What's in a name?

Don't just look for the person, but try to associate that "name" with other individuals, too.

So, how do you prove your relationship to "John Doe"?  

First and foremost, you find out if he had a middle name! 

 Some of us are fortunate to have an ancestor who has an unusual name...some, not so lucky!  Take "John Givens".  You might as well throw up your hands when you start searching ancestry.com for a "John Givens".  Never mind searching Google for that name!

To search anyone at any site (google.com, myheritage.com, familysearch.org, etc.), you need more information, not less.   

As it so happens, my John Givens does have a middle name that makes it a bit easier to track him down: now, you have a chance!

Try it now...no caps, please: Search Google for "John Witherspoon Givens".  And it doesn't hurt to also pull up the images feature at Google; you can never tell when you're going to hit the jackpot!  

 

In addition, you want to include any other information that you have.  It might even help if you can make a timeline showing various events any locations where he might have lived.