They always tell you in family history research you should ask all your questions now, while you still have elders around to answer them.  It is good advice.  But I was too young to understand and so did not ask those questions to my father.  He died many years ago when he was only 51 years old.

I can only wonder what he would have told me.  His own father (my grandfather) lived to the age of 75 and so could have filled in some gaps.  But I did not know grampa Smith very well and only saw him a few times that I can recall, all while I was a child.

It remains unclear what my grandfather could have told me about his father (my great-grandfather), who died at the young age of 47.  My grandfather was only 13 years old at the time--far too young to have thought of those big questions and demanded answers.

And what did great-grandfather know of his father's life?  My great-great grandfather died in 1890 when his son was 34 years old, married, and away from home.

They all had to know something.  My Smith line has been at a brick wall for many years, stuck at that great-great grandfather.  It is a lesson that official records only take us so far.  Oral tradition--despite the errors and mismatched memories--is a valuable resource in family history research.

So go ask your father some questions!!