Post by Spirit of the Owl Woman on Sept 30, 2009 19:08:24 GMT -5
Error: Name Spellings
Until the mid-eighteenth century, how a word was spelled was not considered important. Surnames in manuscripts were often spelled in different ways, even in the same document. With the publication of dictionaries, Nathan Bailey's in 1730 and Samuel Johnson's in 1755, things began to change. Account was then taken of the word's origin, formation and meaning, which eventually led to a standardization of both spelling and pronunciation. As most records containing a surname were written by a clerk rather than the surname owner, and the clerk only having the sound of the name to guide him, it could be said that most of us use a name that is derived from the sound rather than the spelling.
We can see with the many dialects and little literacy how various census takers, clerks, record keepers, friends and neighbors could be creative and misspelled on a regular basis.
Latter-day abstractors making indice for census, tax and other records were no better! They seemed to be as creative as those who pre-dated them who were barely literate. A watchword here: Just because your ancestor does not show up in a contemporary index of the census or other work does NOT mean he is not there. Always check the original records yourself.
Take great care to be creative and as broadminded as possible. Insisting upon a name being spelled a certain way is limiting your search. May we never again hear the statement: "That's not my person, the name is spelled wrong." --Adapted from Family Tree, Odom Library, Georgia
Most Common Reasons for not Finding Ancestors
# Looking in wrong place
# Spelling of name
# Thinking narrowly
# Believing oral history
# Believing undocumented research
# Not understanding local history & events
# Not thinking like your ancestor
# Not consulting original records
# Believing the internet & printed family books
# Not doing a chronological study in date order
Common Mistakes When Reading Census
# Spelling of name
# Not boning up on census year oddities
# Not considering neighbors and people nearby
# Failure to look at adjoining pages
# Failure to properly read columns
# Believing enumerated place of birth and age
# Depending and believing one census only instead of an overall study
# Believing all children in family belong to head of household
Common Mistakes When Researching
* Spelling of name
* Failure to document sources correctly: (book/film #, call #, date found, place found)
* Not understanding laws which governed documents
* Not considering printed county & family history books as clues only
* Failure to consult original records
* Not having a research plan
* Not consulting all the records
* Asking the wrong person for help
* Reading document with 20th Century eyes, and...
* Impatience!
WARNING: What you Read May Hurt You
Many books published in the past are so lacking in basic documentation that they are harmful to persons pursuing their genealogy.
Do you have a tendency to copy anything out of a book or the Internet and feel because it has been printed in a book or on the Internet that it must be fact? Then you will have big troubles!
Unless a book cites primary sources, it should NOT be used as a reference. A book should only be used as a stepping off point (a clue) to find an ancestor. Even if the work cites references, it may not be correct and you need to recheck the references yourself. Care must be taken when using these sources, including this web site.
Acts of faith may be admirable in religion, but genealogy should not be exalted to that status, it should remain a science and research methods worthy of the designation. Reputable genealogists constantly revise in the light of new evidence revealed. An open mind must be kept at all times. Doubt what you read! Question it! Look it up yourself!
How many times do you repeat what your grandmother told you as fact? Can you prove it? Stories are wonderful, but remember they are only stories until backed up with evidence. Memories play tricks on a person, they dim over time and have a tendency to glorify facts after awhile. Label your stories as such and try to back them up with proof.
Today, compilers of family histories who borrow from previously compiled genealogies without verifying their documentation help to perpetuate false information that should have been revealed as such.
Beware of histories based on myth! Heed words such as "probably, I think, possibly, in all likelihood, presumably, supposedly, perhaps, conceivably, evidently, presume, seemingly, assume, imagine, suspect, surprise," or any word that indicates the author is guessing.
Among the worst offenders in propagating dubious or undocumented genealogy were the periodicals devoted to the subject, examples: The William and Mary Quarterly, The Virginia Magazine of History & Biography. It was not a period of verification. Family histories based on these older works should bear warning. "This product will give you genealogical glaucoma," "contaminated source: beware of coliform bacteria." --Adapted from Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 26, No 1, Feb 1988.
