A Case of Mistaken Identity

In genealogical terms, getting married means adding whole new branches to the family tree.  Of course, I was excited when my new husband told me what he knew about his family and I began researching new family lines.  Unfortunately, sometimes the thrill of the chase gets in the way of sound research practices.  Boy, did I learn my lesson!

It all started innocently enough.  I typed his grandmother’s first name and maiden name into Ancestry.com’s search engine.  Her last name is a bit unusual in the U.S.  When I found someone who had the exact same name and was about the same age living in California in the 1930 U.S. Census, I assumed I had found the right person.

Instead of confirming with my husband’s family whether or not the information was correct, I kept going, hot on a trail.  Perhaps, it was because I found this family so interesting.  The census record included four generations of women, revealing three surnames to research.  I plugged these names into the search engine and discovered a family that had moved west during the California gold rush.  Their names came up in county histories and historical newspapers from California and Nevada.

I presented what I had found to my husband.  I was proud of my research.  Research implies that a scientific approach was used.  I did no such thing.  I simply followed the click, click, click of the mouse.  It was gently pointed out to me that I was wrong.  How embarrassed I was.

One has to be careful when searching the census.  It is a great resource but also has its limits.  Accuracy is dependent on how knowledgeable the household member or neighbor was and how detailed the census taker was at the time of the census.  I eventually located my husband’s grandmother in the census.  She was living with her parents and uncle.  The family name was spelled wrong which explains why it did not pop up on my first search attempt.

I have definitely learned a lesson.  Over the years, I have developed a strong research methodology because of my experience.  Now I spend more time examining various records and evaluating potential relatives before expanding my family tree.