[Genealogy] Finding Reasons, Have to be Related

Thu Jan 1 13:27:50 CST 2026

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** Is It Always Possible to Find That Reason?
** Full-Text Searching
** They Have to Be Related: They Have the Same Last Name
** Upcoming Events

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Is It Always Possible to Find That Reason?
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One clue to learning more about your ancestor is determining why he moved
from one point to another. Sometimes the reasons are clear after a little
study of local history if the reason he moved was because of the
destination–called the *pull factor*. If you don’t know where the ancestor
was from, it may be more difficult to determine the reason why he
left–called the *push factor*. It is difficult to read relevant local
histories when you are unaware of where the ancestor was from.

Reasons might not always be stated in local histories. Your ancestor might
have migrated because of family connections, the fact that a former
neighbor had settled in the area, or that there was some type of employment
that he could easily obtain. Sometimes the “connection” will be impossible
to find. Generally genealogists are advised to research associates of the
ancestor in his earlier days of residence in an area to get an idea of
individuals he might have known “back home.” Sometimes that is easier said
than done.

And if you ancestor didn’t move—there’s a reason for that as well.

If you speculate on why an ancestor moved (or didn’t) clearly indicate that
your speculation is speculation. And remember, that many of our conclusions
are speculation. Very few of our ancestors left behind detailed records
explaining why they did what they did.

Often, we look at the records they left behind, use generalities gleaned
from history, economics, and known social behavior, and weave a story.
Sometimes that story is correct, but sometimes it is not. After all,
ancestors leave behind pieces of themselves and when we use those records
to tell their story, we often weave some of ourselves into the tapestry we
create.

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Revised Full-Text Searching Webinar for 2026

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We’re excited to offer this revised presentation on the full-text searching
at *FamilySearch*--reflecting changes made to the site since this was
recorded in August 2025. We’ve redesigned our presentation as this
functionality continues to change. And…we have an extensive handout
complete with forms to help you find more people. Available for download by
5 January 2026. Order now for $25
<https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/67D7Z5H4ZQHJA>.

If you have purchased an earlier version of this presentation--email me at
mjnrootdig at gmail.com for the code to order this revision for $10.
Fully Utilizing Full-Text Search: Revised for January 2026

Your purchase includes:

   - *A 90 minute (or more presentation)* you can view as often as you want.
   - *Detailed handout* with charts and forms to help organize your
   searches. Charts and forms sent as separate files you can edit and
   customize and not as a locked PDF you have to re-create yourself as a new
   document.

We’ll be including and discussing:

*Determining what is in Full-Text Search—*what you can access at home and
what you will have to be in a FamilySearch facility or affiliate to access.

*Seeing How AI Transcriptions are different*—they aren’t like the
transcriptions made by humans. That can change your approach.

*Remembering that Full-Text means every word*—approaches need to differ as
we aren’t looking up a name in an index any more.

*Asking Who* is in the record? We aren’t just searching for the main person
like we did with traditional indexes. We’ll discuss how to determine who
could be mentioned in a record.

*Determining How to search?* There are a variety of ways to search and
filter results. We’ll see how each one works to help determine the best
strategy.

*Creating search strategies*—how full-text search changes your approach and
why just dumping terms in search boxes is not always effective.

*Determining what you found* The interface does not always make this clear.
We will show you how to get beyond the confusion and help you get enough
detail for a citation.

*Creating effective problem-solving approaches*—what to do when you cannot
find something you want.

*Demonstrating practical examples*—completely new people and families from
our previous presentations.

Available 5 January 2026. Order now for $25
<https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/67D7Z5H4ZQHJA>.

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They Have to Be Related: They Have the Same Last Name

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Just because two individuals have the same last name does not mean that
they are related. Researchers working on a Smith family know that two
people with this common last name are not related, but what about a more
unusual surname?

Well it depends on the origination of the name (and that even is not a
guarantee) and jumping to conclusions makes for bad research.

One of my ancestral surnames is Habben–a somewhat unusual name. In
Ostfriesland, Germany, where many of these families originate the surname
is somewhat more common. However, the name is a patronym actually meaning
“child of Habbe.” While patronymics was practiced, two men with the first
name Habbe would have children with the last name of Habben–though there
might have been no relationship.

Sweden is full of Larsons, Carlsons, etc. for exactly the same
reason–patronymics.

Even surnames that are not patronymical in origin may be shared by two
unrelated individuals. This is especially true with surnames such as Baker,
Farmer, Lake and other names that may have been derived from occupations or
nearby geographical features.

There may be cases where all individuals with the same surname are related,
but let research, not your gut, be your guide. My tentative hypothesis is
that all or most individuals with the last name of Trautvetter are related.
However, research is not complete and just because the name is concentrated
in a certain area of Germany does not mean there was one common ancestor.

Last names can be used as clues to relationships. But a last name only
means it was that person’s last name, not that he (or she) had to be
related to someone else.

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Genealogy Consultations

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We've done several genealogy consultations in December and have more
scheduled for January.

Now is an excellent time to give yourself the gift of a genealogy research
consultation. You do not have to actually have the consultation
immediately. A few people have waited until they have tied up as many
loose ends as possible, organized what they had, and made a list of
questions. The consultation is not doing research for you--although I may
do a couple of quick lookups if details warrant. It's about talking about
your problem, seeing what you already have, and determining next steps with
the hope that most of those steps can be carried out by you without having
to hire a researcher.

There are more details about the consultations on our website and we do ask
that you follow the guidelines for problem submission.
Details here:
https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/consultations-with-michael/

We've left the discount rate up, but will pull it when the January spots
are filled.

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Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
PO Box 17
Henderson, IL 61439
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