Now more than ever you can find your ancestors doing your research online. This video explains how to narrow your searches with Google to get the best results.

Now you can pinpoint John Hughes in a specific area or time frame instead of 3000 around the world. This is just another tool to help you dig up your past.

Today I found Silas Hughes in the 1920 Census for Columbus, Ohio. He and his wife Mary Davis were listed as 47 years old with Earl 19 and Ralph age 10. Silas was the son of William W Hughes and worked as a section foreman for the railroad.

Several of his brothers and brother-in-laws worked for the railroad including: William Willard Hughes & Carlisle C Horn. I know that Ralph’s children still live in Columbus, Ohio. I once had this all plotted but seem to have lost the information over time.

There is a strong connection between the Hughes of Mason County West Virginia and those of Vermillion County Indiana. According to census and birth notices, I have concluded that sometime between 1810-1830 several Hughes families migrated to Vermillion County. I have even shown where other related families had moved there as late as the 1880’s.

I do not know the appeal for them to move all the way across Ohio and most of Indiana to the Illinois border in the early 1800’s but the evidence is clear. If you have a Hughes ancestor in western Indiana, you may have luck tracing them back to Mason County (West) Virginia.