Flexibility
Name spellings can and will vary from record to record. Depending upon whether your ancestors could
read and write, if they had an accent, if the scribe was good at spelling and
how the record is indexed today, there may be inconsistencies in spelling in
both common easy names and in unusual difficult names. Look at variations in spelling and trying
using creative spelling to locate your ancestors.
People may possibly go by their given name, initials,
middle name, surname or even their nickname.
The name they go by can change throughout the years. As a child a person may be called one name by
his or her parents, but as he gets older he may prefer using another part of
his name. Be consistent in searching for
an ancestors given and middle names, and for searching just using their
initials.
Families moved from area to area and locations change
jurisdiction and names. So be sure to do
general area searchers and look for family members in different towns and
counties than where you believed them to live.
It pays to search for family members in nearby towns and counties.
If a person is buried in a place it doesn’t mean they
died there. In addition, not all
children were born where the family lived.
Be creative in your thinking and in your search parameters.
While using computer searches, review any close matches—and
be flexible in your research, but don’t stretch just any old record to fit your
family!
Comments
Post a Comment