This show is the beginning of what, for some, will be a great self-discovery. The increase in visits to Ancestry.com, the sponsor of the show, shows that many more people are interested in their family history because of this show. I hope that their discovery is deeper than dates and names. I hope it will cause them to look at the world differently.

If you haven’t watched yet, tune in on Friday nights at 8pm on NBC.

I recently unlocked the mystery of where one of my HATFIELD ancestor’s brothers, John D. HATFIELD, ended up by searching for information on his wife’s family. I thought if I could find where his wife was raised I might find where the couple lived (and where he died.) I was looking for his death certificate and needed a target county to search in.

During my research efforts I found an obituary on ancestry.com for John D. HATFIELD’s father-in-law. The obituary detailed that the father-in-law and John HATFIELD had been killed in the same tragic railroad accident. So, even though there was no separate obituary for John HATFIELD, the obituary for his father-in-law gave details of where the accident happened, what hospital John HATFIELD was taken to and where he died. So, now I have the county where the death occurred and will be requesting the death certificate which I hope will confirm the names of his parents.

Whodda thought?

If you are just getting started with your research, take some time to look at the kind of information each census year can tell you by checking out a summary my Census summary page.

If you truly want to do quality research of your family tree, you must think of yourself as a CSI. Prove each and every relationship in the family line you are working on. Always ask yourself, “How do I know that?” “What proof do I have?” There will be times when all you have is circumstantial evidence. Its OK to take note of it. But, be sure you note that it is not ‘proven’ as of yet so that others will know that it isn’t proven yet. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought that circumstances proved something and then find out years later that I was off base. Believe me, you don’t want to get one generation wrong and then spend years investigating the wrong family line back through history!!

So, how do I get “proof?” Official documents and records that prove the fact you are looking for are the holy grail. They don’t always exist, but they are your primary target. Some ‘not so official’ documents also provide proof. Letters written by the subject that refer to places, people and relationships can be very good sources. There are lots of books written on ways to document your proof. So, I won’t go into that here. But, I do want to comment on the process and the dangers of research on the Internet.

The documents that prove relationships, residence, birth and death used to be very hard to come across. Finding them meant trips to dusty courthouse records rooms in out of the way little towns. You were lucky if you got to do this because that meant that the courthouse didn’t burn down years ago without your knowledge! Hours in libraries (I can smell those musty books now) and days of waiting for a response to snail mail inquiries to a county, state or federal government office made genealogy a very slow moving hobby or profession.

Today we have the Internet. Wow!! There are so many resourcs out there and so many people doing research. Someone may even be researching your same family line! Picture a giant yellow Caution Sign here! So many people have decided to trace their families without training and without sensitivity to the golden rule of proof that much of the data, family websites and discussions are fraught with errors.

Why is there so much erroneous data out there? Many amateur researchers are assuming that if the data is on the Internet, published in a book or in the format of a family tree that it is true. One person publishes erroneous information and then 10 people build their trees on it. You can see how the problem of bad information spreads like wildfire! Some unproven facts become sort of an ‘urban legend’ and are assumed as fact throughout the internet community.

Doing research by copying information from others on the internet that have not noted their resource documentation isn’t research. It lacks the golden rule of proof. Too many people are taking the internet data as gospel and are destroying the accuracy of their own family research by doing so.

Don’t get me wrong. Sharing is a great thing! Amateur Genealogists love to share their findings. The group of genealogy enthusiasts on the internet is a friendly and open group that loves to share what they’ve learned. You just have to practice safe research. Don’t adopt information without proof.

Remember the CSI has to prove his or her case. So do you!

Repeat after me, “What proof do I have that this is true?”

I am also in the process of expanding my website to include key research resources for the county. Check it out Forsyth County, GA Resources at Digging for Ancestors!

Here’s something amusing I’ve discovered…. When I search through census records for my ancestors, I also take a look at other families “in the neighborhood.” In the 19th century and early 20th century people didn’t venture far from home when they married and siblings often lived close by to parents and other siblings. So, I always take a look around. Sometimes I don’t find a relative. But, I do find some pretty funny names!! Here are just a few names that will bring a smile to your face:

Weir Strange
Fanny Rumble
Precious Darling

What were their parents thinking?

I’ve already talked about the Fallacy of Coats of Arms on this blog. Now we’re going to talk about traditional family stories. Sorry, but if your last name is Washington you probably are NOT related to President George Washington. I’m sure there is someone somewhere who IS related to him. But surnames do not guarantee that you are related to a famous person with the same name. The relation must be proven through careful genealogical study.

If you are doing research for a friend or family member, keep in mind that this can be a touchy subject. Many people are absolutely convinced that they are related to the famous person. Their parents and grandparents have told them the story and they wouldn’t lie to them, right? Of course they woudn’t lie. But, they might make assumptions that have no basis in fact. So, don’t go in with guns blazing and tell them that there is no way that their family tradition is true. Share what you are finding out about the family as your research progresses. Go about the task from a perspective of providing them with their family tree rather than proof of the relationship. This way, if you discover that the family story is true, everyone is thrilled with the results. If your work shows that the story isn’t true, perhaps they will be so thrilled with having the history of their family that they just won’t care.

Beware that there have been instances where one family member researches and disproves the tradition and the rest of the family becomes very angry. There are even more examples where a family has hired a genealogist to prove the tradition and when the results don’t provide that proof, the family becomes very upset and, in rare cases, will refuse to pay for the service.

