Genealogy: How NOT to Land on Different Family Tree

With just a wrong data, misinformation, bad assumption and wrong direction, your search can go into a slump. Though mistakes are hard to avoid, these steps can keep you on the right track:

Review all additional information over and over again
Check for conflicting information such as date gaps and location. Does your research have 2 siblings that are less than 9 months apart? Are children born ahead of their parents? Does the listed place of birth match with the information you know about your ancestors? As simple as it may seem, these are the details that are commonly overlooked so keep it checked.

Start with your parents
Going directly to your grandparents, starting with a famous person that is said to be related to you or starting on your immigrant ancestors are the most common mistakes you can commit. Not because you know your parent very well doesn’t mean you can proceed to the next generation. Work your way one generation at a time to lessen the chances of committing errors.

Support your claims with hard documents
Conflicting ideas can happen all the time, so make sure that your write down how and where you find your information so that you can easily trace it back and verify which information is true. If the data came from a relative, write down who gave the information and where it took place. If it came from a book, take note of the title, publisher, date of publication, author and the repository. Also take note of the place where you find the book. If the information was found online, write down the date, the name and the URL of the website. It would be much better if you print the webpage for easy reference.

Avoid making assumptions about family relationships
Do not confuse yourself with family terms such as “aunt”, “cousin”, “junior” and “senior”. These terms are used very loosely in earlier times (even today). The designation “Jr.,” does not necessary mean that his father bears the same name. In early official records, “Jr.” may have been used to denote two men with the same name but are not actually related to one another. Also, do not assume that everyone who lives in the same household are related, unless it is specifically stated.

Get organized
Organization decreases the chances of mixing up different documents and other simple, yet common mistakes. Pick one filing system that works for you and stick to it during your research.

 FIRST NAME

 LAST NAME

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