How should I go about searching this situation for my family tree?

Can you sound out the pronunciation of his last name for us? It looks like it should sound like “Ellie” – but that seems unusual to me. Maybe we could help you guess how it was spelled.

Do you have access to any letters that were written in the family around the time he would have come to them? I imagine they might have told the story of his arrival many times over. Did they live in a small town? Are there any very elderly people there who might be able to give you more information?

And finally, if his parents (or last parent) died just before he came to them, you might check the cemeteries for last names that might be like “Elie”. Perhaps you can find his parents, even if he was buried as a Fields.

It is pronounced E-Lee. I don’t have access to any family records because I live in a totally different state. The state that they lived in is rather small. Also, the state this occurred in, there would have been a strong Appalachian accent, if that could change the last name any. For example, Doyle would have been pronounce as Doel/Joel.

Also, the state this occured in, there would have been a strong appalachian accent, if that could change the last name any. For example, Doyle would have been pronounce as Doel/Joel.

Hmm! Might have been Ealy. If you google appalachian “last names” and the pronunciation ealie, that comes up. Ely is a big family name in those parts, but I suspect it would be pronounced “Ee-lye”

Thanks! I have looked through death records/burials around the area with no luck. I was thinking possible census records would help. However I can’t seem to find census records from 1890 to 1900 when this would have occurred.

Do they have anything like a family bible? These used to be passed down from generation to generation, and record things like births, deaths, and big events – this might have rated an entry.

The situation you describe is a tough one. I think it will take some legwork to figure it out. There’s not much you can do from a distance if people deliberately used a name other than his own for records (or left him out of official records). You’ll have to talk to people who knew, or people who knew people who knew. Good luck!

My wife is a genealogist by hobby, and has been doing it for about 20 years. She gets a lot of information from some of the large on-line websites. Also, ask to do some research at one of the Mormons’ (LDS) family history centers. They are big on genealogy, and you don’t have to be of their faith to use the facilities.

Census records would have the record of where he originated from ( place name).
Also go back to Census record to the first time that he shows up on the census.
From there If you find a place name such as town etc then check births for the same day etc as your Great Grt Grandfather.
( I am assuming that he kept the same birthdate?)
I am an amateur genealogist and have been doing research for over 20 years now.
One does not have to Pay for research If one can get access to the freebees.
Gather all info regarding this ancestor and key it into Forums section on Genealogy websites.
This is always free,and I had in the past gained so much information and connected lineages.
www.rootsweb.com is a good site….remember to go to Forums section first.
Also internationally connected.

You are on the right track, the best bet is the census. From those you can find your family and other families in the vicinity.
The first step would be to find your family and where exactly they were living. From there you can find out who else with a name like Ely was in the same area.

The 1890 census for most states was destroyed and is unavailable to genealogists.
Some states conducted their own censuses and these records may be available.For example NY conducted a state census in 1892 and in 1905. However, if a state census does exist it may not have been indexed which makes them difficult to search. It depends on the state where your ancestor lived.

Mailing lists are out of vogue not but there still are active genealogical mailing lists.
Check rootsweb,now part of Ancestry.com and Genweb which might still have active lists. I get emails for a small county in Md, hoping that one name will show up at some point.

Also, there are mailing lists and searchable bulletin boards (remember those?) for a ton of surnames. I think GenWEB and Rootsweb both still have active name boards. You might find an Ealy board with people posting messages about WV or KY or TN.

You really only need one clue.

Then if you can zero in on a part of a state, county and local historical societies are active in many places. I got a lot of information on my wife’s paternal grandfather by contacting the historical society in the area where we thought he was born.

Then, a very old sources was Cyndi’s list www,cyndislist.com has a ton of sources, some links will be good, some not but worth a look.
If you are looking in NYState, send me a private message..

SRM

Do you know what state that he was born? His birthdate too?
Church records too?
If I had more info I might be able to locate for you?

