EXPERT GENEALOGY RESEARCH SERVICES

3 HOURS OF GENEALOGY RESEARCH GIFTED FOR EVERY $100 DONATION

(Part of these monies are used for expenses, such as memberships to Newspapers.com, Ancestry, and other pertinent fees I have to pay.)

I have decided to use this page as a method of gifting my supporters with something that will be of value to them that I am able to do until I lose the rest of my vision. I want to give something in recognition of the generosity of all those who have helped and are helping me survive my disabilities.

DONATIONS WILL FUND MY EFFORTS TO BUILD A SMALL HERMITAGE:

I am physically disabled and living on my Social Security retirement funds into which I paid during about 35 years that I worked as a secretary. 

My monthly Social Security payouts are not enough to purchase some essential disability aids, such as a car that would accommodate a lift for my wheelchair, and a small home that will enable me to support a life of quiet contemplation, as my final years tick by.

I am accepting donations currently (See the "donation" link on the upper right of this blog.) When enough donations are generated to pay for the necessary disability expenses, I will close out this page, after spending the time on your genealogy that I have dedicated to you.

This effort is not a business. Even if I wanted to created a genealogy business, I could not do it because of disabilities that limit my time and which are slowly blinding me. I have to do this now, while I still have enough vision.

The money you contribute will be charitable donations given to my GO FUND ME campaign.

My time spent researching your family is a gift in recognition of your donations.

MY EXPERTISE:

My specialty is tracing American families back to their roots in the United Kingdom, with an emphasis on the nobility and royal families.

I have more than 40 years' experience researching hundreds of American families, and I have developed specialized techniques that work to differentiate my results from the results of your typical genealogy researcher. 

My Asperger's probably has something to do with the unusual skills I was born with, when it comes to a heightened sense of areas in which to look for information about your particular family. I am often able to intuit those individuals whose family ancestry links them to certain noble families of the middle ages, as well as families that extend back to founders of the American country.

Part of this ability is derived from the thousands of hours of research I have conducted over more than 40 years.

LIVING RELATIVES:

In addition to linking you to your ancient ancestors, I have many times introduced people to living cousins. You will have to tell me if you want that or not.

A FAMILY TREE FOR YOU:

Because of my naturally fast typing speed, I will build a private tree for you on Ancestry.com that will help you visualize your extended family relationships and from which you may print extensive information.

ALL WORK DONE ONLINE:

I will be researching all the documentary, photographic and newspaper sources on the internet and then forwarding to you those items that I believe may pertain to your family.

I will tell you where to obtain documents that are not available online, so that you won't have to pay me for the time I would have to invest in obtaining those hard copies.

NO GUARANTEE THAT PARTICULAR DOCUMENTS EXIST:

It is not possible to guarantee that the documents you HOPE to find are documents that actually exist and are available. Most of the time, I find documents and newspaper articles that were previously unimagined. You need to be open to what is available. The existence of death certificates is not insured, for instance, because that sort of thing has not been available except for during our more modern era.

OFTEN, what is available contradicts family legend and lore. It is common, in most families, that certain stories have been passed down which are products of our ancestors' imaginations.

ALSO, some families are easier to trace than others. People who remain in one place and have ties to the community and whose activities are recorded in local newspapers are somewhat easier.

OLDER RECORDS become less and less available, the further back in time we go. 

YOUR GRANDMA LIED TO YOU:

Many people are met with at least one big surprise in the course of the research of their family history. What you have been told about it may be, to one degree or another, false. Divorces, illegitimate children, "parents" that were actually step or adoptive parents, and the occasional brother or sister you never knew you had will pop up in the course of things. If you feel you cannot bear to know about any of these surprising family secrets, then perhaps it is better not to engage in genealogy research.

CONTACT ME FIRST:

Contact me BEFORE clicking the "donate" button, and I will get some information from you that will help me determine whether or not I will be able to help you. I specialize in certain types of populations and I am not able to help those who have backgrounds in which I do not have the proper expertise.

Contact me on Facebook HERE

HOW I BECAME A GENEALOGIST

My Grammy & her pet tortoise

Randsburg, California, about 1926

My genealogy work began in 1978 when I stumbled upon an old mining town named Randsburg during one of my treasure hunting trips in the Mojave Desert.  Driving into town, I spotted a sign indicating that there were 50 residents in this tiny, dusty town that still boasted the remnants of wooden boardwalks in front of the old clapboard buildings.  I stopped in at "Two Finger Jacks" which was basically just a big empty room with books stacked on a few big tables. After meandering through quite a few of the volumes, I purchased several quaint, hard bound poetry and etiquette books that were heavily decorated with faded gold scroll work and reeked of the Gilded Age, miner's sweat and Mojave dust.

