One More Reason

#15

In 1994 I gave a talk at the Genealogical Council of Oregon Statewide Conference held at Bend, Oregon. The title was "Why Research All Those Brothers and Sisters?"

I presented the following fourteen reasons:

1. May be the only living members of that generation you can question.
2. Probably have the same parentage, but may discover multiple marriages or some "family secrets."
3. May have researched or compiled a family history.
4. May have married into a family with a written family history.
5. May have been more famous, so can find written biographies.
6. May have lived in the "old hometown" longer, so can be found in the local history book.
7. May have kept a diary or journal which has survived.
8. May have written letters which have survived.
9. May have died without descendants, so probate records list the other siblings.
10. May help determine migration patterns.
11. May help sort out who belongs to which family.
12. May provide clues for maiden names.
13. May provide clues of ancestry by naming patterns.
14. May provide clues for health history.

Now in 2017 I can give one more reason to research the brothers and sisters of our ancestors.

15. Their descendants will probably be our DNA matches.

So now you can get busy and research all those brothers and sisters.