If you are approached by someone to prove they are related to a famous person, make sure that you tell them that you cannot prove the relation to that person. You can only provide them with their family tree based on commonly accepted genealogical standards.

My brick wall is my great, great grandmother, Jennie HATFIELD Wainer (possibly Virginia HATFIELD or Ellen HATFIELD.) She was born in Niles, Michigan on 11 Apr 1851 and died in Randolph Co., WV on 08 Mar 1932. On 22 Sep 1867 she married John Milton WAINER. The Wainer family bible shows that the marriage took place in Prairie City, McDonough Co., IL. The marriage certificate was printed by a printer in Prairie City, IL. However, the marriage certificate itself says that the marriage was by Judge Bloomfield in Cumberland Co., IL.

Jennie’s birth date comes from Jennie’s family bible that I have. Her death information is from her death certificate on file in West Virginia. Both documents show her name as only ‘Jennie Hatifield’. There was no formal given name or middle name.

Jennie has always fascinated me. I have more original records on her than anyone else in my research; her family bible and the original of her marriage license. Family tradition has always said that she is related to the HATFIELD clan involved in the famous feud with the McCoys. I’d like to prove of disprove that. But, more than that, I just want to know who her parents were and whether she had any brothers and sisters.

The family bible, the marriage certificate and death certificate held great promise. I had all sorts of information about Jennie’s children and grandchildren. But, the records also created a lot of mystery. Here’s why:

The family bible says that Jennie’s father was “E. W. Hatfield b. in England.” That’s the only mention of parents and there is no birth date listed for him. Jennie’s birth date is listed, but not the name of her mother. Her death certificate lists her parents (according to her son, Homer) as “William Elsa” and “Permelia Burnett.” Hmmm. Where’s the Hatfield name? Is it possible that the son, Homer, left off the last name and her father is William Elsa Hatfield? Could Elsa be a misspelling and the is actually William Elias or William Elias Hatfield? Permelia seemed like a fairly uncommon name. So, I thought if I could locate her I could find the father.

Assuming that she would be found in later life as Permelia Hatfield, I searched the census and BINGO there was. Here was a Permelia Hatfield living in Clay Township, Miami Co., IN! Her husband’s name was Leonard Hatfield. Fast forward to 1870 and the same family is in Miami Co., IN. This time the husband’s name was Levin W. Hatfield. One big problem. There should have been a Jennie in the 1860 record about 8 or 9 years old. There is a female child, age 8. But, her name is Ellen.

So, I’ve tried for birth and death certificates of everyone closely related. No go. Jennie is always referred to as Jennie and I can’t get birth records for the Ellen found in Indiana because I don’t know the county in Michigan where she was born.

You also might think the obvious thing is to find Jennie’s birth certificate. Well, 1851 was too early for her birth to have been registered with the county. So, here I am, at the brick wall. If anyone out there can see this more clearly than I can, please make a comment with what I might be able to try next!

UPDATE: Major break though this week on my brick wall. It just goes to show you that you should never give up. On advice of another researcher I began gathering death records of all of Jennie’s children and siblings. I gathered all the death certificates I could find and noticed on the online West Virginia vital statistics site that there were two entries for each persons’s certificate. One was the hand-written log of death entries. As it turns out, even though the parents weren’t listed on the actual certificate, they WERE in this written list. Lo and behold the mother was listed as HELEN V. Hatfield! So, something finally relates to the child named Helen. Its not a definite proof, but the evidence is getting a lot stronger!

 Old photos contain lots of clues via the clothes worn in the picture, the type of pose, the kind of photograph as well as any writing on the card stock used that identifies the photographer and their location.  Pay close attention, you may have overlooked something.

There are lots of books written on the subject of analyzing photos.  One of the most interesting is Forensic Genealogy by Colleen Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.  From the cut of the coat to the angle of the sun, experts can tell almost to the day and time when a photo was taken.

It makes me sad whenever I see discarded family photos in antique stores.  Many are labeled with names and dates that most genealogists can only wish for.  For a while, I purchased some of them, hoping to find their families.  But, alas, many have become so expensive I can no longer afford to do that.  So many people want to ‘adopt’ them as their own ancestors to frame and hang in the hallway antique dealers are charging much more for them now.  There are some websites out there that are doing what I wanted to do, cataloging old photos and posting them in hopes that the related families will find them.  Some examples of these sites are:

Dead Fred

Ancient Faces

Adopt-a-Photo

Check them out.  You might just find a relative!

Read more about caring for your valuable photographs at http://www.diggingforancestors.com/Photos.html

According to the College of Arms in England

“coats of arms have been and still are granted by Letters Patent from the senior heralds, the Kings of Arms.  A right to arms can only be established by the registration in the official records of the College of Arms of a pedigree showing direct male line descent from an ancestor already appearing therein as entitled to arms, or by making application through the College of Arms for a grant of arms. Grants are made to corporations as well as to individuals.”

So, just like you are not necessarily related to someone with the same surname as yours, you or your family do not have a coat of arms just because one was granted to someone with your surname at some point in the past.  In the rare situation that you are actually related to someone with a coat of arms, you would have to submit your pedigree proving that fact to the College of Arms in England to have the coat of arms granted to you.

There are hundreds of websites, magazine ads and mall kiosks that want to sell you a nicely framed ‘official’ coat of arms for your surname.  They may look good.  But, in all likelihood they have nothing to do with your family.  So, if you want something to hang in the foyer or on that blank wall in the study, beware!  I think a nicely framed picture of Great Grandpa Jones is a better choice.