Sunday, January 20, 2008

An interesting article in the Tampa Tribune, "Track Down Ancestors Through Railroad History," may give you some ideas on researching ancestors who either worked for or were in some way affected by the railroads, including several resources. The rails figure into my own family history, so it is interesting and enlightening to find out which railroads traveled which routes during a particular time period. The types of occupations are also interesting. In my daughter's paternal line, we have an ancestor going from cook in 1880 to telegraph operator by 1900. Knowing an ancestor worked for the railroad can account for finding -- or looking for -- people in some far-fetched places.

Labels: family history, railroad records