If a record or document indicates that two people are siblings and you have no other records or information, remain open to the possibility that the two siblings only share one parent. That relationship could explain why other records do not make sense or why DNA results are not what you expect.
If you’re looking where a family “got a name,” go beyond biological relatives. That name could be for a relative by marriage. An uncle of mine married a woman in 1874 who had a six year old son and raised him as his own. Never formerly adopted, the uncle left his entire estate to the son he raised. That uncle’s father died in 1912. In that same year the son apparently named his own child for his step-father’s father, giving his child the step-grandfather’s first and middle name. Don’t assume that name has to be for a biological relative.
First and last names of your ancestor will be spelled differently, sometimes different ways in the same document. There is more to “matching” people than the spelling of their first and last name. Make certain you have valid reason to believe people appearing in different records are the same person. And remember–the name is usually considered the “same” if the pronunciations are the same. That missing “e” may irritate you, but it doesn’t mean it’s an entirely different person.
If there “should” be a birth certificate for your ancestor, make certain that there are not delayed birth certificates that have been overlooked. Sometimes these are filed separately from the certificates that were recorded promptly and may have been filed when your relative needed proof of age for employment, social security, etc. Also consider that your ancestor may not have been born in the jurisdiction that you think he was. Also make certain that births were actually recorded at the time your ancestor was born.
Determine what materials FamilySearch has before making a trip to a courthouse. While they do not film or digitize everything, it may be possible to access some records before your trip. This will allow you to focus on what is in the courthouse. And sometimes FamilySearch has digitized the indexes the courthouse created. Use them from home and save time and be better prepared for your trip.
Spit in the tube and wait for your tree. It’s not as simple as that. Autosomal DNA test results indicate a relationship. If the relationship is close (sibling, parent/child, aunt/uncle, first cousin), the predicated relationship is usually easy to immediately determine. But beyond that it is not so clear. Based upon the amount of shared DNA, the precise relationship can be “roughly” determined, but research in paper records, interviews with relatives, and other “non-DNA” research is necessary. The DNA is only part of the story and spitting in a tube doesn’t mean your ancestry will be spitted right back at you. It’s more difficult than that.
When compiling your tree, make certain that the geography makes reasonable sense. Some individuals and families do move from one year to the next, particularly if they have difficulties finding work or are somewhat financially unstable. Some families in urban situations may move every time the rent gets so far behind that it becomes a problem. It’s one thing to move across the street or across town from one year to the next. When that happens addresses may change–but the county or even the parish of residence may not. It’s another thing to move more significant distances on a constant basis. Once a correspondent had a couple jumping all over Germany for a fifteen year time period with children born in a variety of regions. It can happen. […]
The US 1870 federal census asks for months of birth and marriages for those events that took place within the census year.
In some areas, during some time periods, families we “re-use” names of children who had died as infants or small children. Don’t assume something is wrong if your ancestor has a child Geske born in 1754 and another one in 1756. It’s probable the first one died.
When saving digital images of records, do not neglect taking a picture of any notes you make and include it with your digital images of actual records. While working with some Indiana deeds, I made notes while using the index. I made a few notes on those notes as I was locating the records. Sometimes the notes are more extensive than these, but my images and notes need to be in the same place–not some on my computer and others on pieces of paper that can get lost.
Sometimes abbreviations are obvious. Sometimes they are not. When making digit images of pages from a book, always look for a list of abbreviations. Copy that page. And don’t forget the title page as well.
Remember that the children may not know their mother’s maiden name and what they do know is not first-hand information. They may think their mother’s step-father was her actual father. They may never have met her father and may have a totally “mixed” up version of the name in their head as a result. Or they may be entirely correct about their mother’s maiden name. It depends upon a lot of factors, but keep in mind that information children provide about their mother’s maiden name is not first hand information.
A name change after a marriage may be why a female relative goes “missing.” Your widowed or divorced relative may have had a subsequent marriage of which you are unaware. That could be why they can’t be located. Make certain to check for marriage records after the person becomes widowed or divorced.
There are times when it is necessary to search censuses or other records manually. Consider keeping a research log that uses a map to show where you have searched instead of a table or grid. Mark off the areas you search. The map also helps you to search those areas that are closest to the ones you have already searched. This is particularly helpful if the area you are searching in is not one with which you are familiar.
I was using “unindexed” tax records from Virginia in the 1790 era. They appeared to be in rough alphabetical order by first letter of the last name. Except they weren’t. Several pages would be alphabetical. Then several pages would be unordered. Then several pages would be alphabetical. It seemed as if there were several assessors or collectors for the county and that some sorted their parts of the list and others did not. Had I stopped when my people were not in the first list, I would have missed them. If a handwritten list appears to be alphabetical, make certain the entire thing is.
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