The Writer's Block - Fall 2025
Avoiding Basic Research Mistakes - Part 3
By Kristina Newcomer
Mistakes happen - we are only human - but to avoid incorporating them into our research, and by extension our writing, we need to become familiar with some of the more common genealogical pitfalls. Below are three more research mistakes to avoid.
SURNAME GATHERING
- There is nothing wrong with searching for your family surname, just don't hinder your genealogy goal by gathering every similar surname around the country. To be successful, narrow your focus to people who are associated with the same time period and geographical location associated with your family.
- Remember, people commonly moved, married, and worked with a familiar community of people. To increase your success, remember to use the FAN (Friends, Associates, Neighbors) method and include migration patterns. This way, you won't end up with a filing cabinet full of similarly named people that aren't remotely related to you.
OLD RECORDS AREN'T ALWAYS ACCURATE
- Just because a record is old, that doesn't mean that all the information is incorrect. Take, for example, death certificates that contain two vital pieces of direct evidence - the date and location of death. All other information may be inaccurate or outdated. Mistakes in spelling, unknown parental names or location of birth, and incorrect causes of death are just a few of the possible errors. Old family bibles and stories may omit children who died young or were illegitimate.
- Be sure to confirm that you haven't skipped a generation when following a genealogical trail. Confirm that immigration dates logically align with existing records. Check to see if family stories are linked to the correct side of the family. More than one spouse? Be sure to attribute the children to the correct parent.
PROCRASTINATION
- Genealogy research has continued to become increasingly popular, but are we organizing and sharing all this wonderful information with others? Are we taking time to assemble and publish our discoveries? What will happen to our research if something happens to us? Take the time to organize, arrange, and type up your material and share it with your family and historical and genealogical societies. Don't let your hard work be lost. Start organizing and writing today!