For many years I have searched for the surname of my great-great-grandmother, Sarah Ann. A few years ago I found the marriage records for two of her sons which I blogged about at this link. A Mystery To Me:
https://jdswritersblog.wordpress.com/2023/08/07/a-mystery-to-me/
From the marriage records the spelling of their father’s name, George, was a major clue. Until I realized this Sarah’s last name looked to me to start with an S and spelt something like, Suchel or Siskil. But once I saw the similarity from the G in George to the first letter of Suchel/ Siskel I realized my search was for something more like Guchel of Giskil.
From there I searched the family trees of the people related to me through DNA looking for our common surnames. In this case the surname was GASKILL. Then I looked to see if the surname we shared linked us through common ancestors and especially Gaskill. That was how I found Sarah Ann Gaskill.
Jd's Writers Blog + ThIs AnD tHaT aRt. 