Genealogy Research Hints

Are all dates for events in proper order?

Are all abbreviations correct?

Is every fact documented?

Have you found your ancestor in every census of his/her life?

Have you looked for citizenship or naturalization papers?

Was the father married more than one time?

Do all the children belong to one wife?

Is a pattern evident in the children's names?

Did the father serve in the military? If yes, what war?

Did the family own land?

Have you found the father's will and probate records?

Have you researched tax lists and church records?

Figuring the dates, how many children could the mother have had?

Do all her children belong to one husband?

If widowed, did she live with her children in later years?

Do you have the children listed in correct birth order?

Do you have place of birth and marriage information for each child?

Have you followed each child in the census to see if a parent or grandparent is living with them?

Have you checked to see if a book was ever written about your family?

Have you checked to see if your families are in the Family History Center?

Have you entered your family in the Ancestral File?

Have you considered that your ancestor may have kept a diary?

Have you plotted your family's migration pattern?

Have you placed queries on your families in all the genealogical periodicals?

Review documents acquired over time. New clues will surface that were missed the first time, or the information didn't fit with your data at that time. Those papers filed away should be REVIEWED OFTEN. You will be surprised how clues just seem to grow after being put away!

Submitted by: Ms Louise T Overton