For anyone that is willing to help me with this here is the information that I have gathered thus far:
His name is Robert Lee Fields. He was born an Elie/Ealy(Pronounced E-Lee). I know his birth date and location that I received off the death certificate, but can not find any birth certificates. His birth date is October 22, 1890 in Kentucky. His draft card states that he was born in Mandrake, Kentucky. However I’m not sure how accurate that would be. His “parents” are Lanceford and Mary E. Fields(per the 1900 census). He died on January 6, 1980 in Partridge, Letcher County, Kentucky. His tombstone says 1890, however census records in 1900 show his birth year as 1894. Any other further documentation, including marriage and draft card shows 1984. The only thing that says 1890 is his tombstone. I discussed this with my mother and the only thing that we can think of for the contradiction in information would come from the time that he was dropped off at the Field’s household. His wife was Pearlie Mae Fields(Maiden: Johnson). They got a divorce and he remarried a Leva/Lena. He is buried in Obediah Fields Cemetery and I have found his tombstone on findagrave.com. His children include(some, but not all): Lansford (1917–1987); Monroe (1944–2007); Pvt Culbert (1926–2000).
That is all the information that I have gathered thus far on him. I’m not sure how much of this is useful, but there it is. Also, I was thinking that maybe his parents might have crossed the Virginia/Kentucky border provided the location in Kentucky would be close to the state line. I have tried to search the Virginia Birth Records with no luck. I’ve run out all possible options I can think of, but I guess it might need a fresh set of eyes to take a look. I appreciate any help! :)

Just a suggestion, have you tried looking under Robert Lee? It could be that they used his original family name as a middle name and just tacked on the Surname.

If I had no way of contacting people in the town where he grew up, I would start with the census records between 1894 and the year that the Fields took him in, just looking at the names of the children. It’s hard to draw too many conclusions from this kind of search, because you don’t know for sure that his parents lived in the same state.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Robert Lee was probably named for Robert E. Lee, which is probably where your mother remembers “Elie” from. That may not be a last name at all. Can you ask her whether that’s a possibility, that “E. Lee” were middle names? It might jog her memory a bit. The other problem that this creates is that it might have been a popular name for babies in the South during that era.

There is a Lansford (or Langford) Fields, (B:1869) who marries a Mary Elizabeth Maggard (B: 1876, Letcher Co. Ky) on 18 Nov 1891. They are listed as having two known children;
Betty Jane (B: March 1893) and Mahala F. (B: 8 March 1903). Probably had/has more children, a 10 year span between kids is a long time.
Would this be the same family?
Also, might be a coincidence but there is an Elsey (or Ellie) Maggard who would have been an aunt of Mary Elizabeth.

I just researched the spelling Eli for surname and also Ely.
Tons of these surnames.
Checked Civil War Records ..lots!
U.S name distribution lists…27 in Kentucky with that name etc
Voters lists for the Eli /Ely names Lots there too.
Check land records as Eli/ElY probablt owned land?
Ancestry photos 5000 + too many to go through.
Rootsweb Forum…Letcher county messege Board established already.
Records of Kentucky Confederate Soldiers 1861–1865….lots of that surname there too.
Just key in the surname only and one can locate relatives/ancestors with that same name.
Robert Lee Eli/Ely Fileds real parents may have had siblings/cousins/etc with the same name.
Lots of other ways to search: kentucky newspapers,counties,land records,church records,etc
Too numerous to go through at the moment, but it is hopefull.
I will periodically research on some of these.

I believe I may have found his birth parents, but would like to get second opinions on if the information is probable.
I found a Robert L. Ely born in Lee County, Virginia. He was said to have been born with the Fields’s in Mandrake, Kentucky. Which are in a good range of each other for this to have happened. The records state that his father is A. Mael Ely and his mother is Ollie V. Ely. I have found Ollie V Ely in the 1900 census with her husband Mack A. Ely. It is recorded that Ollie has 3 children, but only two are listed as being in the household.
Birth record: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X5J4-2VY
1900 Census record: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MMNT-BLC

The record actually says number of children “living”. Is that what it means or it just shorthand for being in household.
Lee Co. Va is adjacent to Harlan Co. Ky which is just below Letcher.
Where were the Fields living in 1900?

It is recorded that Ollie has 3 children, but only two are listed as being in the household.
Which could very well mean that they sent him to the Fields family?
Does not necessarily mean that the third child passed away.
From the records it looks viable.
Check this line of descendants for more info.(Ely Line).(siblings,cousins etc)
If you cannot find enough info final test is the DNA.

@rojo They were living in Letcher County I believe.

Rootsweb Forum…Letcher county messege Board established already.
Check with these people who are researching Letcher county and areas.