In my Grover line, we have a whole group of us working on it together on yahoo groups. It's wonderful to be able to share info and photos and what not, and not feel so alone when you hit that big brick wall! Our biggest and oldest brick wall has been around for about 10 years now, dating back to the original two researchers - my third cousin's wife, Alice, and me. We are looking for Elder Aaron C. Grover's parents and life before 1829.
Now, all this time we have believed that he was born in 1801 in Cayuga County, New York. Thinking back, I never remember having anything else but this bit of info on his birth, but I can't remember WHY we believe that!! We have no solid source. An elderly descendant told us that he thought all the old time Grovers came from Cayuga County. Not good enough by any means but we've held to it all these years.
By assuming this to be true, we have limited our search to that area or at least to New York. What a huge mistake! We still haven't found his birth info, in New York or anywhere, but we have just this past week realized the enormity of our mistake. A new cousin contacted us; he has just recently started his heritage hunting and has done quite nicely. He has followed a lot of the research that we have already done but he has branched out in ways we never considered. He is actually looking for Aaron's parents and birth info in other states!!! He has a few hot leads and even has a pretty convoluted theory that he threw out to the group. Many, many coincidental happenings and relationships to check out!
So, who knows what we will come up with - maybe nothing, but maybe the mother lode too! We will just have to keep digging but for now at least, we are digging in another state. We could be wrong or right but at least we have broken out of our tunnel vision and stepped out of the box!
What a revalation. I will take a look at the little brick walls on my own tree. A lot of what my grandmother told me about her ancestors (in an 8-page list of what she "knew")could have been just as misleading. Fortunately another "cousin" had done an enormous amount of research, but now we all work together and have made a few independant discoveries.
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