You’re (fairly) certain your ancestor did, in fact, exist.
You know his name. You may even know a lot about her children or spouse.
But that person just seems to appear on her wedding day or at his child’s birth. And you’re struggling to find any more info. Ugh!
I’ve got someone like that. — Daniel Moore.
There’s so much info for his wife and children. But for him . . . well, I know his name.
So today, let’s walk through 10 secrets I use to find people who don’t have a paper trail and are just plain hard to find.
Secret 1 — Solidify your starting point
The first thing to do is to write out what you know about the individual.
Here’s what I know about Daniel Moore:
- His name was Daniel Moore
- Daughter Emily Maria Moore was born around 1844 in Illinois.
- Wife’s name was Maria Olney.
- Daniel and Maria married September 1, 1840 in Jefferson county, Iowa. Here’s their marriage record (see transcription below the image):
Secret 2 — Evaluate (and debunk) family stories
You may need evaluate whether you can trust the information or stories you do have about the person you’re researching.
If you’re not certain how solid your info is, my 2 previous Daniel Moore articles will help you evaluate your own family stories:
- 5 Insanely Easy Ways to Spot Lies in Your Family Tree
- 3 Time-Saving Tips to Be Sure a Historical Doc Is about Your Ancestor
I’ve analyzed and debunked most of my family’s stories and “info” about Daniel’s life. So I’m confident that the info I’m starting with (listed above) is correct.
Pro Tip: Why do we need to evaluate previous research and stories? If the information we begin searching with is wrong, then it could (1) make finding additional information more difficult/impossible and (2) lead us to records/info that are not actually about the person we’re searching for.
Once you’re confident that the facts are correct, you’re ready to start searching for more information.
So let’s talk about how to do that.
Secret 3 — Guesstimate the missing info
Use the info you do have to make estimates/guesses about info you don’t have. For example:
Daniel and Maria married in September 1840 in Iowa. I’m going to guesstimate that Daniel Moore was between 20 and 30 years old when he married — putting his birth year around 1810-1820. (Cause 1840-20=1820 and 1840-30=1810.)
So I’ll use this birth-date range as a starting point for my Daniel Moore search.
I’ll also assume, for the moment, that Daniel lived in Illinois when daughter Emily was born in 1844 and that he lived in Iowa in 1840 when he married Maria.
And again, I stress these are starting points/theories/assumptions — which I’m going to prove/disprove with research.
Now that you have a list of facts and theories, it’s time to look in the “major records”: The records likely created for most/all US people (depending on when they lived, of course):
- Census records
- Vital records — birth, marriage/divorce, death
- WW1 and WW2 draft cards (for males, and which won’t apply to Daniel Moore)
We’ll look at the census first.
Secret 4 — Find EVERY census record
My first step when researching anyone in a tree is to find every census that the person appears in during his/her lifetime.
The US started taking the census in 1790 and has taken it every 10 years years since then.
From 1790-1840, the census included the name of only each household’s head — usually the husband/father. Starting in 1850, the census includes names of every person living in a house.
So, Daniel Moore could have been alive during the 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, and 1850 censuses (and more, depending on when he died).
I don’t expect to find Daniel Moore in the 1810, 1820, or 1830 censuses, since Daniel was too young to be a head of household in those years. I don’t know his dad’s name or where Daniel was born. So I don’t know where or for whom to search.
Daniel married in October 1840, when he was probably 20-30 years old. The 1840 census happened in June 1840, and he may have been living with his parents then. Or maybe he was living on his own. It might be worth looking for him in the 1840, but I’m going to hold off for now, since it’s sort of a long shot.
I should, however, be able to find him in the 1850 census — since he had at least 1 child (Emily) at that time.
1850 Census
Using my Daniel Moore facts and theories, I search the 1850 census on Ancestry.com. And here’s what I find:
Our guesstimates paid off. The 1850 Census shows Daniel and Maria Moore living in Columbus, Adams county, Illinois.
Now, let’s dissect the info we learn.
- Daniel Moore is 35 in 1850 (see column 4), meaning he was born around 1815. (This birth year replaces the guess that he was born between 1810 and 1820.)
