Analyze Your Genealogy Research Correctly - Ask These Questions

Avoid the Dunning-Kruger effect in genealogy research by asking the right questions to know if a record belongs to your ancestor and is accurate.

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CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction
00:36 Question Everything
03:11 Questions to Analyze Your Research
06:24 Could Clues Be Wrong?
08:45 Prove It

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✅ Let's connect:

#FamilyHistoryFanatics #genealogy #ancestry

[matauboy]

So true. When it's late at night, you've been chasing a lead for hours, it's very tempting to come to a "conclusion"

[beckyewing]

Your point about paper accepting the ink that is entered on it without it necessarily being true definitely rings true for me. I found my paternal grandmother with her biological mother in the 1901 UK census. On there, my grandmother was listed as being born in Kensington, London, UK. I know her mother was born there but my grandmother was born in Peterborough (in Northamptonshire, England at the time) - ironically, just next door to where they were living when the census was done.

[jeffhikes]

Thanks for pointing out that we can expect the unexpected. Like you, I found a family where the children went by two different surnames as adults. They used both the birth name and the stepfather's name.
When I find that my ancestor has an unusual name, i get more confident that I have right person in the records I find. Then I research the neighbors and relatives and learn that the seemingly unusual name is very common in the specific county where the ancestor lived.
Sometimes I'm excited to find a record for the correct name in the correct year and then find out it's for a family at the other end of Pennsylvania, 300 miles away.
Researchers used to use paper checklists to make sure they had looked each vital record, each census year, Now that we have so many transcriptions and databases available, that part of the process is much easier. The emphasis should be on looking for original sources, for contradictory evidence, showing continuity in each person's life story.

[Elke_KB]

I have 2 John Grover's, born 2-3 years apart, apparently brothers. Haven't been able to prove either way if it's the same person or two different and one of them is on the wrong branch. I'm starting to think he may have abandoned the first family, and went to Upper Canada. The children from the other wife were all born a few years before he's first mentioned in Canada. Plus, I have some DNA matches that match the other John, or they could be from the Merriam line which intersect a lot. So now I've been going down the rabbit hole looking for other clues. He joined the militia in 1810, found those possible "friend" connections. Now I'm slowly working my way back to find the proof when he arrived in 1798 and anything that may mention his parents. Another possibility that came up was he may have been involved in Shay's Rebellion. I did find some relatives involved. Only thing confirmed is his birthplace, Grafton, Mass, because Grafton, Ontario was named in honour of John's birthplace. Planning a genealogy roadtrip for the spring with my sister. Maybe I will find clues at one of his properties. Grover's are one of those families that married into all the more historical important/rich families in Upper Canada. It's all little scattered bits that need to be pulled together.

[suzannemcclendon]

When you said, "Others are, yes, quite calculating in their deceit", it reminded me of something quite upsetting that I read on one of Ancestry's old message boards. This woman said that she purposely put incorrect information in her tree so that she would know who was copying her stuff.

I was appalled! It is likely that the people who are copying over one's tree are relatives. Why would anyone want to treat their relatives, known or unknown, like that?

We are all going to make mistakes in our trees along the way. We're human. But to purposely mislead people like this, I just can't fathom that.

Genealogy is about sharing and helping family to know family. That deceitful person had an attitude totally contrary to the true spirit of real genealogy.

Your comment about your brother made me laugh. My non-existent middle name should have been a great big question mark (my last name, too, for that matter!). I have questioned everything from the get-go and drove my mother crazy with the questions. I can't count the number of times I've challenged someone to "prove it!" haha

[mojavelynjester]

Prove it!! is my favorite saying also. Most times, the person I'm saying that to doesn't even have a preponderance of evidence.

[AdultThirdCultureKid]

I don't just question everyone's family tree, I place it in the "Maybe" section, ask questions, research it further, and then determine whether the information is correct. I'm currently researching an Aaron Kemp, born about 1784 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts to Benjamin and Judith Reed Kemp or born in 1785 in Hollis, New Hampshire to Thomas and Mehitable Lovejoy Kemp. The first one's parents married in 1806, whereas the latter's parents married in 1808.

[invadertifxiii]

one of the other things i like to do for research is look at a country or regions history during the timeline of my ancestors. like my paternal polish ancestor was born in russia during middle 1800s when poland was divided by russia prussia and austria

[invadertifxiii]

what do u mean stuff on the gravestone. also ive learned quite a while ago not to trust documents at first glance, theres the possibility of illegitimate children, as well as other factors, like u said accents made it harder to understand so the spelling of names was written down how they sounded. i love this video its so helpful

[PhotoPhriend]

I've learned that a recent Death Certificate was created using information provided by a person who did not confirm the information on full name or birthdate, and later, when the errors came to light, was told that there was no way to correct the death certificate. At best, a good genealogist will see the differences and use other records to keep the truth in their tree.

