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| Some Things to Beware in Genealogy |
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Feel free to download a copy of the researching guide as a PDF. If you do not currently have Adobe Acrobat, you can download a free copy
from www.adobe.com.
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Common Mistakes
- Don't cling!
- Names, spellings, persons, stories and theories can trip you up in genealogy.
- Unproven stories, theories etc. can cause you to overlook research avenues!
- Never assume!
- Check your research and clear out all unproven assumptions!
- Just because a woman is living with a man on the census does not mean she is his
wife! Unless specifically stated that the woman is a wife, realize she could be a
relative of one kind or another. Check all available records!
- Just because children are in an orphanage, do not assume that both parents are
deceased. It may be that only one parent is deceased and the other is unable to care
for the children.
- Carefully check all of your facts and make certain they are documented facts and not
assumptions. If there is no documentation, note that the information is unproven and,
therefore, questionable.
- Luck gave you the answer right away?
- A quick match, especially when you are dealing with a common name is not to be relied upon!
In genealogy "too good to be true" is often the case! Go back and find everyone in the
location with that name and start sorting. If it is a census, remember that census takers
couldn't always spell.
- Consider that some families, and their extended families, used the same names over and
over. When that occurs, you must check everyone by that name in the location over a
period of years.
So How Do I Make My Case?
- Use a variety of records from different sources. Gather all of the sources together and compare
them.
- Consider the sources of information.
- Investigate all of the members of the family carefully. Records for siblings can confirm
relationships.
- Create a timeline from the records you have. This makes it easy to see holes, and
inconsistencies.
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