This involves carefully examining every record uncovered to help you gather the most beneficial facts from them. The goal with in-depth research is to have a continuous trail that ultimately points to further documentation and further fact-finding.

People often make the mistake of using whatever records they have compiled to search for information on their relatives rather than using the records to uncover additional information. By uncovering every record you possibly can find, you greatly improve your chances of finding the most descendants. Some of the most helpful records are those found in places of worship. Marriage, baptismal and burial records can go a long way in supplementing other vital records.

When searching for a particular family name, be sure to use every type of spelling possible. For example, if you were searching for the last name Cambell, you would search for Cambell, Cambel and so on.  Many times immigrants will change the spelling of their last names, by rearranging or dropping a letter or two, once they arrived in another country. If you find an individual with a similar last name that lived in the same time and location of your ancestor look into that more deeply. 

Other possible avenues to explore are - boarding schools and convents. There is an abundance of family information waiting to be found in these types of places, such as birth names, places of residence, dates of birth, other family member names, vocations etc.  Keep in mind that back in the day, families did not spend a great deal of time moving from place to place. They laid roots in one area and were not so quick to just pick up and leave once they were settled in. You should always investigate the places in which your ascendants had originally laid roots.

Census records - are also useful tools for genealogy research. Delving into records detailing data on the population give you a new avenue to research and frequently furnish vital statistics about our ascendants. In some states, local and federal censuses are separate entities. There are other types of censuses, as well that shouldn’t be overlooked, such as those used within the school system. The point to be made is this, leave no stone unturned when searching for your ancestors. By not thoroughly digging into genealogical records of all types, you run the risk of unknowingly overlooking some of your ascendants. 

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