrated in the town he lived in. A clue from that article was that his father was 103 when he passed. But I just can NOT find either of his parents or a birth certificate. That being said, my great grandfather was black and I wonder if this info is missing because maybe his father was born into slavery? However, this makes no sense because some of the records do say both of his parents were born in Ohio (I can find neither parent). I don't know what else to do. Census records don't seem to help. I don't know where else to look. My great-grandfather and grandmother did exist and not being able to find them over the past 3 years now is eating away at me! Any advice is greatly appreciated! TIA!
Best Answer
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You may benefit from the Free Research Consultation offered by the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. This is an on-line consultation so there is no need to travel. Here is the link to get you started:
We hope this helps, and hopefully others can offer help or advise in the forum as well.
Best wishes.
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Answers
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To prepare for your Free Research Consultation you may want to clean up the profile of L6LP-47N David Fletcher 15 June 1831 – 10 November 1939. Right now it is conflated.
The biggest sign of conflation are the sources attached that belong to other persons. For example, Levi Master and Levi McMaster. But I suspect some of the David Fletcher sources don't belong to this David Fletcher.
The widely scattered points on the timeline map are very suggestive of additional conflation involving persons with similar names.
His event places may be standardized but could use editing so they display better on the details page and timeline, and some may need some investigation. He died in Woods Cross Infirmary but that probably was not his residence at the time.
Some attached sources have not had their attachments finished, and there are some hints of additional sources not yet attached.
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I don't have any idea how to do any of that and don't have anything but my phone to work on so it's an impossibility for me to even try. This is why I never started when I was given this advice months ago. I know which David Fletcher is my grandfather from the links and documents I have from both here and from 2 other sites a friend was able to get for me. Even Ancestry's paid site doesn't have documentation leading to David's father. I could go to my local library and get on a computer and try and correct the mistakes but I guess since I have no clue what I'm doing and since everything comes up dead ends everywhere both myself and my friend (who's done this stuff semi-professinally for almost 30 years can't find anything), I just don't see a point. I guess maybe I just thought someone had further ideas on something I may be missing.
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I love the mobile app. It has everything but the timeline, which can be viewed from a phone using a web browser.
The YouTube channel by Family History Fanatics has some videos showing how to use the app. It has features you may not be aware of. By design, browsing and searching features are easy to find; editing features are much less apparent.
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Let's start with detaching sources that are attached where they do not belong.
The wife 9XSX-3BB Mary E. Smith has attached 3 sources that belong to George A. Fletcher. In the mobile app go to her profile. On her profile open her Sources list from the tabs under her profile title. Scroll to a source with title beginning "George A. Fletcher". Touch the title to open the source. Now, in the upper right corner touch the ••• menu. On it touch Detach. Enter an optional reason such as "her husband not her". Touch Detach again.
There! You have just detached a source from Mary E. Smith that should be attached instead to another profile. For now don't worry about making correct attachments, just detach those that are clearly wrong.
Repeat this process for the other sources for George A. Fletcher that are attached to Mary E. Smith.
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George is my grandfather. Mary Smith is my great grandmother, David's wife. If this is showing as incorrect here, it's also incorrect on Ancestry and My heritage as well. I guess now I'm just super confused.
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If this is showing as incorrect here, it's also incorrect on Ancestry and My heritage as well.
Quite likely. Many trees on those sites are copied from here. No worries. The FamilySearch Family Tree is a single tree and a consensus tree. That means when it gets fixed here it gets fixed. Period. Here there are no other trees. Future exports of the tree from here to Ancestry and My Heritage will be equally correct. That is exactly why I build trees here.
I encourage you to ignore trees you see on other sites and focus on the one tree here. Follow the historical records not other people's synthesis.
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In spite of some good advice from @dontiknowyou, you still do not seem to have the confidence to undertake the necessary tasks yourself. Rather than attempt actions that night make things worse, either enlist the help of your friend (especially if they have experience of working within Family Tree) or (if there is not a Family History Centre open near where you live) book that telephone consultation.
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Hi Lynda,
I spent a few minutes using the search function and found the 1880 census records (in Sandusky Ohio) for Mary Fletcher (Smith) and son Joseph Clarence Fletcher and also for David Fletcher and son George Albert Fletcher. David and Mary are living in different residences, each with 1 of their children. David is living and working on a farm. The important clue is that David is listed as 28 years old. It sometimes occurs that 100+ year olds are actually younger. I suggest looking for his 1860 and 1870 records using and age range centered on 1852 rather than 1831.
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