Expert: Nancy Janyszeski - 4/23/2008

Question
Hello,  I am at my wits end with my great grandparents!  Maybe they dont' want me to find them???  I have found them on a few census and city directories but that has not helped me find their marriage information nor her entry into the US.  It doesn't help that she has a common Irish name either. Sorry to go like this - you can sense my frustration.  I did send to Ireland for her birth certificate and thought I hit a gold mine but alas it was the wrong one and I am back to square one.  Great Grandmother either was married and divorced (or he died) before she married (?) my direct line great grandfather.  Either way I can't figure it out!  I have tried to contact the Churchs in the city where my grandmothe was born to no avail.  Can you maybe give me a clue as to what I should do next?  My grandmother (before she died) was clueless as well about her own parents.  She didn't know anything about their marriage dates, etc.  She even thought perhaps her step-sister was illegitimate.  We just don't know.  Oh by the way, my grandmother was born 1912 in Jersey City, NJ and her mother supposedly came from County Cork but I have no evidence to prove it.  I have a birth year of 1885. She was supposedly sent here as a teenager, but again it is all speculation.  Thanks in advance for any advice.

Answer
Margaret, what is the name you are researching, what are the parents names are there any siblings?

Have you sent away for your grandmother's death certificate from the State of New Jersey?

There are online tutorials for how to do genealogy research at http://www.rootsweb.com

You could also go to the USGenWeb.org site, click on New Jersey and then the county where your grandmother lived and join that mailing list.  You will get lots of free help.

Nancy