Did you relative get the wrong name in their head? I wrote a complete blog post about a man named Joseph Watson, only to refer to him as James Watson almost every time I used his name. Is it possible that your ancestor simply referred to the wrong person when giving information?

And proofread what you write–more than once. It’s possible that you made a mistake as well–and those accidental, “got it in my head wrong” mistakes sometimes come back to haunt you.

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  1. What a relief! I'm not the only one to slip from George to James or Maryland to Delaware in the middle of writing a report. Proofread, proofread, proofread!

  2. Is there somewhere I could read that blog on Joseph Watson? Could be related. My GGrandfather was Joseph Watson & I've traced back to John Watson in the 1600's.

    Merri Humel

  3. My comment about Joseph dying in Texas was written too quickly and is in correct. The Joseph referenced in this card died in Chicago, Illinois, in 1930. That's what I get for writing from memory and my appreciation to a fellow researcher who noted the mistake.

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