It Won’t Make Sense at First–Sometimes

While working on a Virginia family at the Family History Library, I located some court records that partially explained a family and their relationships and partially confused me more than I already was. I thought if I just kept looking at the information, I would eventually “figure it out” and the likely scenario would dawn on me.

It didn’t.

Time spent drawing out the possible scenarios was better spent looking for more records, crossing sources off my search list, etc. It’s usually best to wait until the research is complete to start trying to put it all together. Of course, one is going to conjecture and speculate as new materials are located. That’s normal and it’s a good way to move your research forward.

But sometimes it’s best to complete all the research on your list first.