- Column 9 lists place of birth. For Daniel, all we get is ditto marks — meaning same place as the person listed above him. And, since I’ve seen the entire census page, I know that’s Kentucky. (You’ll have to trust me on this one.)
- Column 8 says he owns $250 worth of real estate. I wonder if this is land.
- His first three children were born in Iowa in 1841, 1842, and 1843. (I’m subtracting the children’s ages from the census year — 1850).
- Daughter Emily was, in fact, born in Illinois in 1844. So the family moved from Iowa to Illinois sometime in 1842-43, after Harriet was born.
1860 Census
Knowing this info, I’m going to look for the Moore family in the 1860 census. This one is a bit more difficult, because what I find is:
In this census, we have a Mariah Moore living in Van Buren, Iowa, with her 11 children. Her name is spelled different, but notice the names, ages, and birth places of the first 7 children — they match very well with the Moore family from the 1850 census. So I’m confident this is the right family.
But where is Daniel Moore? A few possibilities:
- He was away from home. The census supposedly included people who spent the night in the home on June 1, 1860, not necessarily who lived there. So if Daniel Moore were travelling that night, he might appear in another household’s census entry.
- Maria and Daniel could have divorced.
- Daniel could have died. And if that’s the case, then his death would be fairly recent. The youngest Moore child, Charles, is 2 in the 1860 census, making him born around 1858. So Daniel Moore could have died between about 1857 and 1860.
We’ve learned quite a bit about Daniel and the Moores from these 2 censuses. And we have clues to follow.
Secret 5 — Map out where they lived
I suggest mapping out places in a person’s life.
The map of Iowa and Illinois below shows:
- Purple — Jefferson County, Iowa — Where Daniel and Maria married in 1840
- Pink — Adams County, Illinois — Where Daniel and Maria lived in 1850 (about 100 miles from Jefferson county)
- Yellow — Van Buren County, Iowa — Where Maria lived in 1860 with her children
This kind of visual helps me understand the place and space the Moore family lived. It also helps me solidify that the documents are about the Daniel and Maria I’m looking for.
If Daniel did die before 1860, then Maria living in Van Buren county, Iowa in 1860 could make sense — since it’s neighboring the county where she married. Perhaps she has family or friends there to help support a widow with 11 children. Just a guess, but it makes sense.
Pro Tip: Wikipedia has a lot of US county maps similar to what I’ve used here. Just Google “[blank] county [state] wikipedia.” Odds are the county you’re interested in will pop up with a highlighted map.
Secret 6 — Focus on vital records
After finding census records, I try to find all the vital records — birth, marriage/divorce, and death — for an individual.
Unfortunately, this gets tricky . . .
Every US state/territory/colony started keeping birth, marriage, and death records at different time periods. And to complicate things, some counties, cities, or churches within a state/territory/colony began keeping vital records at even different times. (Joy 🙄)
We already found Daniel’s marriage record, so we’ll turn our attention to his birth and death records.
These are both going to be challenges. Here’s why:
Birth Record
Daniel Moore was born around 1815 in Kentucky. A quick search of the 1850 census on Ancestry tells me that at least 16 men named Daniel Moore were born in Kentucky around 1815.
I could attempt to search for Kentucky birth records for my Daniel Moore, but since I don’t know exactly where he was born or his parents names, if I find birth records for Daniel Moore, I don’t know enough to figure out if it’s him.
Death Record
I’m not certain if Daniel Moore died before the 1860 census. If he had died, then it would make sense to search in Adams county, Illinois, for a death record. But . . .
I Googled “When did Illinois begin keeping death records?” Turns out, Illinois counties didn’t begin keeping death records until 1877. That’s at least 17 years too late for us. 🤦♀️
Pro Tip: Start your vital records search by determining whether a vital record was even created for the time/place your ancestor lived.
Do a Google search for: “When did [state] begin keeping [birth/marriage/divorce/death] records?”
It’s possible that a local church kept a death record of Daniel or that his grave is in an Adams County cemetery. But those are going to more intense, likely on-the-ground, searches.
I’m not opposed to intense searches, but I do like to exhaust the easiest things to find and access. Then I’ll hit up the hard stuff.
So . . . I’m going to drop Daniel for a moment. Here’s why.
Secret 7 — Look at the person’s FAN Club
No one lives a completely isolated life. Everyone has Family, Associates, and Neighbors — their F.A.N. club.
