FAN Club means 'friends, associates, neighbours' and I've used this type of research often when locatin any records about my ancestors was totally unproductive. Trust me, it works! So, following is an article found in FamilyTree Magazine.
Genealogy Brick Wall Busters: 10 Places to Find Your Ancestor's Family, Friends and Neighbors
Posted by Diane
Our ancestors tended to move with and marry into particular groups of people, and tracing those "clusters"—even if the people aren't in your direct lines or even related—is a key strategy to break through genealogy brick walls. It can help you discover maiden names, places of origin, and other documents mentioning your ancestor.
Our Cluster and Collateral Research 101 Family Tree University online course, taking place July 7-Aug. 1, gives you a blueprint for solving genealogy problems with this type of research.
Where can you find names of those in your ancestor's cluster? Here are 10 places to start looking:
Home sources: Study old letters, diaries, address books, funeral cards, etc.
Census records: Check out household members and neighbors.
Witnesses to marriage certificates, wills and naturalization records, and those who provide testimony in court records and pension applications
Sponsors on baptism and confirmation records
Land records: Note who the neighbors are.
Traveling companions on passenger lists: Examine the entire list for people from the same place, or people who show up in other records as neighbors, witnesses, etc.
Rosters and newsletters of your ancestors' clubs. This example is a founding members list from a 1902 history of the Covington (Ky.) German Pioneer Society.
Newspapers: Look for names of family and friends in obituaries, wedding announcements and other articles.
School yearbooks
City directories: Use the listings by street in the back [or front] of some books to learn neighbors' names.
Hope everyone is dry after this crazy weather pattern dumped buckets of rain on us!
Cheers,
Pat
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