FHF

Do you ever encounter research that someone else has done on a new-to-you ancestor? Chances are you have. Before you start attaching all of that research to your tree - STOP, and Peer Review When you come across another genealogist’s research, you should review what they discovered to ensure that it’s accurate. Genealogists can make mistakes, even on famous people. In 2015, Megan Smolenyak a noted genealogist who has appeared on Who Do You Think You Are? and Finding Your Roots discovered a mistake on Hillary Clinton’s family tree .  The short version of the story is two children of the same name were born in Pennsylvania in the 1880s became confused as Hillary Clinton’s grandmother. If a celebrity's family lines can have flaws, so can ours. The best thing that you can do as you climb your family tree is peer-review of what has already been discovered. Peer-review is a common practice in many sciences.  Scientists will review each other's research before publication to identi...

Question: I have looked everywhere for records about my ancestor, but they just aren't online at FamilySearch. How am I supposed to track them down? Help! - Discouraged Genealogist in Henderson, Nevada Thanks Discouraged, When we're climbing our family tree, it's tough when we aren't finding records for them where we want them and when we want them. Rather than repeat the wisened genealogist matra, "Not everything is online" and shaking my head (which I promise I'm not doing but some readers might be), let me cover a few reasons why you aren't finding your ancestor's information. Change Your Search Methodology If you aren't using larger date ranges for the events in your ancestor's life, you might be missing the records that are on FamilySearch. If you are not changing the spelling of your ancestors, you are overlooking potential records on FamilySearch. You might also want to look for your ancestor's extended family members, neighbors,...

Whether you are trying to solve a complex research question or discovering a new ancestor for the first time, you need to be sure to find as many records that document your ancestor as possible. But what sources are you overlooking or missing? In the video series, Research Over My Shoulder , Episode 6 talks about what easy records we are missing for our ancestor's research? You can jump to the video link here. In this case study, I am investigating Winfield Underwood, born in 1857 in Taylor County, Kentucky and died in Whitesboro, Texas. Previous research discovered Winfield’s Person Page resulted in some earlier researchers attaching sources to him. After peer reviewing their work and then organizing the sources, I was ready to look for what was missing from the research. Watch a video on Peer Reviewing a Family Tree Watch a video on Organizing Sources on FamilySearch I had previously found: an index to a birth record an index to a marriage record death record for son Logan Underw...

As budding genealogists attempt to use FamilySearch Family Tree, they quickly face the learning curve that’s not as easy as some other online offerings. Learning to add reason statements when making a change, attaching a source, merging people, or deleting a relationship can be overwhelming. But anything worth doing, it’s worth doing well. With FamilySearch Family Tree, three reasons to use the program out-weight the learning curve associated with mastering the mechanics of the program. 1. Public Trees and Public Sources With FamilySearch, there are no private trees. Okay, the private trees are the living individuals you add to the tree. But when we’re talking about the history of deceased persons, no one is private. Though you might want to believe this is blasphemy, look through the eyes of a friend’s story. My friend wanted to work on her family tree using an online service that allowed private trees. She found a match to a private tree that indicated that it had sources. This frien...

VIEW QUESTION: "Would I be wrong to assume a record is about my ancestor if a source I find has about the same year of birth or death and same place of residence?" The easy answer is, it depends. For some records, you can determine if the source is indeed your ancestors because those documents have additional details that you recognize as specific to your relative. These details match more than the birth year or individual's name. Additional information: identifying parents you have proven including unusual middle names  naming birth cities or villages, especially when they differ from current residences recording occupations noting physical descriptions including known siblings and additional relatives listing the same neighbors as in previous records recording officiators from the known church affiliation including military units that were previously recorded matching complete birth dates or death dates I could go on. The trick is there needs to be more than a hunch th...

A family legend and an interment record point to the origin of my Townley ancestor who settled in Cincinnati in the early 1800s. When I was a young genealogist, I would accept the family legend and the name on the burial card as substantial evidence that the information people write their family trees are accurate. In so doing, I would fall victim to some rookie mistakes.  But no more, let's talk about the rookie mistakes and how avoiding them helps me tackle a mystery on my Townley family. 1. Believing all Family Legends are Accurate Family legends are fun stories, and some of them are factual. However, many of them have alterations that introduce errors or complete falsehoods. We also do not know how family stories start or understand the purpose of misleading legends. In my Geiszler line, a handwritten paragraph details the demise of my German immigrant ancestor. Upon closer scrutiny, many of the specifics are inaccurate or not plausible. Why would my relatives pass along a fals...

Why is it that we overlook or ignore easy tasks? Is it because those easy tasks are too readily forgotten, despite how important they are? It’s easy to scan through your email inbox and quickly delete the unwanted material. Right? It seems simple enough and is a time-saving decluttering tip repeatedly shared in social media. But, how often do you, or I, follow the advice? Yeah, for more people, not often enough. I'm not a decluttering expert, but I do know what the number one task in family history is and it's not adding new names to the tree. In fact, it is so simple that people often fail to do it. Then they kick themselves when it's too late. What is this simple, crucial task? Labeling Photos Ha! You thought it might be something earth-shattering. But honestly, you don't know just how important labeling photos is until after someone dies. Flipping through my grandmother's photo album after she, the oldest surviving member of her generation, died I felt a...

Do you treasure a china set that has been used in your family for years? Did you receive a China Set for your wedding? Or do think China is a country that makes great electronics and the home of Great Wall? Your answers to this question could give you a clue as to how you would go about beginning in family history. Think I’m insane. I’m cool with that, but seriously, stay with me. My mother had a china set that belonged to her ancestors. Sadly, this photo of the fact that we had a massive china cabinet is the only reminder of this collection. My mother received china for her wedding and then would add fancy dishes to her collection throughout her life. She thought she had arrived when she and dad had earned enough money to buy a china cabinet for all of this. Were we allowed to eat off that fancy dinnerware? Rarely! It was a treasure and treasures should be looked at but not actually used. Fast forward to my home. I specifically asked for a functional dinner set when I got married. We ...

While we're on holiday break from homeschool and the like, Andy, Caleb, and Devon Noel Lee are look back so they can move forward by examining the most popular blogs and videos that we posted in 2017 so we can plan ahead for 2018. Take a look at the posts on this blog. #10 -   3 Suppliers to Start Your Scrapbook Stash If you're just starting out in digital scrapbooking, you'll want to purchase P hotoshop Elements . Then, you'll want to visit these three talented designers for all the basic supplies you'll need for your beginner stash of supplies. You'll have templates, background papers, decorative elements, and title art. # 9 -   German Names in Print? "Do you know what is the best on this site? I can see what my German last name looks like in print. I've assumed the German β would look just like that in print. But when I look at the name, it seems 'weird.' The newsprint version doesn't have the distinct demarcations that I see in a compute...