ROOKIE MISTAKES
In searching for ancestors
COMMON MISTAKES

No goals or vague goals

Unorganized note keeping

Direct line search versus collateral search

Search for the living

Untapped sources

Family legends and traditions

Spelling variation, changes in history

Single source versus multiple sources
NO GOALS OR VAGUE GOALS
Rookies often have little focus. When questioned
about the person and event they seek, a rookie
may not have anyone specific in mind. They just
want to find ancestors as quickly as possible.
Further, they are often without a family group
when they ask questions.
Example: The French couple
UNORGANIZED NOTE KEEPING

Rookie family group records have meager
source citations, and are limited to births,
marriages, and deaths.

Their research logs often consist of small
slips of paper tucked into the pages of a
spiral notebook

They tend to make handwritten copies of
sources.

Their copies of sources are scattered and
poorly organized.
DIRECT LINE SEARCH VERSUS COLLATERAL SEARCH
Looking for a single individual
Looking for the farthest back ancestor with the least data
Looking for the connection with that famous person
instead of
Looking at the entire household
(siblings, in-laws, cousins)
* provides more data points as evidence
* provides clues about ancestors
* helps fill in the gaps in temple work
SEARCH FOR THE LIVING
Rookies are more interested in
searching for close relations
and people they know.
They feel that other ancestors
are ‘too far away,’ there is no
connection
Example: Sandy and New
Zealand
UNTAPPED SOURCES,
TALKING ABOUT THE LIVING…
Encourage the rookie to talk to grandparents,
cousins, aunts, etc. to obtain records, stories,
pictures and other information about his
ancestors.
Especially information that cannot be obtained
in genealogical records because of the privacy
act (110 years)
Example: “The Gap”
FAMILY LEGENDS AND TRADITIONS
Being send on a wild goose chase
Sort out the truth from fiction
Example cases:
Levi versus Louis
Abandoning ship during the South African War (1899-1902)
SPELLING VARIATION, CHANGES IN HISTORY
Rookie abides by spelling of a name or places; if
different it is not accepted.
However
Spelling variations in documents are not
uncommon
Nicknames are sometimes used in records
instead of the legal names
Name changes, adaptions during immigration
and at Ellis Island
Change in language, change in spelling
EXAMPLE OF NAME VARIATIONS AND CHANGES
Records
example: “Frisian Name” Sietze, Sietse, Siet, Sijtie, Sijtze, Cijtien (Syke)
example: Last Name: Crauwel, Krauwel, Crouwel, Krouwel, Cranwel
Ellis Island - myth and fact

Going by the ship’s registry
name was misspelled by officer in foreign country

Széleky → Ciqeau
Immigrant had various reasons for a name change:
illiteracy
minor registered by adult’s last name
Diamond → Cohen
stigmatized by last name (Jews)
Finkelstein → Stein
hard to pronounce in new country
Kohnvalosky → Cohn
SINGLE SOURCE VERSUS MULTIPLE SOURCES
Rookies think if they use a single source: e.g. a
census record they are good to go…
therefore
Rookies are often too quick to draw conclusions
without enough evidence
Compare records and look at the details;
they often provide clues to continue the search
OMIT SOURCE CITATIONS AND COPYING
RECORDS
Rookies tend to be sloppy or totally
omit making a reference and a
copy of the source documents
they find.
KEEP AN OPEN MIND
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
LOOK AT THE DETAILS
PRAY