It can be tempting to quit when you’ve found the person you want and not spend time looking up “all those other possibilities.” But that’s how missing people and people you never knew existed are located. Always consider alternate spellings–even when you find people using the “correct” spelling. If I had quit when I found Henry Trautfelter, I would never have located Christian Troutfetter in the same city directory. Don’t stop until you’ve searched for them all.
Years ago my mother told me that her grandmother had a falling out with a relative whose first name was Barbara Youreallyirritatedme. Mom was not certain what the falling out was over and I didn’t think to ask for more specifics of who Barbara Youreallyirritatedme was–other than she was a relative by marriage. When going through to complete the family tree, her grandmother had two relatives by marriage named Barbara Youreallyirrittatedme within a few years of each other in age. I don’t know to whom Mom was referring. Ask for clarification.
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