I got these wonderful tips from The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, Regional Family History Center, Los Angeles website. They do offer a free genealogy computer program downloadable. Check it out for those of you who have not.
www.larfhc.org/index.htm
Until the mid-eighteenth century, how a word was spelled was not considered important. Surnames in manuscripts were often spelled in different ways, even in the same document. With the publication of dictionaries, Nathan Bailey's in 1730 and Samuel Johnson's in 1755, things began to change. Account was then taken of the word's origin, formation and meaning, which eventually led to a standardization of both spelling and pronunciation. As most records containing a surname were written by a clerk rather than the surname owner, and the clerk only having the sound of the name to guide him, it could be said that most of us use a name that is derived from the sound rather than the spelling.
We can see with the many dialects and little literacy how various census takers, clerks, record keepers, friends and neighbors could be creative and misspelled on a regular basis.
Latter-day abstractors making indice for census, tax and other records were no better! They seemed to be as creative as those who pre-dated them who were barely literate. A watchword here: Just because your ancestor does not show up in a contemporary index of the census or other work does NOT mean he is not there. Always check the original records yourself.
Take great care to be creative and as broadminded as possible. Insisting upon a name being spelled a certain way is limiting your search. May we never again hear the statement: "That's not my person, the name is spelled wrong." --Adapted from Family Tree, Odom Library, Georgia
Most Common Reasons for not Finding Ancestors
# Looking in wrong place
# Spelling of name
# Thinking narrowly
# Believing oral history
# Believing undocumented research
# Not understanding local history & events
# Not thinking like your ancestor
# Not consulting original records
# Believing the internet & printed family books
# Not doing a chronological study in date order
Common Mistakes When Reading Census
# Spelling of name
# Not boning up on census year oddities
# Not considering neighbors and people nearby
# Failure to look at adjoining pages
# Failure to properly read columns
# Believing enumerated place of birth and age
# Depending and believing one census only instead of an overall study
# Believing all children in family belong to head of household
Common Mistakes When Researching
* Spelling of name
* Failure to document sources correctly: (book/film #, call #, date found, place found)
* Not understanding laws which governed documents
* Not considering printed county & family history books as clues only
* Failure to consult original records
* Not having a research plan
* Not consulting all the records
* Asking the wrong person for help
* Reading document with 20th Century eyes, and...
* Impatience!
WARNING: What you Read May Hurt You
Many books published in the past are so lacking in basic documentation that they are harmful to persons pursuing their genealogy.
Do you have a tendency to copy anything out of a book or the Internet and feel because it has been printed in a book or on the Internet that it must be fact? Then you will have big troubles!
Unless a book cites primary sources, it should NOT be used as a reference. A book should only be used as a stepping off point (a clue) to find an ancestor. Even if the work cites references, it may not be correct and you need to recheck the references yourself. Care must be taken when using these sources, including this web site.
Acts of faith may be admirable in religion, but genealogy should not be exalted to that status, it should remain a science and research methods worthy of the designation. Reputable genealogists constantly revise in the light of new evidence revealed. An open mind must be kept at all times. Doubt what you read! Question it! Look it up yourself!
How many times do you repeat what your grandmother told you as fact? Can you prove it? Stories are wonderful, but remember they are only stories until backed up with evidence. Memories play tricks on a person, they dim over time and have a tendency to glorify facts after awhile. Label your stories as such and try to back them up with proof.
Today, compilers of family histories who borrow from previously compiled genealogies without verifying their documentation help to perpetuate false information that should have been revealed as such.
Beware of histories based on myth! Heed words such as "probably, I think, possibly, in all likelihood, presumably, supposedly, perhaps, conceivably, evidently, presume, seemingly, assume, imagine, suspect, surprise," or any word that indicates the author is guessing.
Among the worst offenders in propagating dubious or undocumented genealogy were the periodicals devoted to the subject, examples: The William and Mary Quarterly, The Virginia Magazine of History & Biography. It was not a period of verification. Family histories based on these older works should bear warning. "This product will give you genealogical glaucoma," "contaminated source: beware of coliform bacteria." --Adapted from Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 26, No 1, Feb 1988.
I got these wonderful tips from The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, Regional Family History Center, Los Angeles website. They do offer a free genealogy computer program downloadable. Check it out for those of you who have not.
www.larfhc.org/index.htm