[Genealogy] Ungeneralizing Generalizations and More

[Michael John Neill]

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**Ungeneralizing Generalizations
**Full-Text, Catalog Searching, and NotebookLM

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Ungeneralizing Generalizations
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Generalizations and assumptions are necessary to sometimes give our
research some focus or a point at which to start. But it is important to
remember that generalizations (if they appear to be accurate) are not
necessarily true all the time–that’s why they are called “generalizations”
and not absolute truths.  Researchers can create headaches for themselves
when they apply generalizations without giving any thought to how accurate
the generalization may be or whether it applies in their specific situation.

One often encounters generalization veiled as “helpful hints.” These
generalizations often state that something was always true about a certain
group of people, a certain type of record, how children were named, who the
godparents were, etc. I’ve also seen statements (without any
substantiation) such as “eighty percent of households in the 19th century
contained individuals other than parents and their children,” “no immigrant
appeared in a city directory for the first five years they lived in the
United States,” “witnesses on a naturalization were always the ‘sponsor’
for the immigrant,” etc.

Always take care when applying such generalizations to your own research.
Take extreme care when the generalization has no source or study to support
it. Even when a researcher says “based upon my experience” it’s true, one
still has to be careful. Sometimes that research, which may be extensive,
could be limited to a specific time period, geographic area, ethnic group,
etc. Conclusions based upon narrow expertise may not be applicable to a
larger group of people.

If you think the generalization may have some merit–then it’s simple:

do some research into the generalization

Sometimes there may be a legal reason that the generalization could be
true. There may be academic studies that have been done that address the
situation and may provide some more specific insight (along with some
sources).

Early in my research, I made generalizations about German immigrants based
upon my own research. Later I learned that those generalizations were
generally true–about my immigrant ancestors from Ostfriesland. Those
generalizations caused me to be slightly confused when I began researching
my German immigrants from other areas of Germany. The fault was with me–not
with my ancestors. My generalizations about Germans were the problem. They
were *not* true about German immigrants in general. At that point in time
my research and experience, while extensive, was fairly narrow. Sometimes
we realize that and sometimes we do not. Now I know better.

Assumptions can be just as problematic. Assumptions are statements or
concepts that we accept without some direct evidence to support them.
Making an assumption about an ancestor because of the ethnic group of which
they were a member, the time period in which they lived, the area in which
they lived, etc. can also create research headaches. Sometimes we need to
make assumptions to get our research started.

We just need to take ownership of our assumptions and dump them when the
research suggests that they may not be true.

Lastly…

Researchers need to be wary of any statement that uses the word “always.”
Many of us have ancestors who always lived in the periphery of social mores
and expectations <grin>. That always makes them a little more difficult to
research <double grin>.

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Revised Full-Text Searching Webinar for 2026

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5 January 2026. Order now for $25
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------------------------------

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This presentation will be held live on 5 January 2026 at 8 pm central time.
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Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com------------------------------------
Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
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