Where to Start

If you're an experienced genealogist or family history researcher, you can probably skip this blog post, as you already will know what I'm about to share. If you're reading this and you're new to genealogy, this should be helpful.

Thirty five years ago when I first became interested in genealogy research, it just so happened that I caught the "bug" from my aunt, who was an avid genealogist and member of the Mormon Church. I'm Catholic and we definitely had differing religious views, but in any case, I was smitten with learning about my family and interested in where we came from, what we looked like, what our life experiences were, etc.

In my earliest days, when my aunt would show me how she was researching, the very first thing she taught me was about working from present to past. It wasn't until I got a bit further into researching that I fully understood what she meant, and now, in the current day and age of research with lots of resources shared by others, it is even more important to follow this practice now than ever. I'll also use this post to capitalize on primary sources for life events as well, seeing that it's relevant and my aunt also told me about this too!

Whether you're looking on Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org or some other website (or non technology based repository), it can be very easy to see information that you believe is pertinent for someone that you think is several generations back in your family pedigree. It is really most important, however, that you work from what you know, in the present, back to that person, in order to make sure you have accurate and well rounded information and documentation leading up to them. You can certainly bookmark the information you have found, or save it for later, as it may very well be relevant, however, my aunt insisted that I work from present to past. Here's a great example of why:

Malinda Berry McGuire, my 3rd great grandmother was rumored to be a centenarian, living to be 104 years old. This story was shared in writing and orally, however, no hard and fast records to prove it. I had been given her name by my aunt, and while I worked to verify what my aunt gave me for information, I was always tempted to skip over a couple of generations and plug that information in, excited that she "lived to be 104" years old.

For MANY years, I used the Internet to try and research information on her, typing in her name in a myriad of spellings, maiden name, etc. and most often, matches turning up NOTHING or in the case of Ancestry.com, finding that others had listed her name as Melinda Mary McGuire, born in 1808 and died in 1823.

After a lot of correspondence with other people that were definitely relatives, I was fortunate enough to get a copy of a bible page that listed Malinda Berry McGuire's data of death as 14 March 1905. I then had one day where I had typed in a search on her, as I always had done when I had time, and sure enough, a file card showed with an application for a widow's pension for her husband, Hamilton Bishop McGuire. I sent off for that paperwork and when the packet came, there were 14 pages!, yes, 14, which held a TON of information provided by her and one piece of information was her date of birth, which was in 1815. Those two pieces of information coupled together served to disprove the many stories that Malinda had lived to be 104 years old. While I was disappointed that she did not live to be a centenarian, I was much happier to know that I had gotten accurate, or the most accurate information, that I could find.

I do take the opportunity to make sure that I share correct information with people that have incorrect information about about Malinda Berry McGuire. The lesson in all of this, first and foremost, is that you start with the current person and work your way back and save any information you find in the meantime and come back to it later.

While we're talking about starting with the most current information and working your way back, I want to take the opportunity to talk about finding information online posted by other people. I've been SUPER fortunate to have had LOTS of information shared with me over the years. A lot of that information has been accurate and has helped me piece together the story of my family. That being said, I also have had the opportunity to see where lots of people have posted information online that is inaccurate, has no source to back it up, and in many cases, has been totally wrong and off the mark. A "plus" for services such as Ancestry, WikiTree, Family Search, etc. is that it provides people around the world to share genealogy information that others may not have been able to find or have access to. It is also a lot like Wikipedia, in some senses, where people are putting in information that may or MAY NOT be accurate. Prime example, already referenced in this piece, is Malinda Berry McGuire. I get it, people have heard that she lived to be 104 and everyone wants that to be true, HOWEVER, that cannot be done at the expense of not being accurate and putting incorrect information online. I've reached out to a handful of people and alerted them to the fact that their information is not correct. I try to be nice about it, and genuinely, I want people to have accurate information at the end of the day.

So, if you've made it this far, what information have you maybe "grabbed" from online that did not have source documented? Have you skipped over a relative and gone to someone else because you saw something online? It is ALWAYS a good time to go back over and reverify what you have found in order to be sure you're accurately researching your family history! Good luck!