There is a picture of my Dad in his early 70s with a hog in the back of his livestock trailer. My Dad farmed his entire life so pictures with livestock are not uncommon.

One might be tempted to think, based upon the picture, that my Dad raised hogs on his farm at that point in his life. The picture would seem to potentially suggest that. That was not the case.

My Dad had not raised hogs in over twenty-five years when the photo was taken of him with a hog in his livestock trailer. He had won the hog by guessing its weight in a contest sponsored by a local business and was picking the pig up after the contest was over.

When analyzing a piece of information, genealogical or otherwise, think about what it means and what it does not mean. Another clue is that I only have one picture of my Dad with a hog. I have many pictures clearly taken over decades of cattle. That’s more suggestive than one picture of a hog.

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