I’ve always been interested in family history. Sort of. More on my terms than any useful, practical terms of actually doing the work. Maybe that’s it. I liked hearing the stories but I never wanted to do the work to find the stories out.

Hmm. I think that’s called laziness.

Huh.

At any rate, I have decided I want to know more about my ancestors. I want to do the genealogy (you should be proud of me, I spelled that without needing auto-correct). For my first project, I have tackled my dad’s lineage. See, there is a family legend that we are related to the Richard Henry Lee that signed the Declaration of Independence. It’s kind of a big deal in our household and I’ve written about it before.

Let me just sum up by saying, I want to prove or disprove conclusively this family lore.

Here’s the trouble, my great-grandfather’s name is John. Lee. I’m looking for a John Lee. Do you know how common that name is? Pretty darn common. I can’t find him.

Here’s what we think we know.   My great-grandpa, William, was born in New Orleans in 1858. His mother died in 1862 and his father in 1866. So, it appears at the tender age of 8 my great-grandpa became an orphan. He died when my dad was one so my dad never knew his grandpa and had the opportunity to listen to his stories. And he must have had some stories to tell!

We think he may have been shipped to New York to live with relatives. By the time he was 18 he was pretty much on his own and at the age of 20 he started working for the railroad. Work that brought him west to Wyoming where he met his wife.

That’s all speculation though. I can’t prove anything.

I did find a census William filled out. It asked for the location of his father’s birth and he listed as Kentucky. Kentucky? Now I need to look in Kentucky?

I tried. Kentucky. Louisiana. I can’t find proof that my great-great-grandfather is John Madison Lee.

I should add, I am cheap so I’m not willing to pay membership prices to sites such as Ancestory.com. I’d prefer the history to just unfold for free in front of me.

It is possible that I’m not ever going to find the proof I seek.