In genealogy we’ve been taught to work from the known to unknown, linking one generation to the next older one. But occasionally it’s helpful to turn the apple cart upside down and work from older to younger, or use what’s called Reverse Genealogy. While most of these articles talk about finding the living, I’ve also found that it works to trace down from relatives you didn’t know existed (like my 2nd great uncle’s son) until you found them on some random source.

Resources

Focused Family Research – When to Employ Reverse Genealogy

Expanding Family Lines Using Reverse Genealogy Techniques by Amie Bowser Tennant on The Genealogy Reporter

It’s ok to use reverse genealogy (sometimes)!

More Reverse Genealogy | The Occasional Genealogist\What’s the Opposite of Genealogy?

YouTube: Reverse Genealogy: Finding the Living, a Preview by Megan Smolenyak

YouTube: BlackProGen LIVE! Ep 74: Reverse Genealogy, DNA, and Tracing the Living