Family history records often include information about an individual’s FANs. So when you can’t find any more records about the person him/herself — move out one ring to their family members.
I’ve seemingly exhausted what I can easily find about Daniel himself on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch. Now I’ll turn to Daniel Moore’s known family members — his wife and children.
I’m hoping to find clues about whether Daniel Moore died before 1860, about his exact Kentucky birth location, and names of his siblings or parents. Anything, really, that could give me more details/clues about Daniel’s life.
So when you can’t find anything more about an individual, go through his/her known relatives and look at the easy-to-find-records on Ancestry and FamilySearch.
I find 2 particularly interesting things:
Charles’s letter
First is a 1915 letter that Daniel’s son Charles Moore wrote to an Iowa newspaper, sharing childhood memories of Iowa.
He mentions some family info, which I’ve highlighted in this small portion of a much longer letter.
Particularly of interest for Daniel Moore is: “My mother [Maria Moore] with her little family of eleven had moved from Adams County, Ill., to VanBuren County, Iowa, … where my aunt and uncle, Mr. And Mrs. Dudley Hardy were living” when Charles was under 3 years old.
Although the letter doesn’t mention Daniel, that fact that mom and her children moved to Iowa strengthens the idea that Daniel had died or that the couple divorced. (I lean toward Daniel dying, though, since divorce was not common at that time.)
(Also, notice that Maria moved to Van Buren County to be near family, like I assumed earlier. I’m so good at assuming. 😂🤣😆)
Maria’s Obit
I eventually found Maria’s obituary from an 1893 Washington State newspaper.
And here’s where I hit pay dirt! 🎉🥇🎆
The highlighted portion reads: “in 1840 [Maria] was married in Ohio to Daniel Moore, who died in 1859.”
Boom! Daniel did die before the 1860 census!
The obituary says they married in Ohio, not Iowa. I believe this is a typo.
All the other info in this obit matches what I know about Maria Moore and her family (I know she moved to Washington in the 1870s). So I’m confident this is about the Daniel and Maria Moore I am researching.
In your tree
These 2 newspaper articles are golden finds from a lot of digging.
I went through every one of Daniel and Maria’s 11 adult children and found all the records I could about their lives on Ancestry.com. Mainly I found marriage and death records listing Daniel and Maria as parents.
Among the dozens of docs/records, these two newspaper articles were the ones that added significant clues about Daniel Moore’s life.
You’ll likely encounter something similar when you research your person’s FAN club. But, all that digging is 100% worth it when you discover clues like this. 🙌 So far, Maria’s obit is the only source for Daniel’s death date.
Secret 8 — Take stock of your findings
I strongly suggest pausing frequently to take stock of what you know and/or theorize about an individual.
So here’s what we now know about Daniel Moore:
- Born about 1815 in Kentucky.
- Married Maria Olney on 1 September 1840 in Jefferson county, Iowa. He was around 25 years old.
- Lived in Iowa until about 1843, when his 3rd child was born.
- Moved 100 miles away to Illinois (likely Adams County) in 1843/44.
- Lived and worked on a farm in Columbus, Adams county, Illinois in 1850.
- Died in 1859, likely in Adams County, Illinois. (It would make sense that Maria Moore moved to be near family after her husband died and she had 11 children.)
Looking through this list, I have a few thoughts:
- I should look in Adams County, Illinois, for any record of Daniel’s death. (He could have died in Van Buren county, Iowa, but I’ll start in Adams county.)
- I still don’t have enough info to look for a birth record in Kentucky.
- He lived in Adams county, Illinois, from 1844 to 1859. And the 1850 census suggests he owned real estate there. So I could look for records about land he owned. Likely, that’ll be in an dusty archive in Adams County rather than online.
- He was about 25 when the 1840 census was taken. And he was probably living in Iowa, since he married there just a few months later.
Since the 1840 census is available online, I’m going follow this clue.
1840 census
The 1840 census listed name of only a household’s head. At age 25, it’s kind of hit or miss whether Daniel would be living with his parents in 1840.
If he is living with his parents, I won’t be able to find him because his name wouldn’t be listed and I have no idea what his parents names were.
But . . . he could be living on his own. So it’s worth a search.
