Proofreading your transcriptions of records and your research conclusions is always advised. Don’t proofread right after you finished something. Let it sit for a day or so if possible and go back to it. You’ll be surprised how many things you’ll catch when the material is cold. And that will help you with some of those research challenges that we sometimes create ourselves.
If you are stuck trying to find a document or a record or are having difficulty in interpreting something a clerk has written in a document or in a record, remember the perspective of the clerk. The clerk may not have understood what your ancestor said, may have been poorly educated himself and cared little about the accuracy of the records he left behind. Or the clerk may have been very concerned about the accuracy and reliability of his records and your ancestor may have been vague in his answers, less than honest, or generally grumpy and unwilling to provide information.
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