If you ordered a DNA test and are waiting for the kit or waiting for the results, do more than just check your mailbox for the kit or your email inbox for the results. Get prepared. One way to do that is to analyze what you already know about your ancestors. Work on making your “paper pedigree” as complete as you can. If you’ve got a line extended as far back as you can, try tracing down descendants of branches you’ve not worked on. Doing some of that ground work will help you to analyze your results when you get them. And remember that you may make surprising discoveries. These surprises may involve close relatives. How I got ready for my in-law’s test results. Not all cousins share DNA. To […]
Any record can be wrong. A person can provide different places of birth from one record to another. And…we sometimes can’t even be certain who provided the information about that person. Different informants can be the reason information conflicts. Don’t immediately conclude that you’ve got “two different people” just because census records provide different places of birth. Look at the other information the record provides about that person–the age, the residence, occupation, other family members, etc. It’s about the whole person and all the information–not just one record or one fact. But don’t make inconsistent information “fit” just because it “fits” your theory or extends your tree further back. Analyze it, understand it, and make certain your conclusions and inferences are logical.
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