Genealogical Research - "Good Practice" Hints

• Hints for Genealogy in General - not just Computer Related
  1. Start from what you personally know.
     Work backward in time, starting even with yourself.
     It is futile to start with the family legend and try to prove it.
     Besides, if you start from someone else, they may not be related and your research will be wasted.
  2. Beware the Hidden/Erroneous Assumption
     You may not realize you've made a mistake
     Don't want to spend time searching a line of ancestry only to find it's not your line.
     Example: Letter from M. D. Welch stating "Mother says ...." Context leads to conclusion this "Mother" was probably the maternal grandmother of the man receiving the letter. For years I thought M. D. Welch was a married daughter of the "Mother" whom I knew only as Mrs. Hirst, because I didn't know any related people named Welch. Only when I found Mrs. Hirst married a second time to a James Welch, did I realize that M. D. was her son. Then he was easy to find in the census.
  3. Goal is to understand each person both in time and place as well as in relationship to others.
     Just Name, birth date, death date leaves possibility for confusion.
     Quite often many different birth dates are around for the same person
     A corollary of this is that a place name or location lets you focus the search.
     From another researcher - "[Those] successful in their genealogical research will quickly advise that the most important piece of information needed to trace ancestors is a place name (village of origin, birth or last residence.) I venture to say that it's actually even more important than the immigrant's surname! Why? Because the valuable information you seek is usually organized, indexed and stored and indexed geographically: country, county, region, village, town, city name. The same surname can show up in other villages and be entirely unrelated, costing months of lost research time."
  4. Have a simple, understandable filing system. And use it.
     Need one for hard copy and another computer based system for digital records.
  5. Pay attention to collateral lines.
     "Collateral", descended from same ancestor, IE. cousins/aunts/uncles
     Distant cousins may have the key to solving your problem.
     Often have to find most of the siblings to figure out who the parents are.
     Too many hobbyists just concentrate on parents in each generation.
  6. Ignore those selling family data, especially family crests.
     Most commercial ventures know nothing about your immediate family
     They usually recycle information from public sources like phone books or the Internet
  7. Don't ignore the in-laws.
     I always try to locate each ancestor's siblings and spouses.
     Someone researching Uncle Charlie's wife may know more about your Uncle Charlie than you do.
  8. Jurisdictional changes influence where a record may be located.
     Particularly true if ancestor was in area which later was spun off into a new county or state, etc.
     Example: Many early Broome county records might be at the Tioga County courthouse, as Broome was formed from an earlier, larger Tioga county.
  9. Suspect all names and dates not backed up with cited sources.
     Citing other researchers does not get to the original source of the information.
     Use other's research as a research guide, but not as the final answer.
     Example: I have a distant cousin who invented name of "head of family" to have some name to start with. "James" instead of "unknown father". When I contacted her, she said it "sounded as good as any other"! That error has propagated to the Internet, even after the correct name was found.
  10. Mistakes are common - Expect Them
      Even in published histories.
      Especially in collected indexes.
      Beware lest research duplicates error made by previous generation of researchers.
      Have to checkout the source.
      Have to corroborate source with other data.
      Example: In a published county history the author used the given name of his maternal grandmother for the given name of his paternal grandmother. Only other data, such as tombstone of paternal grandparents clears up the error.
  11. Date and indicate authorship of all you create
      You'll avoid mixing up your own versions
      Once computer files get sent as attachments, converted to another format, etc. they loose their original date stamp.
      All files of importance should have the creation date and the authors name as part of the text of the file itself!
      Even for documents created by typewriter or hand this is important. Otherwise, a reader in the future will have no idea how pertinent your material is. Or which version is the most current.
      Example: Document which states an important fact may be very valuable if created by an eye witness. Or of little use if it is not dated and no sources are cited. It may be a derivative document.
  12. Be aware of proximity in time and place
      Such proximity however does not prove a relationship
      Conversely lack of physical association does not disprove a relationship
      When find someone in census, look around at the neighbors. Groups of (sometimes distant) relatives moved together, immigrated to same area, etc.
  13. Be aware of different date formats.
      Can eliminate confusion by just spelling out the month.
      American June 22, 1923 (Month, Day, Year) or 6/22/1923
      British and ... 22 June 1923 or 22/06/1923 (Day, Month, Year)
      Recommended genealogy standard 22 June 1923 (Day, Month spelled out, Year)
      Common computer format 19230623 == 1923/06/22 (Year/Month/Day) - especially for dating files
  14. Different Spellings of a Surname are Not Significant.
      Except when you miss a record because it is indexed by a different spelling than you are using
      Census enumerators spelled names as they heard them - phonetically.
      Eg. Mounts, Mountz, Mounce, Mount ....
      Census indexers spelled names as they saw (deciphered) them.
      Immigrants often Anglicized their name, but not uniformly.
      Individuals sometimes changed the spelling of their name without legal action.
      Example, a miller who shortened his last name to fit better on the flour sacks.
      A few generations later, relatives changed it back, because people often mispronounced the result.
      Understand the Soundex indexing method. See The Soundex Indexing System An explanation at the National Archives Site
  15. Don't Rely Solely on Citations, Abstracts or Transcriptions of Sources.
      And certainly, don't rely on conclusions made by others from the source.
      Source may say something different than what someone else says it does.
      Source may contain more than the transcription or what the source is quoted as saying.
      Hard copies and/or computer images of source usually suffice for content.
      However, sometimes only the microfilm or the original document is clear enough to read.
      And many times, sometimes even the original is undecipherable.
  16. Date Notebook Entries, and Copies you Make - Indicate Where They Were Obtained.
      I usually just copy the title page of any book from which I obtain copies.
  17. Copy Just About Everything
      If you spend any effort to find and examine a record, then spend the extra time, effort and money to get a copy for your files.
      When traveling, it's a good use of time to copy and analyze in depth later.
  18. Collect and Preserve Contact Information for Researchers/Informants
      Never know when you'll need to contact them again.
      E-mail addys are notoriously ephemeral.
      Postal address and phone number are much better
  19. Protect Your and Other People's Privacy and Personal Information
      Remember that information on Internet websites are accessible by anyone with a computer
      Most Genealogical software has a mechanism for hiding names and dates of living persons
  20. Always Contact the Researcher Directly
      Don't rely on the posted data
      There is probably more to be learned
  21. Use Multiple Keys/Approaches/Search for Each Internet/Computer Search
      You may have the wrong spelling
      Indexer may have made a spelling error
      As last resort follow all the "hits".
  22. Don't throw anything away!
      Even something with no names may be valuable.
      Example: Postmark on unsigned postcard maybe a clue to where family was located.
  23. Back-up Computer Files Fequently
      To avoid inadvertant loss, have a data backup strategy.
      Anything worth locating should be handled carefully.
      Removing a file accidentally is a very common occurance.
• Hints Re: Computer Aspects of Genealogical Research
  1. "Bookmark"/"Favorite" Every Finding
     Better yet, copy all pertinent information when you find it.
     • If found at "Hidden" location, also record search criteria.
     Then include URL and Search Key/Sequence to find it again.
     NB. There is no guarantee it will be in the same place later.
     See Good Practice #2.
  2. Document Your Findings as You Proceed
     Important enough to search out? Then important enough to document and pass on.
     Your conclusions will grow dim with time. Write up your conclusions and document your research in a timely fashion.
     An Internet site may change or be discontinued, so information can not be guaranteed to always be available.
     Document where record was found - bookmark Link and if a database then the key used to access the data
  3. Have a simple, understandable filing system. And use it.
     Need on for hardcopy
     Need one for URLs
     Need one for e-mails and e-mail addys
     Need one for computer files - text, image, pdfs, etc.
     Need one for downloaded html pages
  4. For all your genealogy, have and use a single Internet e-mail address that will remain valid in spite of -
     Moving
     Changing ISP
     Free sites deciding to charge
     A forwarding alias e-mail service fits this but see also Spam, next item.
     Example alias provider - Email Forwarding Aliases - Good explanation of problem and solution.
     Example alias provider - Create Email Aliases and Forwarding Addresses in Gmail - not a recommendation, just an example and for education.
  5. Avoid Aggravating Spam.
     Have a second e-mail address which you give to all sites/businesses which ask for or require it.
     Then only look at your mail there once every two or three weeks.
  6. Different Spellings of a Surname are Usually Not Significant.
     Exception: When you miss a record because it is indexed by a different spelling than you are using
     Census enumerators spelled names as they heard them - phonetically.
     Eg. Mounts, Mountz, Mounce, Mount ....
     Indexers spelled names as they saw (deciphered) them.
     Immigrants often Anglicized their name, but not uniformly.
     Individuals sometimes changed the spelling of their name without legal action.
     Example, a miller who shortened his last name fit better on the flour sacks.
     A few generations later, relatives changed it back, because people often mispronounced the result.
     Understand the Soundex indexing method. See The Soundex Indexing System An explanation at the National Archives Site

