If your ancestor was a local businessman, an advertisement in a newspaper or other publication can confirm where the business was located, dates on which the business was operated, business partners, etc. Advertisements may even include biographical information on the business owners (check out the comments on this Rootdig post to see a reference to an advertisement in Kansas that generated quite a bit of information).
Two people can look at a picture of a relative and think that person looks like two different individuals who are unrelated to each other even though they are related to the person in the photograph. It’s because we sometimes see the connection that we want to see. It’s also because sometimes a person can look like more than one relative. That same “seeing what we want to see” can happen when we analyze a document or a record. When interpreting a record or a statement in a document, try and view it with as open of a mind as possible. View it with the mindset of “what does this say” instead of “what do I hope this says.” Check out the books on my Genealogy Bookshelf.
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