When analyzing a record or source, do you thoughtfully consider how much information in that source comes from someone’s memory and was probably included in the record without question? The record may not give the name of the informant, but it’s probable that quite a bit of the detail it provides were simply obtained from what someone remembered.
© 2024 Genealogy Tip of the Day and Michael John Neill. Designed and hosted by
Sparkynet.
2 Responses
My sweet grandmother had 27 grandchildren. Her cousin, who had became a Mormon, wrote her and asked for the names and birthdates of all of her grandchildren. No problem! Grandma sent a nice list of all 27 of them, middle names included…from memory. She had the first 4-5 children right but after that it was pure chaos! Grandma had not only mixed up the middle names and had also scrambled the birthdates.
I found this information while on a research trip, going through old notebooks at the Family History Library. So much for doing things from memory!
I don’t have anyone to ask on my fathers side
I know ancestors on my dads side are from Cork Ireland but don’t know how to look it up.