Genealogy Pitfalls

On the subject of building accurate, easy to follow pedigrees:

The following is an excerpt from the latest newsletter from Pat Gooldy of Ye Olde Genealogy Shoppe in Indiana:

"One of the pitfalls in searching huge databases is the peril of finding a name and assuming that is the individual for which you are searching when indeed that gentleman is not the right age, not in the right place, and indeed, is not related to your fellow at all. That only leads to mythology, not genealogy, and many miffed and confused descendants wondering why they can not follow the scenario for the family you have built. You are building not a pedigree, but a nightmare for your descendants.

Genealogy means many small steps taken in the effort to build a pedigree. Each step must be tested in many ways to be sure it is not a mis-step. The larger the database, the more options you have, but also the more risk of making a mistake".

Emilie Garcia
Port Orchard, WA ----