I understand your pain. I've been trying to trace back my father's side of the family but so far I keep hitting dead ends. I know my grandfather's name and the name of his parents but I cannot find any birth records. Part of my issue is that his SSA application states one state for his birth, his death certificate states another, and my father's birth certificate states yet a third birth location for my grandfather. I've tried searching with Ancestry.com but I cannot seem to find any matches other than the documents I already have copies of.

Addicting - yes, but also very frustrating at times.

Best of luck to ya.