Analysing Your Current Information
Lesson # 3
Analysing your current information is one thing that many of us fail to do routinely. Each week, this should be done with the current information that you have obtained on any branch of the family. It is the most common error that is made by genealogists, not analysing.
To do a proper analysis you must actually take each generation and look at the facts. This is where pedigree charts and family groups sheets , completed as much as possible, will allow you to have an over all pespective of the information and determine where to go and what to do next; you cannot do everything all at the same time.
Pick a line that needs work, or more than one in the same area, and same time period. Focus on this name or names only. Now, you can start on a problem with a realistic sense of possible acomplisment. You must work with the information that you already. This is building a good foundation for continuing research. To do effective research, you must have the name, date or period of time and place, area or general area of locality. From here, the questions;
1. What do I know about this person? His name; his age, his location, etc.
To answer this question, you do the following analysis:
NAME: Is the name a common spelling or is it one that has variant spellings. ie: Tait, Taite, Tate, Tayte. Many times the person recording this name in documents couldn't or didn't ask the spelling from the individual, also, many people were not literate, so they couldn't correct spellings. Don't over look the possiblilty of the variant spelling, it could be your family.
AGE: Age is nearly always an approximation of age unless you have absolute proof with day, month and year, but this is important in your analysis. Are the dates associated historically important; 1. Did he serve in any of the wars; could he or his wiow have received a pension?. 2. Was he in a location that was newly opened to settlers? 3. Did he die with minor children? Any possbility of finding probate and guardianship records?. Is there a wide age spread between children? 5. Did he marry the 2nd time? 6. The age spread between he and his wife?. [Might indicate a second wife, but not always]. 7. The i ndicated place of birth of both man and wife.
2. From this, do you find possiblilites to analyze your in formation.
From your charts, do you find that he is ten or more years older than his wife? Was he of an age to fight in any war? Is the age between first and last known child wide spread. Were the children all born in same general area or state? Did he die many years prior to his wife?
Example: 1850 Fulton County, Kentucky census shows your ancestor:
Smith, John age 49- b. Va. [ born circa 1801 in Va.] you know he died 1864 in ?? KY.] He probably was a bit too old to be in Civil War at age 60 and too young for the War of 1812.
Smith, Mary age 31 b. Ky. [ca 1819] died ??? [ 18 yr spread- she was born in Ky. Logically, he moved to Ky and that is where they were married] Did she re-marry after John's death in 1864 at age 60?
Children listed in household:
Smith, John Jr, aged 19- b. Ky. [ must be the child of a different mother due to age, but it shows that the father was in KY., 1831]
Smith, Sally- aged 18-b. Ky. [I would have the same conclusion for mother]
Three other children all born between 1838-1850- 1840/1843/1848. The first one of these could be a child of either mother. In fact, they could all be children of the first wife, if you do not have a marriage date for John and Sally.
Facts: You know that John and Mary Smith resided in Fulton County, Ky in 1850- so this is where you begin. you know that John died ca 1864, so there will be no more children. You do not know where he died. You do not know if Mary re-married after 1864.
You know the county, if you found these people in Ky census- you need to read all of the information available on this name in this and surrounding counties. Fulton County, Ky was not formed until 1845- Five yrs before this census return. The parent county was Hickman Co., KY. Therefore, there will not be any records earlier that 1845 in Fulton County. When the counties were divided, many people remained in the parent county, others found themselves in a new county, even across the road from their families. Look at all names before and after this Smith entry, frequently, the neighbors were relatives.
Extract all information relating to this names in the surrounding counties. If this is a common name like Smith, this will be useful in sorting out the different families.
Use the basic tools available for this geographical area: Marriage records, cemetery/ death records or probate records. Maps are very important, Gazetteers for the state, etc.
Using this approach, you also include family information, tradition, and clues. Did they live on a watercourse, this may not sound important, but waterways were a means of transportation. Do you know their religion or religous background? Thee are a lot of records pertinent to various religous groups, like the "Traveling Churches of Virginia", who went to Ky because of persecution.
This is where you use your common sense, look at each problem in a logical manner, proceed step by step, from the information that you have toward obtaining what you do not have; by the different thing suggested from your analysis.
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