Avoid the Pitfalls of Sloppy Work

If you want your work as a family historian to be taken seriously, then avoid the pitfalls of Sloppy Work (F-) 

like the plague.

I know compiling your family tree is a work in progress, however, 

you must think logically and use some of those skills you learned in school! 

Everything you do in life, whether it is employment or a hobby, 

has its own protocol and vocabulary.

"through the rules we become conscious of wrongdoing." 

~ Romans 3:20.

To begin, gather your supplies. It is GOOD (A+) to have supplies and tools to work with. Go shopping if you must. Sign up for a library card at your local library or genealogy center and obtain copies of their pre-printed charts and forms or print your own! Purchase a file box for copies of printed records and photos. It's good to have access to a basic set of an encyclopedia. As you graduate from elementary research to intermediate and expert, you can add to your tool-bag as needed. 

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL =  Begin your genealogical education with a tutor or by reading everything you can lay your hands on about genealogy. Just like professional teachers take refresher courses from time to time, be sure to update your knowledge base from time to time as well. This includes watching videos.  For extra credit, join a genealogical society or attend a genealogical conference. If you don't know something, keep asking questions or google it until you get your answers. 

ARITHMETIC = It's good to use a timeline for each person's life - start with what you already know and begin with their birth-date, adding in each fact during their life-time, up until their death. Figure out their approximate age at each added date. Recording dates and calculating ages is a helpful tool for logically figuring out if that's your ancestor in an outside record. 

WRITING = It's good  to add dates and locations to all facts in each person's life-stream.

You get an A+ if you pair the names of the locations with their component part -- indicate whether it is a city, township, or county! [i.e.. Kansas City, Washington Township (Twp.), Jackson County (Co.), State of Missouri (MO.), United States of America (USA)]

It's good to add parentheses around a married woman's maiden name. [i.e. Gladys Esther (White) O'Neal]

Here's a tip = type in the source of your record when you scan your book page to upload to genealogy sites. Then you will never forget where you found it, because it will be meshed into your digital picture! 

SOCIAL STUDIES = It's good to add in additional national or regional historical event facts to their timeline that occurred during their life. I leave my ancestor's information in black and add in additional information in another color. 


It's good to remember in the New World what kind of roads (none to Indian trails) and transportation were available to our American ancestors - ships on oceans, walking, horses, boats on rivers, wagons, trains, horseless carriages, airplanes and rockets in that order. Twenty miles of travel by wagon was a good day! It took many months of twenty mile days to cross the North American continent from coast to coast. 

SCIENCE = Good traveling was mostly done between the late spring and early fall seasons. By fall, the grass had grown tall and the water sources would have been lower or dried up. 

There was safety in numbers for our pioneer ancestors. Migrating people groups had to contend with hostile natives, illnesses, lack of healthy food, clean water, thieves, and the terrain. Military forts, doctors, and trading posts were few and far between if they existed on the frontier.  It's good to find FAN's (friends, associates, and neighbors) of your relatives as their descendants may have additional information about them. 

READING = It's good to find at least three sources of data per date to prove your relative's parents, their name, birth, death and anything in between. Many of the "Documents of" type posts on this website shows the type of records I have collected and transcribed. The more I find, the better I will get to know my ancestors and their families. 

New information is good! And it is also good to remember to note that on your person's timeline at that moment! Otherwise you may forget!

SPELLING = It's good when you spell names correctly.  However, remember, that not all people spell well, so look for all possible variations when scouting for information.

It's good to know that your ancestor may have a name twin!  My husband has six in our Metro Area. Using your timeline (s), figure out if the newest record jives with what you already know about your person as far as their dates, locations, their age and so forth. If it doesn't line up, discard it or set it aside for the time being until you know more. I don't accept every leaf hint that shows up for my ancestor on Ancestry.com.  

And please, be mindful of your manners! (A +) 

Now GO And Have Fun!