Was Elvis Welsh: How to Begin Tracing Your Family History

Was Elvis Welsh?

How to Begin Tracing your Family History

A few tips to start with

1. Talk to living relatives

2. Find out what others have discovered

3. Work from the known to the unknown

4. Kill off your ancestor

5. Keep track of what you search and the results

6. Ask for help

Google Your Family History

Wikipedia• Early years (1935–53) Childhood in Tupelo

Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, to 18-year-old Vernon Elvis and 22-year-old Gladys Love Presley.[5] In the two-room shotgun house built by his father in readiness for the birth, Jesse Garon Presley, his identical twin brother, was delivered 35 minutes before him, stillborn. As an only child, Presley became close to both parents and formed an unusually tight bond with his mother. The family attended an Assembly of God church.[6]

Wikipedia

Presley's ancestry was primarily a Western European mix: On his mother's side, he was Scots-Irish, with some French Norman; one of Gladys's great-great-grandmothers was Cherokee.[7]b His father's forebears were of Scottish[8] or German[9] origin. Gladys was regarded by relatives and friends as the dominant member of the small family.

Based on surname evidence what are the chances of a connection?

Four Generations of Presley Ancestors

Paternal Side

• Presley

• Wesson

• Warren

• Davis

• Hood

Maternal Side

• Mansell

• Gilmore

• Smith

• Tackett

Four Generations of Presley Ancestors

Paternal Side

• Presley

• Wesson

• Warren

• Davis

• Hood

Maternal Side

• Mansell

• Gilmore

• Smith

• Tackett

ORIGINAL RECORDS

Typical Records

• US Census 1790-1930 (1940 available 2012)• Vital records: birth, marriage and death• Obituaries• Cemetery records• Taxation• Land and property• Military• Probate

Vernon & Minnie M. Presley 1920

Although the father’s name does not seem to match consider the other evidence

Although the parents of Jesse & Minnie are not present we get their birthplaces

It is critical to note the source information

Details requested and reported change so find your family in each census

Online Family History Sources

• FamilySearch https://www.familysearch.org/ largest free collection of records & help

• Google http://www.google.com/ another free resource with loads of recent info

• Ancestry.com http://www.ancestry.com/ Fee based site, excellent census records & index, use it for free at a FamilySearch center

There is more than the main search to this site!

Elvis Presley’s Ancestors

Another way to display ancestry

Use a research log & add notes

Use a research log & add notes

Use a research log & add notes

Use a research log & add notes

To be successful in tracing a family history

• Ask for help.

• Work from the known to unknown.

• Keep track of searches you do.

• Document the source of information found so

you can retrace your steps.

• Share what you find with others.

Conclusion

• Internet searches, so far, provide nothing that links directly to a Presely family connection with Wales

• Surname evidence shows that three of nine surnames in the Presley four generation pedigree were present in Wales

• More research and documentation is needed

Just one more question…