Every genealogist has had that moment when they’ve made a big discovery. The following excitement often motivates the researcher to immediately continue to the research. That’s not always the best idea. The thought that “I’ve solved it,” can cause us to overlook inconsistent pieces of information, new pieces of information, etc. Our euphoria at having figured it out can sometimes blind us to relevant information that doesn’t fit. It can also cause us to overlook key clues or jump to additional conclusions that aren’t supported by the information we’ve located. And like Charlie the dog in the picture, we may be a little out of focus when we are excited. That’s not always the best time to immediately research. After the information has been saved, printed/downloaded, copied, and […]
One reason for tripping over a stumbling block in our research is that there’s a piece of information we don’t have and that we don’t know we don’t have. When a research situation is confusing you, ask yourself: Was there a historical event taking place of which I am not aware? Did these two people have a relationship that I don’t know about and which might not have left a record? Is there a term that I don’t understand? Is there a process (legal, military enlistment, religious, cultural, etc.) that I don’t understand completely or am not aware of? And so on. The difficulty is that we don’t always know what we don’t know. Genealogy Tip of the Day book is here. Learn more about it. If you’d like to get […]
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