Help Searching for Ancestor
Hello. Not sure if I'm posting in the right section. I have been trying to learn about my paternal ancestry, but I have reached a hurdle. I am searching for information on my great great grandfather, but unfortunately I do not have much to go by. The only info I have is a brief oral history on him and a photo. Critical information which I do not have is his surname and date of birth. I only know he was born in Germany and started a family in (American) Samoa. I've searched as much as I could, but yield no results. I don't want to think this is a lost cause due to my lack of both historic records and paternal family history. Can anyone please offer any leads or advice on how I can find my great great grandfather? Many thanks!
Answers
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I would recommend that you start with the ancestors you know about and work your way back in FamilySearch.
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@Jonathan49217 In the brief oral history, did it say where he died? Name of a spouse? HeddellJim offered good advice to thoroughly research your ancestral line back to him.
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Thank you @HeddellJim and @SerraNola for your help! I don't know when or where he died. I assume he was killed in action in Europe. My assumption comes from 1) in the only photo I've seen of him, he is wearing a WWII German era uniform, which I've dated to 1939 from research I've done on the uniform; and 2) on a 1940 American Samoa census record, the marital status of his spouse is listed as widowed.
I have previously researched both my great-great grandmother and my great grandfather. Information on both of them is limited, only a couple American Samoa census records (1920 and 1940), but neither list my great-great grandfather. My great grandfather was born in March 1918, which tells me, backtracking nine months, that my great-great grandfather must have been in the islands no later than June 1917. This lines up with oral history that my great great grandparents met during the First World War.
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@Jonathan1,858 Is he not found in any military records? Here is a list of online resources to try. Also, check out this page from the FamilySearch Wiki.
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@SerraNola Thank you for sharing the links. I appreciate it. I'm sure he is listed in military records, but I don't know his surname, nor do I know where in Germany he was born. This is what has made my search difficult. The 1920 and 1940 American Samoa census records my dad provided me shows that my great-great grandmother kept her maiden name. I haven't found any marriage or birth records.
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@Jonathan1,858 Do you know if your gg grandmother ever received any kind of pension?
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@SerraNola I don't know if she ever had. Information (i.e. historical records, documentation, etc) seems to be very scarce.
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