Research revealed that this 52-year draft registrant listed his mother as his “permanent contact” on this US World War II “Old Men’s Draft Registration” card. That’s not who I thought it was because of his age and the fact that the last name didn’t “match.” The name needed to be researched as it also could have been a sister or a married daughter. This card almost wasn’t looked at “because what can it really tell me?” I found out just what it could tell me–a name that I didn’t have before.
It can be easy to get stuck in a genealogical rut. Consider working on an entire new family–in a location that is different and with people who are members of a different ethnic group or social class. The location should really be different–three counties away in the same state usually isn’t different–unless one area is urban and one is rural. Consider changing up your time period as well. In trying to “figure out” my DNA matches, I’ve been forced to do more mid-to-late 20th century research than I usually do. That’s good. Doing it has allowed me to go back to my other time periods and locations with renewed interest. And I made a few discoveries in the process.
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