So with all the bad news of the world, I needed to try and distract myself.
It all started when I saw a relatives name mentioned in a post on Facebook from Ireland. This cousin has an unusual nickname "Mixie" -- which I assumed was Michael. A cousin had mentioned him years ago and said he was related to us, but I could never make the connection -- as he was probably still living, and so wouldn't be in 1901 or 1911 Irish censuses, and his birth would likely be after 1920, so the records are restricted.
I'd tried some other posts to a local heritage site, but nothing. So when I saw the Facebook post, I added a comment saying I thought he was related and did anyone have any information on him. BINGO! A local said, yes message me.
Thus started 2 days of messaging back and forth with her, and also another cousin. I was going down one or two lines, assuming that was the connection, but my cousin reminded me that she thought he came from the other side of the family! When I checked my notes, I did have that "note", but I think I had discounted it because it didn't make sense to me.
Finally, through some use of unusual detective work, I found a headstone which helped me confirm the Mother of Mixie, and led me to his Grandmother (who is my GG Aunt). She married twice, which caused some of the confusion, as her children were from the first husband, and her second husband had the same surname as her maiden name (they were probably cousins).
I feel like this was a pretty easy puzzle to solve, if only I'd paid attention to hints and not made an assumption that I stuck with. I needed to be open to looking at all sides of the family, and broadening my search.
I also went old school and sketched things out on paper to "see" what I was missing.
All my findings were confirmed when the local I contacted via Facebook checked with Mixie's daughter and she confirmed the names of her Grandparents. She didn't know any further up the line, but that part I already had in the tree.
It feels good to finally make the connection to "Mixie", as he's my 2nd cousin once removed. And now I've added his children and grandchildren to my tree.
In these crazy times, this feels like a positive achievement!
