How I Have Broken Through Brickwalls

It has been quite some time since I have written on my blog and decided I needed to make the commitment to get back with it. Since the last time I have written much has happened with my Moore’s and I feel that I need to pass what I have learned along to all of you! It is my hopes that it will help others who are searching their Moore lines as well.

One of my biggest breakthroughs I feel is being able to talk with the cutest 93 year old great uncle ever! I knew he existed, but had reservations about contacting him. Now, I am on a mission to find descendants of my ancestors and I feel I have been very successful. I have spoken of my elusive Moore Family here before, and how after 32 years I learned the names of my Great Grandparents.That information came from a letter my Great Aunt Ellen wrote to my grandparents (her brother) in April of 1963. The letter ended up with my Aunt Carrie, who passed away in February 2005. How did I end up with the letter?

I have never had a bond or connection with my family. My parents divorced in 1966 when I was 7 and my mom moved us from Texas to Iowa. The family link there was with family in Texas pretty much was gone when we left for Iowa. In 1999 my dad passed away and I reconnected with my cousin Jennie. Through the next few years, I had a greater desire more than anything to learn about our family history; but no one knew anything! Not even a name! The only information they knew was what I would feed them. I needed more, I wanted to place a name and a face together and I wanted to know who my great grandparents were. I begged for pictures and received a few and Jennie suggested I write our other cousins. She had the addresses, so I got brave and wrote.

Through the reaching out to family I had not seen in over 40 years, I found my answer. My cousin Missie told me her dad would send me some genealogy. I thought it would be a few pages but instead it was a huge box of certificates, death records, marriage records, pictures and the list goes on. In the midst of it all was a letter from Aunt Ellen to my grandparents with my Great Grandparents names. The letter also stated they were part of Austin’s Old 300, a picture of our Great Great Grandmother existed in a book of the early Texas settlers and our Great Great Grandfather Thomas A Moore was one who was captured in Goliad and drew a white bean and was set free.

Although there was a lot of information in this letter, I wanted more. Ellen became my main focus and because of following her, I found additional information on my Moore family including her son and my Great Uncle Claude. It was Claude who filled in many missing pieces of the Moore Family, as well as provides more mystery. In the coming days, I will share the process of what I have done in hopes it will help others in their search as well.

In coming weeks, I will show you how to come forward and find cousins who may have your answers. Are you on Facebook? It is a great way to connect and find cousins. Are you making your self “Findable” so that others who are searching your line will be able to connect? What if you remember a cousin from years ago but have lost contact with them? Can you really find them again? Come learn how to do it all!