When Sideways Research Changes Direction
Have you ever intentionally used the “Sideways Search Method” in your genealogy?
I’ve certainly researched siblings, in-laws, and neighbors before — but I never consciously labeled it “sideways searching.” That changed when I recently read a blog post about researching laterally instead of climbing endlessly up a single ancestral line.
As I read, I couldn’t help thinking about my ongoing Crawford brick wall.
For years, I have tried to untangle early Virginia Crawford families — often with very little clarity about how the various James, John, and William Crawfords connect. At one point, I was combing Virginia records with only partial understanding of the family structure. I was searching vertically — trying to push one direct line further back — without fully understanding the surrounding family network.
So I did something different.
Instead of pushing backward, I returned to a line I do know: James Crawford, who married Rebecca Anderson (widow Maxwell). I decided to update and re-evaluate everything connected to that couple.
That decision took me sideways.
The Maxwell Detour
I remembered that Rebecca Anderson Maxwell’s family was discussed in a Maxwell genealogy, so I located a digital copy on Archive.org. I expected perhaps a few paragraphs.
Instead, I found multiple pages devoted to Rev. James Anderson of Donegal.
That discovery may prove far more important to my Crawford research than I first realized.
Because if my Crawfords were interacting with, marrying into, or migrating alongside Anderson-connected families, then understanding the Anderson timeline may illuminate when — and how — my Crawford ancestors moved.
So I used ChatGPT to extract the information about Rev. James Anderson and create a timeline.
While the timeline documents his life, it may provide crucial context for the immigration and migration patterns of my Crawford families.
Timeline of Rev. James Anderson (1678–1740)
1678 – 17 November
Born in Scotland.
1708 – 17 November
Ordained by the Irvine Presbytery, Scotland.
1709 – 22 April
Arrived in America; settled at New Castle.
1712/13 – February
Married Suit Garland.
1714
Donegal Church organized in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
1722
Donegal Church building erected.
1726 – 24 September
Called to Donegal Church.
1727 – August
Installed as pastor.
1732 – 11 October
Donegal Presbytery organized.
1737 – September
Petition from Beverly Manor (Shenandoah Valley, Virginia) requesting Presbyterian services.
1738 – April
Traveled to Virginia with petition to Governor Gooch regarding religious protection.
1739/1740 – Spring
Preached in the Shenandoah Valley (Staunton area).
1740 – 4 June
Two hundred acres deeded to Rev. James Anderson for church use.
1740 – 16 July
Died in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Why This Timeline Matters for My Crawford Research
Here’s where the sideways search becomes powerful.
The Shenandoah Valley petition of 1737 tells us Presbyterian settlers were already firmly established in that region by the late 1730s.
If my Crawford ancestors were associated with Andersons, Maxwells, or the Donegal congregation:
- Did they migrate with this Scotch-Irish movement?
- Were they in Pennsylvania first?
- Did they follow the church network south into Virginia?
- Did they then continue west into Kentucky?
The Anderson timeline outlines a migration corridor:
Scotland → Pennsylvania (Donegal) → Shenandoah Valley → Kentucky.
That same corridor appears repeatedly in early Crawford research.
Instead of asking only, “Who were my Crawfords?” I may need to ask:
- Which Presbyterian networks were they attached to?
- Were they part of the Donegal migration wave?
- Were they neighbors in Pennsylvania before appearing in Virginia?
- Did church affiliations map their movements?
Sideways research doesn’t just expand the family tree — it clarifies the migration pattern.
And in early Kentucky research, migration patterns are often the key.