how do i find my great grandfather who left family in 1903-1907?there wasn't ss numbers then.?

Answer 1

Hey Kat,

There are a number of ways to find someone, depending on if they are living or deceased. You don't have to have SSNs.

Birth, Death, Marriage records give clues. Go to your parents birth records, and get the information about him from those records. That should give his birth data and location. Then go to that location and get his information.

Try LDS Family Search. Try Ellis Island (if he was an immigrant). Try GENFORUM for his surname, and see if anyone else is looking and what they know and have tried.

Look for OBITS - you have to narrow down where he might have died to get these.

Answer 2

You didn't mention if your grandparent from this line was still living or not. I assume that if they are living then they are not able to answer that question for you.

If that grandparent has passed away, then I would look for the death certificate. Death certificates vary by state and time frame. Most asked names of parents but it is not unusual to see that line listed as unknown.

Another key place to look would be the census records. In this case the critical census would be 1900. Assuming your great grandparents had married prior to 1900, you should find them as a family in this census. The next earlier census taken was in 1890, but it was destroyed (not by fire as most people say) by water damage from being stored in the basement of a building that had a major fire. Its not likely they were married prior to 1880, but if you have reason to think they were you could try finding them in the 1880 census also.

If you have enough info about your great grandmother you could try finding a marriage record. Those records vary by state and time frame.

Answer 3

Check US census archives for the county in which he lived for 1910 and back.