This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Surnames: Cairns
Classification: Query
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/CMH.2ACEB/287.1.1.1.1
Message Board Post:
Jane:
I imagine you already attempted some of this stuff. If you know either the death dates of
any of the Cairns or where they are buried, you may be able to find out a great deal. You
can request a cemetery lot card from the cemetery to find out death dates and age at death
for everyone buried with them. This may show you other family members. Cemetery lot
cards are such a valuable resource that people do not mention much in the genealogy field
for some reason.
Knowing the death dates, you can request the death certificates from the state they died.
Frequently, this tells their place of birth, along with their parents' names and their
birth place.
Knowing the death dates and where they lived, you can write to the local public library
and request their obituary/death notice. This will tell the names of living siblings,
spouses, and children.
This would be a good place to start. The Lawlor book is useless to you. I have my
ggGrandfather's birthdate in Ireland in 1848 and know his father's name. Judging
by his older siblings, this puts my Cairns line back to at least 1825 yet the Lawlor book
is still useless for my family. I figure I need to go back at least one generation but am
stuck.