Searching....... and Searching.......

Will the Right William please Stand UP!

William Henry Pearson is my pain in the butt case these last few months... I have agreed to take on a case, and I must say this is a very tough one next to my own great grandmother Clara Mitchell!

 I know I have done every possible search I can online (well not every, but still searching)... only thing left to do is go to NY.... a road trip does sound nice. The problem is this guy is the ancestor who was born about 1841ish and has a son named William... one would expect to find him located in the 1860 census or the 1870 and 1880..... trouble is there is a multiplying of Pearson's during the 1800's between the US and England.... everyone decided to name their children William! and... just when I have "followed" the right one... trail goes cold.

So.. I am currently going to use the FAN club and see where this leads me... hopefully to the RIGHT William and I can finally lay this case to rest ... well at least until I can find him and move on to the next goal... his parents... So, What is the FAN club?

Friends-Family, Associates and Neighbors = FAN .. a term Elizabeth Shown Mills has coined in order to be able to break through those brick walls.... you begin to look outside of the family dynamic-  your ancestors friends, in-laws and outlaws (smiles), associates- business, sports, or clubs, and finally their neighbors... next door neighbors of where they lived or work.  I hope his FAN club will help me locate him and my great grandmother!! I so want to solve this mystery .... especially my great grandmother Clara... I can locate her in the 1920's and 1930's US Census but can not find her in the 1940's US Census as of yet.... more on her later .. I promise! =)

William Pearson is not an ancestor of mine but of a friend of mine and she laughs every time I tell her that he is a tough one to locate! She has tried for years to locate her very stubborn 3x great grandfather and, so now because we are very close friends, he has become my pain in the butt 3x great grandfather.... maybe once I break down that brick wall and find him... all things are possible and I shall find my great grandmother Clara!  Someone once told me that if you want to find something or someone ... hide it or s(he) in plain sight  .... hmmmm

Plain sight huh? Census records- War records- death records- marriage records- Newspaper articles- just to name a few records I am searching in....where o where is William the 11th or is it the 10th?? Yeah you read right!... his father's name is William as his son and his son's son.....

The Search Continues...................