I can't remember whether this suggestion has been posted before, so...I recently visited my ancestral hometown. In the Deeds Office of Concord's (Cabarrus County) government building and the Concord History Library I found an index of Cabarrus County deaths going back to 1914. I found the target records and the information on them led me to other relatives, named in the certificates, which information in turn, gave me clues to still other relatives, which filled in quite a few blanks, verified previous information, and gave me direction for further research. I ended up copying about 20 death certificates, at about 25 cents each, as opposed to the $20 that the state charges when I order them. I simply went through all the surnames of interest to me. Usually, the name of the parent of the deceased was listed which narrowed it down.
I was able to connect suspected relatives and relationships. I know that many of you will be taking trips to your ancestoral area, and I wanted to share one method that I used with suprising successful results.

Alice