When we first get into family history research, there is so much information it's overwhelming. It's hard to get everything right when we're just starting out. These tips and tricks can help you avoid common pitfalls!
1. Making Unfounded Assumptions:
This is a very common mistake, but can lead to an extensive amount of lost time researching people who turn out to be unrelated! As an example, I recently completed about 70 hours of research on a family in my own line. At the end of my research, as I was looking into the children from that line, I stumbled across some strong evidence that the child who is my ancestor had a completely different set of parents than the parents listed on FamilySearch and in my family’s records (There were two people with the same name in the same area). Much more research is needed, but it’s entirely possible that all of those hours were spent researching a family who was unrelated to me! Assuming your family’s genealogy group records or pedigrees are infallible and completely accurate
Unless you have hand written records from the original source, (i.e. a family bible written by your great-great-great grandmother) you can’t assume your family group sheets are completely accurate. Even though Aunt Shirley loved genealogy and created all these family group sheets decades ago, unless they’re reliably sourced, we can’t just take her theories as fact. Many new record collections have been found and digitized since then, and some things you just assume about your family tree may be wrong.
DO THIS INSTEAD: Independently verify the family group records of the family you want to research. There is really no way around this if you want your research to be accurate. Verify that the child really belongs to the parents (generational link) before extending ancestry further! If you are researching someone with the same surname as a family nearby, don’t just assume they are related. Prove that that person is actually a member of the family before moving on and extending their ancestry. Prove generational links before moving on.
2. Relying on online family trees with no sources.
This is a very common mistake that I see people make when researching their family history. It’s understandable: we come across someone’s family tree on FamilySearch or Ancestry of My Heritage, and we assume that the tree was created by someone who must have some convincing evidence or family records. However, that’s not always the case. Simply put, an online family tree is not considered a reliable source. It’s like Wikipedia. However much we love Wikipedia, the fact is that it’s not a reliable source, because anyone can write anything about any topic. Online family trees have the same limitations. Anyone can add a second spouse to Great Grandma June but that doesn’t make it fact.
DO THIS INSTEAD: Using online family trees is fine as long as you’re using it for clues, not as a reliable source. I have found spectacular clues to my research projects by coming across sources listed in online family trees. Many times I have found original records using this method. There are many family trees for individuals that have good sources that can help you figure out where to look next. These trees are great for giving you ideas of where, but they should not be used as sources for your own research.
3. Getting stuck on finding a specific record
Let’s imagine you start researching an ancestor by trying to find a marriage record for Phineas Rowley and Abigail Kelsey in Connecticut in the 1700s. You start by typing in their names in Family Search and/or Ancestry and you get a
bunch of names that may or may not match your couple, but there’s a few records that look promising. So you go down the rabbit hole and click on this record and that one, and that leads you to more records, etc. and pretty soon it’s been an hour and you’ve gotten exactly nowhere. You still can’t find a marriage record but you’ve found a bunch of other records that may or may not apply to your ancestor. Sound familiar?
You can avoid all this and save a bunch of time by not limiting yourself to finding one specific record. So you dig deeper to the town level and although you don’t find a marriage record, you found a land record that shows Abigail Kelsey’s father sold land to Phineas Rowley right around the time you think they were married. Then you research a little more and realize that Phineas and Abigail named one of their sons, “Kelsey.” That’s pretty good indirect evidence that Phineas Rowley and Abigail Kelsey were married!
I get it - you really wanted to find a marriage record. But it simply doesn’t exist. Therefore you have to look elsewhere, and maybe a few different records can put the puzzle together. In my experience a few pieces of indirect evidence can often be stronger than one piece of direct evidence. That’s because you have several sources pointing in the same direction, rather than just one source.
DO THIS INSTEAD: Approach your research with an open mind. If you find your ancestor’s tombstone with “Green Mt Boys Mil, Rev War,” don’t ignore it just because you really want to find a marriage record. Follow that trail! Look at Revolutionary War records, Google “Green Mt Boys,” and look through pension records. Keep in mind that widow’s pension records had to PROVE marriage in order to receive a pension! You’ll likely find testimony and statements from your ancestor, their spouse as well as friends and family.
4. Ignoring Spouses or Children of Your Ancestor
Sometimes we might be so hung up on extending our line back in time that we miss important generational links and connections. Our ancestors were so much more than birth and death dates. I think it’s much more rewarding to have a well-rounded holistic understanding of our ancestors than view them as just a list of names and dates. AND in the process of finding all of this “extra” information, you might just find the clue you need to extend the ancestry even further.
Spouses and children of your ancestor can contain important clues to the puzzle. For example, many early families chose to follow traditional English naming patterns when naming their children. If you can’t find the mother of your ancestor, research the children.
Traditional naming pattern:
First born son named after the father’s father
Second son named after the mother’s father
Third son named after the father
Fourth son named after the father’s eldest brother
First born daughter named after the mother’s mother
Second daughter named after the father’s mother
Third daughter named after the mother
Fourth daughter named after the mother’s eldest sister
If your ancestor’s family followed these naming patterns, you can find a clue to your ancestor’s mother’s name by researching the first or second born daughter.
DO THIS INSTEAD: Look at ALL of the people who were in your ancestor’s circle. Spouses, children, parents, neighbors, friends. You will undoubtedly find clues and hints you would have never found otherwise.
If you follow these tips, you can avoid some of the common family history mistakes and pitfalls. Let’s get researching!
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