Success and Failure

I've been spending a lot of time looking for my ancestors the last few days. I can find a lot of references to names I have, but accessing the information is not as easy. Every place I find a reference, requires a subscription. Ancestry.com, World Family Tree... you name it. I've placed queries on Genealogy and Genforum.com. The more I find, the more confused I get. Some people find lineages online, and just accept them as true. Not me. I want to know the sources for these lines. I want proof. I want copies of wills, census records, marriage records.... and it is a costly process.

Sometimes you accidentally connect with someone who has what you need, and will share it. Sometimes you connect with someone who just wants your information and promises to share what they have, but then drop off the face of the earth when it comes their turn. I've had that happen to me twice. Part of me wants to make sure it never happens again, by keeping what information I have to myself until I get something from them. But, if everyone acted like that, no one would share anything. I've spent time and money copying and mailing documentation to strangers, and never gotten anything back from it. And even though that is not a happy thing, at least I've helped someone along the way. I'm only responsible for how I behave, not their response.



Right now I'm looking for Bearden ancestors. Some nice folks have helped me a little, but the truth of the matter is, unless I am willing to spend the money for research costs, or go to countless depositories of documentation, I'm sort of stuck. That is normal for genealogy research. Researchers commonly call that "a brick wall." Anyone have a sledge hammer I can borrow?.......