We’ve made a list of some assumptions that genealogists make. Here are a few. We will add your suggestions to a longer list which we’ll post later.
- The county history was right.
- That my grandparents actually got married.
- That my grandma was my grandpa’s first wife.
- That my relative was an immigrant.
- That my relative was born in the United States.
- That the entire death certificate was right.
- That grandma had a tombstone.
- That my grandparents were buried next to each other.
- That no one in my family got divorced.
- That the old genealogy was right–I just haven’t found the proof yet.
- That my family was never in court.
- That my family never appeared in the newspaper.
Add your own thoughts in the comments. Thanks!
10 Responses
That none of my ancestors was illegitimate
That if the name is the same, it’s the same person.
That a widow was mother of any of her husband’s children.
–A few wonderful wills specify whether the testator’s children were by a present or by a former wife, but these are rare. A woman’s will specifying her children is rarer still. It is up to us to sort it out, if we can.
That no one in my family ever ended up living in the poor house or the county home.
Women who used their maiden name after a separation or divorce bothered to legally changed their name.
The unmarried woman’s illegitimate child to another, used her husband’s surname after their marriage. An actual legal adoption to change the child’s last name did not necessarily occur.
That GGGrandma had an illegitimate child.
That there were never any adopted children, or unofficial adoptions, to “muck up the tree.”
Use those county histories as clues only — especially those family records submitted by a member of the family!
That our ancestors were all Mayflower descendants, Revolutionary War vets, related to some English King or Queen or some other famous person of the past.
That ages and the spelling of names in US census records are correct.
That your family originated from a particular country based on names.
That all the children in the family have the same parents.