| TIP: It's all in the details! What everyone knows is | | | | years, a birth year may be misremembered, or |
| true, may be wrong! | | | | changed to allow a young man to enlist in WW1. A |
| I've recently been going over the family tree for | | | | long-term residence is not necessarily a birthplace. |
| Margaret, a client of mine, and this was her | | | | And Censuses sometimes rounded the birth |
| frequent outburst. The dates were not quite right, | | | | years! |
| first names were slightly different, the county of | | | | As you search backwards, keep an open mind |
| birth was definitely wrong! | | | | about all the details that you think you know for |
| So I carefully took her back, document by | | | | sure! In general, you can only trust a Primary |
| document, detail by detail, to see if we could find | | | | Source: that is, a document that is filled in at the |
| errors. One aunt was listed by a nickname in one | | | | time of the event: such as a registration of birth |
| census, her given name on the next, a baptism | | | | or marriage or death or burial, the ship's |
| name on the nest one. A surname was spelled | | | | passenger list, or perhaps a listing in a family Bible |
| three different ways: on a birth registration, | | | | (if listed at the time). But even so, the information |
| census, and draft. Birthdates were different on all | | | | is only as accurate as the person giving the |
| three. A newspaper record of her | | | | details, and the person writing down those details. |
| greatgrandmother's marriage with the given name | | | | The refrain - 'Well that can't possibly be right!' - |
| recorded as a version of her middle name. Hmm. | | | | should change to 'Oh my goodness, look at this!' |
| Born in the wrong county? Greatgrandfather was | | | | or perhaps, 'I never knew that before!' |
| born in one county (according to the birth | | | | Sometimes, it means there's more digging to do |
| registration), and the family moved to the second | | | | to confirm these details. |
| county by the next census, 2 years later. | | | | Curiosity is your friend as you search for your |
| Margaret's surprise is a common one when we | | | | ancestors. Remember that the path to build |
| search back in time, following clues and details. | | | | accurate family trees is filled with many potholes, |
| Family stories are frequently incorrect in small | | | | potential pitfalls and - exciting finds! |
| details: the immigration year may be off by 1-5 | | | | |