It is very tempting and much too easy to come to a
conclusion before we have all the data. Click genealogists do this when they
see a familiar name on someone else’s family tree and simply add new
information to their own tree.
DON’T DO THAT! (Sorry
for shouting.)
Same name, same location, year is off by only 1 or 2. Must
be the same person. Could be the same person, but it could also be a different
person from a different branch of the same tree. Be sure to check sources both
the other person’s sources and your own.
Having said that, I do engage in reasoned speculation. Evidence points in a certain direction, but
there is no real proof. There are varied opinions on whether to put speculative
data in an online tree. I do that hoping
that someone will either corroborate my conjecture with proof or prove me
wrong.
How do you handle your “educated guesses”?
I just chose two blogs at random on the A to Z sign up page and it turns out both are about genealogy. Maybe this is a sign for me to actually start the research I keep saying I want to do.
ReplyDeleteMy father-in-law has done extensive research on his family and has spent hours and hours matching names, birth/death/marriage records. It's fascinating to find out where we came from.
http://floridamom-nature.blogspot.com/
Thanks - I learned that lesson the hard way, following the wrong line. Now I am very careful.
ReplyDeleteMary, I love the way that you think!
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit that I was a "click" researcher when I started out, but now it is an irritation to see the incorrect trees on Ancestry!