Old letters often contain tidbits of information. Families always wrote each other about births, deaths, and marriages. As mentioned in a previous article, old address books can be a gold mine for alternative vital records. Dates written on the backs of old photographs could be another source. I am sure that most of you can think of more household sources and the habits of your family can open many genealogical doors.
Some families are keepers of old calendars, notebooks, clippings, and other items in their attics.
A good genealogical detective will piece all these bits of information together and be able to put together a good time line chart of the ancestor they are researching. As you can see there are many great alternative sources for gathering the vital record information about your ancestors needed to trace your family. I certainly did not mention them all. Each bit of gathered information may lead you back to an earlier generation. Many times it takes a lot of bits to do the job.