Recordings of marriage licenses, deaths and property purchases are also good sources of information. George, for example, has located records from the Bureau of Land Management of land purchases in the Ramer area that his great-great grandfather made in the 1850s, and he even has a photocopy of the original signed deed.  Visiting old cemeteries can be another source of family information. "You may find family members that you didn't know about," he says, "especially children who may have died young."

While it is not unusual to learn about important events in life, sometimes even small details can also be revealed. George recently uncovered purchases his great-great grandfather made at an estate auction in Pike County in 1869. "He purchased some
waffle irons, some spoons and some bowls for 65 cents," he says.  "Someone had recorded everything that was for sale and who purchased it."

While George's 87-year-old father does not remember his grandfather, he does remember stories about his grandfather (George's great-great grandfather) and the Civil War. "He served in the Civil War in a cavalry unit, and I've found the history of the unit. He  enlisted at a local enlistment point only a few miles from here, where just about  everybody in this area enlisted, and he served up until the end of the war and was then 'paroled,' which is what it was called then."

The story is told that when the Yankees came through, everything, including the family's livestock, was hidden in the swamp so that it couldn't be found. A very small boy from the farm was positioned on the fence. He was instructed to answer, if asked where everything was, "Well, the damn Yankees took it."

Genealogy research is always an ongoing process, George says, because new information appears all the time, especially on Internet databases. "You sometimes need to put things aside, and then come back a year or so later," he says, "and see if you can find some more information and update what you have. You'll find that other people have already done research on families that can be of help to you in your search," he explains. From existing research results, researchers can find the "match points" with their own families and fill in much of the background and not have to do the research themselves.

George took advantage of such existing research to learn about his family on his grandmother's side, the Waller and Caffey families, who immigrated from England and Ireland in the 1700s. Information on the Waller family, in fact, goes back to the 1600s in Ireland.

His next challenge will be going back to the pre-1830 days to find his Milligan ancestors. "We believe the Milligans moved into what was then Butler County," he says. The earliest recorded Milligan ancestor that George has located was born in 1826 and moved from Georgia with his father and siblings. "His father was recorded in a census in Butler County in 1830," he says.

George's ultimate goal is to have an informal book or booklet that others can reproduce for their enjoyment and use. Old family photos will also be included. Thanks to today's computer technology, photos gathered by various Milligan family members have been scanned and incorporated into the book.