Geneaologyfilter: Are we related to these famous golfers?
December 13, 2016 7:48 AM Subscribe
My dad suspects that we are related to the Smith bothers, three professional golfers who emigrated from Scotland to North America in the early 20th century. What could we do to find out more about them?
So here's the evidence:
My dad was born in Dundee, Scotland. As a kid growing up in the 1950s, he remembers his mother (who has since passed away) telling him that some of her relatives were well-known local golfers who moved to America. His mother's mother's maiden name was Smith.
The Smith brothers were from a well-known golfing family that lived in Dundee and then in nearby Carnoustie. They moved to the US for professional opportunities at different times in the early 20th Century.
My dad and I both live in the US now, and he's not aware of any living relatives in Scotland who would know about his grandmother's family.
So are there any steps we could take to investigate this possible connection? My parents are planning a trip to Scotland sometime in the summer or fall of 2017, so they will have the opportunity to do some on-the-ground research. Any ideas would be appreciated!
So here's the evidence:
My dad was born in Dundee, Scotland. As a kid growing up in the 1950s, he remembers his mother (who has since passed away) telling him that some of her relatives were well-known local golfers who moved to America. His mother's mother's maiden name was Smith.
The Smith brothers were from a well-known golfing family that lived in Dundee and then in nearby Carnoustie. They moved to the US for professional opportunities at different times in the early 20th Century.
My dad and I both live in the US now, and he's not aware of any living relatives in Scotland who would know about his grandmother's family.
So are there any steps we could take to investigate this possible connection? My parents are planning a trip to Scotland sometime in the summer or fall of 2017, so they will have the opportunity to do some on-the-ground research. Any ideas would be appreciated!
Assuming they've passed away, you can probably get a good start on Ancestry.com. (You can get a 1- or 2-week trial, depending on what their deal is these days.) Accessing Ancestry from most public libraries also gives you access to international records, including a wealth of info from the UK.
You should also try some newspaper searches -- Google Newspaper archives or newspapers.com. The Library of Congress' Chronicling America stops at 1922, which may be too late?
There's also a UK-based genealogy site, FindMyPast.com, that might be helpful, although I don't know if their records are more England-specific.
I do this kind of stuff for fun, so if you have specific questions about any of those sources, shoot me a MeMail.
posted by mudpuppie at 7:56 AM on December 13, 2016
You should also try some newspaper searches -- Google Newspaper archives or newspapers.com. The Library of Congress' Chronicling America stops at 1922, which may be too late?
There's also a UK-based genealogy site, FindMyPast.com, that might be helpful, although I don't know if their records are more England-specific.
I do this kind of stuff for fun, so if you have specific questions about any of those sources, shoot me a MeMail.
posted by mudpuppie at 7:56 AM on December 13, 2016
Genealogy is all about working with what you know. Do you know your Grandmother's date of birth, location of birth and maiden name? You'd start there. I would gather all info that you know for sure. The less recent the better. Recent records are more difficult to find due to privacy reasons.
Familysearch.com is free and may have some pertinent records.
Ancestry.com you'd have to pay for but has a lot more records.
If you go to r/genealogy on Reddit with all the info you do know, you will likely get some help. I know there are some Scotland researchers there.
posted by ReluctantViking at 7:56 AM on December 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Familysearch.com is free and may have some pertinent records.
Ancestry.com you'd have to pay for but has a lot more records.
If you go to r/genealogy on Reddit with all the info you do know, you will likely get some help. I know there are some Scotland researchers there.
posted by ReluctantViking at 7:56 AM on December 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
(Clarifying "assuming they've passed away": You'll find a lot more information on deceased ancestors than living ones on genealogy sites, so it gets trickier to trace more the recent parts of the line.)
posted by mudpuppie at 7:58 AM on December 13, 2016
posted by mudpuppie at 7:58 AM on December 13, 2016
Seconding Ancestry. Also, for Scottish-specific stuff, scotlandspeople.gov.uk is a great genealogy resource to use for searching through government archives, parish records etc.
posted by Catseye at 9:06 AM on December 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Catseye at 9:06 AM on December 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
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posted by something something at 7:51 AM on December 13, 2016 [3 favorites]