Genealogy is a trend showing that many of us want to know from who and from where we came. For me it started after I had children and I realized I didn’t know a lot about my ancestors to share with them. I started researching on my dad’s side (Davis/Oikle) and at various times over the past 20+ years I have researched my mom’s (Woodman/Wood) family and Dean’s mother (Leblanc/Brow) and fathers (Campbell/Waller) roots. I have learned a lot and my research techniques are getting better.
To record my research, I primarily use Family Tree Maker
(FTM) software on my personal computer and Ancestry online. I have recently started on FamilySearch which
is an online database of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Both online databases give the benefit of billions
of online historical records to search for and confirm our ancestors.
I like FTM because it allows me to add a lot of personal and
research notes and my theories easily for a person. Occasionally when I hit a brick wall in my research,
I may add a new name from Ancestry hints to see if any records can be found
that ties that individual to the branch of the tree I’m researching. When I do this, I keep the “true” or “proven”
information on FTM so I can easily correct Ancestry if my fishing expedition
doesn’t connect that person to my ancestor.
Today I am writing about some things I’ve learned along the
way. Perhaps some of my lessons learned
will help anyone starting out in their research.
Some of the most important lessons I’ve learned are:
Always cite your sources and source documents. Many a time I had typed information in the research notes for a person, only to later question myself and realize I couldn’t find the source again. It can take hours and hours of time to find a source document that confirms family data and stories. Don’t dismiss taking the time to document where it came from. This has become especially annoying as I refresh my memory on parts of the tree that I have not focused on in a long time and want to feature in this blog. I don’t like to feature family member(s) in my posts without ensuring I have my facts straight.
Never take a hint from another person’s family tree without verifying it with source documents. I have discovered a lot of information in other trees that I couldn’t confirm. Whenever I get hints on Ancestry, I ignore Family Tree hints unless I’ve come to an absolute brick wall. Even then, before I accept another’s family tree info, I check their sources to see if they have valid ones to tie that person to my ancestor.
Researching historical records is challenging and time-consuming. Often as you move back in history you need to analyze documents and generate a theory if the record is for your ancestor. People often use Ancestry like a placeholder for a name they suspect is their ancestor. If their tree is public and you search it and accept the hint at face value, you may be accepting the wrong information. When that person changes the information because they can't substantiate a fact, you don’t get a “that information has changed” notification for you to correct your tree.
We often take other family tree hints based on names and places matching information we have. But we should also look at the dates involved with that person. I remember early on doing this to add what I thought was my great-great grandmother on my Ancestry tree. When I typed the information on FTM I got an error message saying something to the effect that “based on this mother’s birthdate she was not of childbearing age.” I knew that I was adding the mother of my great grandparent, so she had to have given birth to a child. Obviously, this gave me pause and when I scrutinized the record, I figured out that this woman was the wife of one of my great-great grandmothers sons. He was named after his father and just happened to marry a woman with the same first name as his mother
Focus on one branch of a family line at a time. In the beginning it is fascinating to start adding names to grow your family tree. It is fun and exciting to be able to see your ancestors from way back when, but by splitting up your attention you may be accepting information that cannot be substantiated by fact. When I started, I was excited to build all my Davis/Oikle ancestry at the same time. When I slowed down and stuck to one line of family at a time, it allowed me to “connect-the-dots” better because I allowed myself time to focus on the details in a record that often led to other records and facts.
Consider the Source. A source document is most correct if it was created at the time or near the time of the event. Understanding who gave the information is also important. Also, look at the actual record, not just the transcribed facts because sometimes the transcription can have errors.
I have the record of the marriage of George Wood and Eliza King my 2nd great-grandparents. George’s parents’ names are William & Annie J Wood. This information was most likely given by George and I feel it is fairly reliable that the information is correct. However, the individual writing the record wrote Hannah as Annie, which is another problem with some historical records. Things were written as they sounded, not always as they were spelled.
In contrast, I have a death record for George’s father William, b: 1830 d: 1916, that shows Williams father’s name is John. The informant for this information is George’s younger brother Gilbert b: 1871 d: 1953. All other records I have indicate that William’s father’s name was also William, b: 1789 d: 1878. I do have to consider that the death record may be correct, but also given that the information was given by a relative who would not have known much of William (senior) that it could be wrong. The point being to keep an open mind and compare the sources you find with each other for consistency to help you decide which is correct.
Another thing I have learned is that Census records are often our first glimpse into siblings of our ancestor and places they lived. Often, we judge the year the person was born by the age given on a census record. I’ve learned a few things about census records that have helped my research:
- The census information was often given to the enumerator by whoever answered the door, not always the person with the most accurate information.
- Spelling of names was not always correct. They were spelled as they sounded and often used short forms such as Eliza or Liza for Elizabeth.
- Ages on census records are often close to the year the ancestor was born but may be out by a few years if the person at the door wasn’t the individual or the parent.
- Some census ask Age at Last Birthday and others Age at Next Birthday, it can have influence in what year you calculate as the birth year.
- Google the details of a census such as when in the census year it was done. You may think a family on the census can’t be yours because your grandfather was born in that year and is not on the census. It may be that he wasn’t born until after the month the census was done.
If you can’t find a record, there may not be one. It is a good idea to learn about what
records were being kept during your ancestor’s life. Google is very useful for questions like “when
did Ontario start recording births”.
Chances are you might be trying to find a birth record for someone born
before the government was registering births.
You may need to look to other sources like church or town records,
family bibles, land records, and wills. If
you’re lucky you may connect with a distant cousin who has firsthand knowledge
of information like I have for some of my family tree mysteries.
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