Ten most usual mistakes that can be avoided by novice genealogist
 

 

Curiosity always plays with our mind and takes it over when it is the case of finding your ‎antecedents. But taking on the journey to seek the unknown and that too curelessly, is ‎foolishness. Both an expert and amateur genealogists though have different ways of working but ‎both are of the same view about the fact that ten terrible blunders can actually mislead. It is ‎always wise to learn from the errors of those who have been on this path for quest of kinship ‎before.‎

Lynn Kessel White has attained specialization on Florida and Georgia genealogy. But the path ‎has been of ten long and tedious years. People usually take more time in researching because they ‎tend to repeat the same mistake unknowingly. This situation is repeated specially with novices in ‎this field.‎

White once said "I think the biggest waste of time is having to go back after finding the data and ‎trying to remember where you got that information," White said. "At that point you don’t know ‎if you got it from family members, or online or at a library. What’s happening is that you end up ‎duplicating your work. Retracing your tracks." ‎

Experts have listed the following common mistakes which consume your time and endeavor:‎

‎1. People usually do not note down an important basis of information and later waste time to ‎find its validity and origin. ‎

‎2. The elders are the key to the whole mystery of finding our ancestors but they somehow ‎manage to pass away without letting out the secret.‎

‎3. Researchers must keep in mind that their whole story might be just a sand castle. Several ‎people might share the same name and date of birth. Real truth is just the hard data.‎

‎4. Live meetings with the living older generation are better than tape recordings.‎

‎5. If you get hold of a research of some other person no matter how much dependable the person ‎or publication is, it is always safe to confirm the factual details.‎

‎6. An investigator very often ignore the vast amount of information which can be obtained from ‎the local churches, burial grounds, libraries, social repositories and also your house’s loft.‎

‎7. Wasting time on spellings of surnames especially because at the time of immigration-migration ‎officials might have made some spelling mistakes. ‎

‎8. Concentrate on one person at a time so as to avoid too much confusion.‎

‎9. Ignoring the small bits of information which could have grown into a real history. Gather ‎whatever small details you can by talking to all the family members even if they are not ‎associated directly with the person you are trying to track down. Let the cat out of the bag and ‎get some help from genealogical sites like this one. Let everybody know the topic of your ‎research.‎

‎10. Not seeking assistance is one heinous mistake. People are always hesitant to ask for help. ‎While taking help from communities, burial ground, tombstone-makers and having a meeting ‎with funeral administrator might prove to be a turning point for your research. Always keep in ‎mind that you are not the only one who has chosen this subject as a profession. Your work can ‎speedup if you employ an expert to do a bit of investigation for you or to get some details about ‎a particular family member.‎