Photo by: Charles White

Gold was discovered in the Randsburg area in about 1895, and the town still reminded me of that era, though I knew nothing about the history of Randsburg when I first wandered through it.   During a visit to the truly tiny "museum" located in a small space inside a building on the wooden boardwalk I saw photos of thousands of miner's tents pitched precariously up the side of the hill above town.  At one time, there were 2,000 people living in this little burg, laboring small claims and/or working the Yellow Aster Mine at the end of the street.

Before leaving, I stopped by the General Store and sat at the antique soda fountain, built in 1904, and enjoyed an ice cream.  It was summer in the Mojave and super hot!

http://randsburggeneralstore.com/

When I got back to my Mediterranean style apartment in old Hollywood, I hurriedly called my Grandmother who had mentioned that she had been raised in the Mojave Desert, at least for part of her childhood.  "Grammy," I said excitedly, "I just found this tiny little gold mining town called RANDSBURG!" 

"Randsberg?" she replied, "I used to LIVE in Randsburg."

That's when she began to tell me her life story, which rivaled any Lifetime Channel movie for romance, pathos, tragedy, and drama.  Grammy's mother died when Grammy was just 2 years old.  Her sister was only 8 months old.  My great grandfather, a miner, prospector and speculator, left the girls with an aunt in Denver for a few years, but after he married his second wife, he brought the girls out to live with him and his young bride in Randsburg.  My grandmother had spent about 14 years in beautiful, green Colorado.  Her introduction to the arid Mojave Desert was shocking.

My Grammy and her sister

~ Randsburg, about 1926 ~

I learned that Grammy was made to help her step-mother at the Rand Hotel, where the step-mother was manager.  Indeed, this is probably part of the reason my great grandfather sent for his girls: they were old enough to begin working.  I learned a lot of things.  Grammy had a pet tortoise (picture above.)  An "ice box" was a metal box over which a burlap bag was wrapped.  Drops of water fell from above, wetting the burlap and cooling the interior and its contents.

After speaking to my Grammy, I soon returned to Randsburg and interviewed Mrs. Wilson, who had lived there more than 50 years.  She knew my grandmother and her sister when they were teenagers and remembered them.  She also remembered Jack, who was to become my grandfather.  She told me that he was very handsome and the best dancer at the Grange Hall dances.

~

My grandfather and Lease Holder at the Yellow Aster Mine

Randsburg, California

Genealogy research in those days had to be done old school style.  Broad use of the Internet would not be possible for more than ten years, and ancestry.com would not launch until the late 1990's.  Foot work was involved.  Interviews, on-site research, copying old books, scouring dusty old records and letters, and examining roll upon roll of original documents at the Sacramento State Library and other locations made the work tedious, time-consuming, and slow.  Much of the family linked information that is now available on Ancestry.com was originally researched by old-school genealogists like me. 

Over time, I took advantage of growing technologies, researched every ancestor possible, and eventually learned that I was descended from numerous kings, colonials, saints and pioneers. It isn't unusual to be able to do this, by this way, since history books have kept track of the descendants of famous figures.

After researching as far BACK in time as possible, I then moved FORWARD in an attempt to find and link up with cousins, many of whom join me on my Facebook page.  Not everyone is interested in their genealogy, however, so you should be prepared for a lukewarm, or even a cold reception from some people.

I have been very lucky to make friends with some wonderful cousins from various lines in my family.  I have found long-lost family members for others and have been responsible for countless reunions.  It is my joy to bring a wider sense of family to the world, for we all must realize that family is more than just the American nuclear family of mom and pop and their kids.

You will find biographies of some of the most interesting ancestors I have found over the last 34 years on the memorials I manage on the FIND A GRAVE website.  I have written about some of my saintly ancestors on my other blog, DIARY OF AN ACCIDENTAL HERMIT TWO  If you find some enjoyment or other value in my writing, please consider donating to my effort so that i can pay for my monthly Internet charges!  If you have a family mystery you would like help unraveling by a professional, you can purchase blocks of time at the BUY NOW button, above.

In the meantime, God Bless and happy researching!

Copyright (c) 2012, Silver Parnell
All rights reserved.