[just_deb]

I love your videos. They are so informative. Here is my issue with my genealogical research. I have hit a brick wall that doesn't seem to have any cracks to explore. My niece's husband says he is a "professional genealogist" and he claims he has traced my grandfather's family back to the 1400's, yet when I asked him if he has a copy of my grandfather's birth or baptism records or a marriage certificate of his parents (my great grandparents), he says he hasn't been able to obtain those records. He told me he has over 100 documents on his computer related to his research but I think he created his own documentation but has nothing to back it up. I have discovered some errors in the info I have seen him enter in the family tree but when I mentioned it to him, he chose to ignore it. I actually do have documents for some of the info but he doesn't seem to be interested in accuracy. How do I make changes on incorrect info he has entered if he won't cooperate?

[barbarahawkins]

Devon, So true, question everyone's tree. Sometimes 3 more times after that. Once in a while, finding records and other documents can be tough to impossible. As many times as I have checked KY records on marriage and trying to find out the first name of a 4th great grandmother is as was impossible. The reason for this is because KY did not keep good records until the 1870's. That part sucked :( I just know for sure even in the 1860 census in Illinois, the same 4th great grandmother only went by Mrs. Blalock. I am thinking maybe she was either Native American, or even she was from a different country at birth. Who knows ! In the 1860 census it said she was from TN that's pretty close to KY so who really knows ! I contacted every state near KY and even Illinois NOT HELPFUL. Mrs Blalock is not mentioned by any of the children's WILL'S either. ANY IDEA'S WHAT ELSE I CAN DO DEVON?? Be well, stay safe and have a Merry Christmas to you and yours.

[michaelhutcherson]

Been doing my Hutcherson family tree for over 30 years and have been stuck with my 3rd great grandfather William Hutchison (b bet 1804-1806 - d 1880) my grandfather and I have taken care of his cemetery for awhile. Turned to DNA to see if I could find links or at least a direction. And in finding I found a lot of people have linked my William to another in KY Hutcherson, however, I share no DNA to several of his descendants and the marriage of his one wife (1808 Virginia) is after the birth of my William and records show he is born in Kentucky. But they are additament that my William belongs there, but I do not. Plus my thirty years as an investigator for the state, tells me there is not enough evidence for a prima facia case lol.

[whychromosomesmusic]

I think the biggest mistakes I have made have been due to the research being done by an organization even a well known and respected one. Such as the Harleian Society and their collection of Visitations of noble families in various English counties. The presumption being that the representatives of the Royal College of Arms making the visitations should have had correct information as the object was to ensure the validity of the families' claims to those titles. My friend and colleague in the Chandler Family Association, Dick Chandler, since deceased, set me straight on that one. He was born in England and very familiar with those official publications and told me they were not always accurate and the reason why which was really very funny to me when he told me that -- The families and persons displaying those arms were not above bribing the officers of the Royal College visiting them -- with drink and other methods ;-) -- and the officers were not above accepting said bribes.

Another similar situation has to do with believing that an organization has already done all of the research since they are professionals and would have left no stone un-turned or so I thought. I was discussing the location online of some probate records to one officer of such an historical society in Alabama. They were not aware that the records had been microfilmed and were available online. The only locations they knew as depositories of the records in question (actually Orphan's Court records) were the original books on a dusty shelf in the courthouse and in reproduced versions published in book form by two sisters with copies at the Birmingham Public Library and nowhere else. She stated that copies were not even placed in their local public library. She was very pleased to learn of the existence of the online records and expressed the thanks from the entire society for my providing that information. They were very helpful to me when I visited them in person and laid out a map of the local area and by knowing the local history could pinpoint the probable area where my ancestors lived at the time of the 1860 U. S. Federal Census.

[suellenw]

My ggf seems to fit all those problems. There's many documents saying he was born in Ohio, but the earliest record shows him born in VA. His death certificate has several errors .... like his own name as his father. The Informant was his daughter. I have to believe she was either too upset to answer correctly or she didn't understand the Clerk's question. Likewise, his mother's maiden name is wrong. The birth year on his tombstone is off by 1 yr, but at 93, he may have forgotten what year he was born. There's other strange things as well, but that's for another time.

[invadertifxiii]

i discovered both my maternal grandfather and his father fought in ww2 and im pretty sure their ancestors fought in the civil war and american revolution

[cgaccount]

I get really frustrated with people attaching random historical paintings to a their trees... because that's how my ancestor might have dressed. One other thing I've encountered in census info... don't assume that just because they live in the home that they're children. They can be siblings and inlaws all sharing a last name.

[Jan-xpyi]

I’ve seen marriage records where the woman gave incorrect birthdate (making herself much younger) for a second marriage. Or the person said they were single, but they had multiple previous marriages- in one case the man had been married 7 times. Or Widower but his wife was still living. People just made up information!

[michaelwhalan]

A descendant of Jessie Garnett Lee senior married a Graves family name distant relative of mine. I have a DNA match of 55cM in one segment on 23andme, but their Graves family came to the USA over 200 years ago while my Graves were in the UK. Public family trees on the Ancestry Website go back to the time they came to the USA, but the evidence for Daughters of the American Revolution is different because they have two uncles marrying nieces. It might explain why the DNA match is 55cM when the distance is over 200 years.