YOUR INFORMATION COULD BE WRONG
I have death certificates for several ancestors in Texas. I have several from Florida and Pennsylvania. Where do some of the tree makers on Ancestry get their family information? It seems some grab at twigs and branches just to try to make a tree!!!
It gets very frustrating when a leaf appears, and I look at the clue and there is no way this is the same person. Keep in mind, many names were similar. Family names were inherited through male and female. But, you need to look at ages, locations, siblings etc.
I try to compare at least three census records before I attach it. Then, I may also review the entire census in a community to verify other members of the same last name living there. Census records were not used in the same way they are today. Getting a name spelled correctly, well, it was phonetic. And you were lucky if the person had good handwriting at all.
When doing your research
DO
1. Compare census records, from previous years
2. Look at family members in all the census records, siblings, initials, dates of birth ages, on the record itself
3. Look at the marriage status of individuals, M/WD/ S…and many times the persons who married lived near each other, check an earlier census
4. Follow locations…people did move, but, usually was from one state to another or around a county, they kept it local, no cars in the 1800’s. They travelled slowly.
5. Look at family members in the community
6. Use death records and family info to verify
7. Use cemetery details for facts on dates and family members buried locally
8. Use surname message boards and state/county sites as well.
DO NOT
1. Attach a record because the name is the same
2. Record without verification/ cross referencing facts
3. Assume there was only one marriage
4. Get lost in the trees that are posted
5. Copy a tree
For those of us who create a family tree, it is vital information is not taken without communication. It takes years to gather all we have. While we do not mind sharing, it is more fun to connect with the person. Who know, you may find long-lost cousins as I have. If you are an Ancestry.com member, you can easily email for facts, photos or hints.
I have had several mysteries in my family with misspellings of names. Manny, Mamie and Mollie….my hunch of Mamie was correct. I found the obit.
Lumy, Lumley, Lummie and Lumnia….follow the records, Lumley was right. I have the death record.
Good luck in your search, and I wish you all the answers.
©FANNIESYOURAUNT
FANNIES YOUR AUNT 
I have a pretty extensive tree, but I had to make it private to keep people from collecting information off of it (in error). At first I would contact them and let them know it was incorrect but it is very frequent and I decided to just make it private. A few other family members have given me access as editor to their trees so that I can include verified informationon their trees. Which I am happy to do rather than have inacurate information out there. ALL the facts on my tree are sourced and verified. I might have some dates slightly off but I don’t put people on my tree just because it is the same name and location. I write the information in a book and then after I verify it, I put it on my tree. A tree is worthless without sources and verification. DO NOT COPY FROM OTHER TREES. Do your own research, for accuracy. I plan on printing my information into a book format to share with all the family so accuracy and proof is a must.
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