     An e-mail exchange shows how the problem manifests itself.

     Hi Jay,
       How are you?
       I checked and the spelling is Kimer so it must be another person.
       Is your William in that unit? If so then this list must not be complete. I'd love to add him if you'd like. Just send me what you want included and I'll get it in there.
     Thanks foor paying attention! 
       W....
     
     Plain Jay  wrote:
       W....,
     In the list of 13 Illinois Co A that you posted,
     there is this line -
     Wiliam P. Kimer, John P. Mitchel and Henry Peters, killed at Fort Donelson
     My Kimel/Kimmel records show that
     William P. Kimmel was killed at Fort Donelson
     Is your entry a mispelling? Or is Wiliam P. Kimer
     another person?          
          

  7. Date Notebook Entries, and Copies you Make - Indicate Where They Were Obtained.
     I usually just copy the title page of any book from which I obtain copies.
     Bookmark sites you use
     
  8. Collect and Preserve Contact Information for Researchers/Informants
     Never know when you'll need to contact them again.
     E-mail addys are notoriously ephemeral.
     Postal address and phone number are much better
  9. Always Contact the Researcher Directly
     Don't rely on the posted data
     There is probably more to be learned
  10. Use Multiple Keys/Approaches/Search for Each Internet/Computer Search
      You may have the wrong spelling
      Indexer may have made a spelling error
      As last resort follow all the "hits".
  11. Revisit an Unresolved Search on Occassion
      Never know when new data you seek might get added

  © Prepared by Jay January 28, 2014