I'm working on my family's ancestry. Turns out I'm running into a wall.?

Question

Is there anyone out there that may be related to a Karl Fredrick Steele- born on 12/06/1908. I figure since he left my great-grandmother with a child he would marry again. But to those of you who do not have any relation, if I am unable to find out about him, do you have any suggestions to how I may figure out his parents and thier ancestrial tree? Thank you for your time.

Answer 1

Family trees can be difficult when there is not enough information. Look at ancestry.com and post your inquiry. You can also try Rootweb.com. They worked for me. Also, try to gather any info from family members and take the time to do a lookup on cemeteries. It takes time, but sometimes it will come through.

Answer 2

Additional info below. Social Security Death Index shows a Karl Steele born December 6, 1908 died January 1974/ Last place of residence was Columbia, Richard County, SC. What you might can do is get an obituary .

To do this do a yellow page search and find out the public library in Columbia, SC. They probably have the local newspaper on microfilm.

Another thing you can do is to put a message on the Richard County, South Carolina Message Board on Rootsweb. When you do this it will automatically be on the Ancestry.Com's message board as well as the mailing list for Rootsweb. See if someone will get you an obituary. Somtimes there are people monitoring the boards that will help you.

Genealogy.Com also has message boards.

1910 census has Karl F. Steele born abt 1908 in Ohio. Parents Burt J. and Allie M.
Censused in Columbus Ward 4, Franklin County, Ohio

Answer 3

what is nice on this 'board' is that one of us can build from a piece found by someone else. Finding him in the ssdi is a big lead.. it shows that his ss card application was in Ohio. That file will be filled out by him, and show his work history, etc and should have parents.
Since his birth is 1908, this also says he should be on the 1910, 1920 and 1930 census. This is something that should be findable via ancestry.com (you can work a free trial from them). You would probably know WHERE he was when grandma was born, or possibly narrow down the county to look for him. That's where the parents will be.
From the other end, you can check the county genweb site where he died, for possible obits, or locate the name of the local paper. If the paper does not have it online, I suspect the local library will have on film.
I don't have ancestry... but someone 'behind' me on the question may have, and might post that.
edit-
lol... it was up and posted before I finished typing.

Answer 4

www.ancestry.com

Social Security Death Index
Name: Karl Steele
SSN: 300-01-4215
Last Residence: 29205 Columbia, Richland, South Carolina, United States of America
Born: 6 Dec 1908
Died: Jan 1974
State (Year) SSN issued: Ohio (Before 1951 )

Name: Karl Steele
Birth: 6 Dec 1908
Death: Jan 1974 - Columbia, Richland, South Carolina, United States of America
Civil: Ohio

US Public Records Listing, www.ancestry.com
Name: Christopher K Steele
Birth Date: 1972
Street address: 316 Harwell Dr
City: Columbia
County: Richland
State: South Carolina
Zip Code: 29223
Phone Number: 803-736-2160
Record Number: 412938078
Household Members: Name --Est. Age-- Birth Year
Christopher K Steele-- 35 --1972 (son?? grandson??)
Jennifer J Steele-- 27 --1980 (granddaughter??)
Linda E Steele-- 63-- 1944 (daughter?? wife??)

www.familysearch.org
Karl F. Steele
Birth: 06 DEC 1908 , Richland, South Carolina

Karl STEELE
Birth Date: 6 Dec 1908
Death Date: Jan 1974
Social Security Number: 300-01-4215
State or Territory Where Number Was Issued: Ohio

Death Residence Localities
ZIP Code: 29205
Localities: Columbia, Richland, South Carolina
Five Points, Richland, South Carolina

Death: JAN 1974 Columbia, Richland, South Carolina

www.worldvitalrecords.com--another SSDI:
Name: Karl Steele
Birth Date: 06 December 1908
Death Date: January 1974
Issuing State: Ohio
Residence at Death: Columbia,Richland,South Carolina 29205
SSN: 300-01-4215



This is all I can seem to find. If you come up with other names, dates, feel free to email me and I will try to help you further. :)

Answer 5

You have quite a few good clues. The first is that you have him marrying your great-grandmother. So there is a marriage license out there and every marriage license lists the names of parents in that era. Many states also have a separate marriage license application that is quite detailed and will not only tell you the names of the parents, but also where each lives and their occupations. With that you can cross-reference the 1900 and 1910 censuses and work from there.

Next you have Shirley's listing of him from the SSDI. If you are indeed his legitimate heir, which you are as you're his great-grandchild, then you can request a copy of his death certificate. I would start first by getting a volunteer from SC GenWeb to pull the obituary for you and see if it gives clues on where he died. The hard part of the SSDI is that it doesn't tell you where the death certificate it, it only tells you what their last residence was at the time of death. So if he was actually on vacation in Texas when he died, there's no way of knowing it from SSDI, but the obituary should tell you. It will also tell you the name of the funeral home that handled his final arrangements. You are perfectly within your rights to contact them and ask the simple question, "Where did grandpa die? How can I get a copy of his death certificate?"

The death certificate may (but doesn't always) list parents. But it will list his next of kin. That person is your relative and I would imagine they're as curious about you as you may be about them. After all these years, a call might be very welcomed. With that you could start asking all these questions about your common heritage..his parents, where he grew up, what religion he was, etc.

Answer 6

I wish people would stop telling peole to go to ancestry. Unless you have an acct with ancestry you really get frustrated.

Use what Shirley, Wendy and Gen have given you and run with it. All are very seasoned genealogists. All three have helped me and I'm also seasoned. Sometimes it takes more then one head to solve a mystery. They have given you several clues to run with.

Just remember, things you find on the net are only a tool. Nothing takes the place of documents. I don't remember the cost of social security forms but it has a wealth of info. Birth, death, marriage certificates, obits and cemetery records hold many more clues. The Census has even more.

I hope all of these clues help you break thru your wall. Good luck on your quest

Answer 7

if you go on http://www.ancestry.com/ you may have a chance of tracking down what you still dont know. Ancestry.com is the largest family history site online with over 4 billion names just enter the name.. see what it can do! good luck