finding the ancestors in less conventional ways

 I have had the frustrations that many armchair, family historians have had - narrowing down which ancestors are mine when the name is common, finding earlier records.

For one of my ancestors, James Christie, I was able to find additional information about him not just from old trade directories, but also thanks to the research of a doctoral candidate in the UK who had kindly posted some of his research on line about the handloom weavers of Perth.

From that, the other existing directories were also easier to find, as was a record of his burial. His name was quite common to the area, so all to say how thinking outside the box, looking for items such as research papers, can be of enormous help!

This is from the 1837 Perth Trade Directory. I found this because of finding the research on Perth weavers beforehand...