Newt Roberts-12506 ... my brickwall ancestor

Question

My biggest brick wall is my Great Grandfather, Frank W. Roberts.  I have no birth or parentage information on him.  Family stories say he was a seafaring man from Wales. There is also a family hint that the W for the middle name probably stands for Wallace.He was born around 1810 and he died in May of 1881 in Saint Louis, MO.  He had, at least, one son, Frank W. Roberts born about 1830 and died in Saint Louis in 1902.

Answer 1

Hi Tim!

Looks like a perfect situation for DNA!  It seems recent enough that you might find DNA cousins overseas, whether Wales or Australia or somewhere else altogether!  And since it is your paternal line, the Y-DNA test might really pay off for you.

Have you considered this avenue?

Aside from that, your Great Grandfather lived well into the time frame for US Census enumerations.  Were you able to find him on any of the census returns?  Some of them ask for birthplace of PARENTS, which could be really interesting for you if he answered that question.

Cheers

Shirlea