And here’s what I find:
The 1840 census looks very different from 1850 and 1860. The left column lists the head of household’s name. Then there are columns listing age ranges for males and females.
The census taker tallied the number of males and females of each age range in the appropriate columns. (The family at the bottom of this image, for example, had 2 males under 5 years of age living in their household.)
Daniel Moore is the man at the top of this image (his name is kind of hard to read). He’s between age 20 and 30.
Is this the right Daniel Moore? He name and age are right, so that’s good.
Mapping it out . . . again
This census page is from Henry county, Iowa Territory. Henry county borders both Jefferson county (where Daniel and Maria married) and Van Buren County (where Maria lived in 1860).
Since this Daniel Moore lives in the county next to where my Maria and Daniel Moore married a few months later, I suspect we’ve found the right Daniel Moore.
Notice that the next name on the 1840 census is David Moore, who is between age 20-30. Could David Moore be Daniel Moore’s bother?
Also notice there’s a sideways, S-shaped marking between Daniel and David’s lines. Does that not the two men are in some way associated? 🤷♀️
I can’t be 100% positive this 1840 census is the right Daniel Moore, but it does seem a very likely candidate. And may even offer the name of Daniel’s brother.
Secret 9 — Consider the larger historical context
Why would 2 single brothers be living in rural Iowa in 1840?
I Googled that exact question, and learned that in the mid-1830s, the first influx of white settlers moved into western Iowa, mainly from Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Iowa had lots of farmland available, while eastern states didn’t have much left. The promise of farm land would be quite appealing to single men.
I’m assuming that Daniel and potential brother David left Kentucky to claim available land in Iowa. They were part of a larger migration pattern.
Pro Tip: Larger historical context can help you understand the motivations, life, and other details of your ancestors’ lives. So do some Internet digging into historical context of the time and place your person lived.
Secret 10 — Think through your next steps
At this point, I believe I’ve exhausted the Daniel Moore records available on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch — at least for the time being. (BTW — I’ve found more docs about Daniel than highlighted here. However, they don’t add information about his origins, so I didn’t include them in this article.)
My searches will need to shift to lesser-known websites and to on-the-ground research in archives/courthouses in Iowa and Illinois.
Here’s a list of things I’ll try to search for:
- Land records from Henry County, Iowa — I’d like to know if Daniel (and potential brother David) bought/obtained land in this county. So I’ll search online for “Henry County Iowa land records 1830s” to learn what exists for this time and place — and where I can find them today. Perhaps those records could (1) prove Daniel and David are brothers and (2) offer a birthplace or location in Kentucky where Daniel came from.
- Land records from Columbus, Adams county, Illinois — The 1850 census suggests Daniel owned $250 worth of real estate in Adams county. I’ll use a similar Google strategy to find out what land records Adams county, Illinois, created in the 1840s and 50s and where I can access them. If they’re not online, I may have to find someone in Illinois to search for me. I hope these records tell me (1) when his land sold, which might offer a clue to his exact death date and (2) a specific location in Kentucky, although that might be a long shot.
- Death records from Adams county, Illinois — Illinois counties didn’t begin keeping official death records until 1877. But . . . there might be a will or probate record for Daniel Moore somewhere, a grave stone in a local cemetery, or even a death record in an Adams county church. Most likely these things will not be online, although I may find some random sites with information.
A little-known tool
Have you heard of the USGenWeb project?
It’s a country-wide, 100% volunteer project to put genealogy information and documents online. Every state has a GenWeb website and many counties have their own as well. These are NOT government run. They vary in what they hold. They vary in site ability and design.
Regardless, you can learn quite a bit about the kinds of records that are available for a specific county and/or state. Visit the national USGenWeb project home page, then use the interactive US map to get to a state’s GenWeb page. From there you can likely drill down to specific counties.
Summing up
I’ve learned quite a bit about Daniel Moore, but I’m not done yet.
I want to know when and how he died, where he was born, and who his parents were. I’d love to extend his family tree, because right now there’s nothing beyond him.
It may be an impossible task. There may be no records to find — either they weren’t created or were destroyed over time.
Or the info might be in a little-known archive just waiting to be found.
So I’ll keep searching — and I’ll keep you updated on the journey!
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