SETTING the RECORD STRAIGHT

GENEALOGY - PART VIII
Genealogy is like a jigsaw puzzle . . . 

Pieces get lost or placed in the wrong spot.

Boy, everyday living can really smudge the ink on the family tree! If your family is like others, there may be: records of divorces; multiple marriages; children out of wedlock; 3,4,5 generations with the same name; cousins marrying cousins . . . well, shocking as this may seem, it happens. Family residences change, people die, and life goes on.

Remember, as the family's genealogist you're recording history, not judging behavior. But how do you find the truth, especially if it's an event that happened over a hundred years ago? And even if you do find it, do you record it? That's a question you and your family may want to discuss before you start to delve into the communal closet. Whatever you do, be accurate and honest in your record keeping. Otherwise, you and others may waste years trying to squeeze a record into your family that doesn't belong there.

Never rely on just one record or document to verify an event. My cousin and I were convinced that one of our grandparents' brothers had never married, until we found a wedding invitation from 120 years ago. It turns out he had married but his bride died within the first year of marriage and he never remarried. Now the question remains: was it disease or childbirth complications or accident that took the life of this young woman?

Two great default documents in the United States are:

• The Census - The census offers a clear understanding of the neighborhood in which our relatives lived and the professions of the neighbors. It may also reveal education, number of children, and if any boarders or servants lived in the home. A hundred years ago, relatives seemed to gather into pods and lived within blocks of each other, so checking a number of pages either side of your relative may provide even more clues and/or answers.
• Military Draft Records - These are more personal and offer more detailed information about an individual including a physical description (right down to scars and birth marks).  Addresses of next of kin are also included and the document contains the signature of the potential draftee.

If there are differences in records, keep looking until all avenues have been explored. We were faced with a situation where the matriarch was named Maria. Her oldest daughter was named Marie. Her son married a Maria (so we thought) but then her name disappeared on all later records. It turns out, this Maria (the assumed wife) was actually the sister-in-law of the elder Maria and had gone to live with the son while his real wife, Maggie, was in another state tending to her sick mother. Women in the late 1800s may be marked on the census as "homemaker" and in this case, that was true, it's just that it wasn't Maria's permanent home but it was her occupation. Complicated? yes. Impossible to figure out? No. Sometimes, it just takes a look at all the pieces of the puzzle to determine which pieces fit. Hope this information is helpful. Good luck with your search!

Remember: We are all part of a generational relay, so, live your legacy then pass it on.

Jo Ann V. Glim is a 40 year veteran of freelance writing and author of the Book "Begotten With Love." To learn more:

FOLLOW/Like: on Facebook or

VISIT: www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com

AVAILABLE ON: Amazon.com/author/joannglim
BOOK TRAILER on YouTube