The Genealogist's Dilema

Once one starts doing research, assuming that no one has done research before you, you are automatically focused on a very few people, and therefore very few last names.  Most people usually start with their surname and their mother’s surname.  In my case, Hettinger & Bo[w]man.  I asked the oldest of my living relatives, my paternal grandparents, if they knew their grandparent’s names. Unfortunately, they did not.  Being in my 30s and my parents being young when they had me (in their late teens/ 20s), there aren’t many records available for my parents (although, all I have to do is pick up the phone to get a answer to questions).  Even the ages of my grandparents are such that before the 1940 census release back on April 2nd 2012, there weren’t many records available which included them.  

The vast majority of the records available, at least online, are for people over 80 years of age.  So, when I got to my great grandparents, I now had 8 surnames to research.  Still a manageable number, BUT…The next question is, do you include collateral relatives, that is, not direct ancestors (aunts, uncles, etc)?  If you do not, you will find quickly that you will run into dead-ends (no pun intended) or brick walls, as the genealogical community calls them, that a record of a collateral ancestor may help you get around.  Anyway, the point is, the further you go back, the more names you will have as options to research: 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great grandparents, 16 great-great grandparents, etc.  If you can go back 10 generations, that is to your great x8 grandparents, you now have 1024 last names in your direct ancestry.

  

MATH WARNING: The number of ancestors you have on any generational level is 2 to the n power, where n is the generation.  20th generation, or great x18 grandparents is 1,048,576!  Good luck going back that far.

My mom’s paternal grandmother’s family came from Virginia, North Carolina & South Carolina into Tennessee, probably through the Cumberland Gap or down through the Shenandoah Valley.  Because of my frequent travels to Chattanooga (for work) I have, on a rare occasion, been able to research on the I-24 corridor, in Murfreesboro (seat of Rutherford county), Franklin (seat of Williamson County) & Nashville (seat of Davidson County & the capital of Tennessee).  I also have been able to get to the Chattanooga library, where they have resources for a variety of counties in Tennessee which are of interest.  This has allowed me to research records that aren’t available on line.  I have been focusing on the families who lived in this area including: Anglea, Blanton, Carney, Dyer, Farmer, Gambill, Kimbro, Manire, Norton & Parsley, not to mention all of the alternate spellings.  This is just a partial list, but you get the point.  So many names and such little time.  Maybe my leaves will be interested.  My youngest one just turned 1 back the end of March.  It will be a while before I will know if she is interested in researching.