Researching Alfred Vail
Investigate the background of Alfred Vail using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
 | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 332 people with the Vail surname? In that year Vail was ranked number 3247 for popularity in the UK. |
The name Alfred means "Counselor" and is of Anglo-Saxon origin.
Records of Alfred Vail on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Alfred Vail in your family tree. With over 30 billion records and 100 million family trees to search, Ancestry is one of the key websites to visit to help you trace your family tree back in time. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for Alfred Vail. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for Alfred Vail. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for Alfred Vail. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for Alfred Vail. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for Alfred Vail. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. A DNA test can sometimes help to make a link to a particular family name if you find you share common DNA with people who have the same or similar surnames as each other. If you are lucky then you may get a match within a few generations and discover some Vail ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Vail Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Alfred Vail and the Vail Family Tree
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Vail Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources listed below it will be possible to locate a birth record and, from that record, a birth certificate may be obtainable which is likely to list the names of the parents, therefore taking you back another generation. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Vail family tree.
Explore Parish Records for Alfred Vail at Find My Past.
Search for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Alfred Vail using the FreeBMD database.
Study Genealogy Bank for Alfred Vail records.
Look at MyHeritage for Alfred Vail information.
Search the LDS Database for records about Alfred Vail.
Research the Vail surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Vail Military records.
| Did you know that there are currently 318 people with the Vail surname in the UK? Vail is now ranked number 3742 for popularity in the UK. |
Vail Family History Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Investigate the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Alfred Vail.
Study MyTrees for information on the Vail family and people looking to contact living Vail relations.
Look at One Great Family for Vail records submitted by people who are already researching the Vail Family Tree.
Find Alfred Vail from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Vail Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Vail surname using Genealogy.com forums .
| Did you know that there are currently 12153 people with the Vail surname in the USA? Vail is ranked number 153 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Vail Databases
Look at the Ellis Island Database for information on Alfred Vail. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Alfred Vail
Alfred Vail
Alfred Lewis Vail (September 25, 1807 – January 18, 1859) was an American machinist and inventor. Along with Samuel Morse, Vail was central in developing and commercializing American telegraphy between 1837 and 1844.
Vail and Morse were the first two telegraph operators on Morse's first experimental line between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, and Vail took charge of building and managing several early telegraph lines between 1845 and 1848. He was also responsible for several technical innovations of Morse's system, particularly the sending key and improved recording registers and relay magnets. Vail left the telegraph industry in 1848 because he believed that the managers of Morse's lines did not fully value his contributions.
His last assignment, superintendent of the Washington and New Orleans Telegraph Company, paid him only $900 a year, leading Vail to write to Morse,: "I have made up my mind to leave the Telegraph to take care of itself, since it cannot take care of me. I shall, in a few months, leave Washington for New Jersey, ... and bid adieu to the subject of the Telegraph for some more profitable business."
Source: Alfred Vail, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Vail
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Vahl Vahle Vala Vale Valeu Valla Valle Valleau Vallee Vallei Valley Valli Vallie Vallow Valyou Vaul Veal Veale Vealey Veall Veel Veely Vel Vela Veley Velia Velie Vell Vella Vial Viall Viel Viele Vila Vile Viley Vill Villa Ville Villo Vilo Viola Violi Voile Voll Volle Vowel Vowell Vullo Vyel
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