Who's your ancestor? (And does it matter?)

I also don't know what I'm doing, and don't have the time or the patience to learn at the moment.
Actually, IMO a good way to approach it. There is a genealogical method that has been followed for ages--because it works. Just don't wait too long.

I have little use for online trees because far too many are done by enthusiastic but unknowledgeable people. But their mistakes often are based on simple things such as not understanding that parents cannot be sired by their own children 😲 or that two people with the same name are not necessarily the same individual.

There are online "courses" that you can do--and they don't take long. It's all common sense.
 
I've often took breaks from research and returned later. At any rate, let me know if I can help you in any way and most of all, Enjoy Your Journey !!
Taking breaks can be a good thing. To be blunt, our ancestors are dead and are not going anywhere. In the time you're away from research, new sources may be available and you (yourself) have a refreshed mind.
 
Taking breaks can be a good thing. To be blunt, our ancestors are dead and are not going anywhere. In the time you're away from research, new sources may be available and you (yourself) have a refreshed mind.
100% agree with you !! I can't tell you how many breaks I've taken over the years. Then later, found tons of data available in different locations. Like I've always said, It's an amazing journey !!
 
I am well aware of my own Civil War ancestry, direct ancestors and their non-ancestral relatives, on my Mom's side. My interest in Civil War history pre-dated this knowledge, so it was interesting to discover after I had developed a fascination with the subject.

My Dad's side is trickier. While my Mom's side, a lot of Union veterans from New York, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, are well-documented and verified through an uncle who is in love with history, I had to turn to google to find out more about my dad's side of the family. There are no records of Civil War service, which I was surprised at when I found that a few were of prime military age in the 1860's. One ancestor was married in the Spring of 1861, and moved quickly from Georgia into Eastern Tennessee where he settled. Another ancestor (who was 55 when he had my GGG-Grandfather in 1864) moved from Alabama to East Tennessee at the War's outset, and then to Central Arkansas in 1864. Neither these men, or three other ancestors I found--also living in East Tennessee in the 1860's--have Civil War service records. I am entertaining the theory that they may have been Unionists, as I am aware that East Tennessee had some of the South's highest concentration of Unionists in this period of American History. It would also explain at least one ancestor's move North. This is, however, an unfounded theory devised to fill in the void of service records. Of note, despite the fact that my Dad's side of the family are all deeply entrenched in the belief that the Confederacy was just in it's foundations and war effort, no one has ever mentioned a Civil War ancestor. No links to the Civil War were ever handed down in family histories. Most people I have met, especially those living in the South, who believe that the South fought for a just "Lost Cause" are quick to find and honor their Civil War ancestors; so far no one on my dad's side can achieve this.
 
Great advice !

I've learned to ignore the "amateur internet researchers".

No doubt they mean well, and aren't trying to mislead anyone.
But they tend to jump to conclusions when they see something on popular ancestry sites.

I've learned to focus on family stories, family Bibles, and such.
Family legends are also worth looking into.

Many of my ancestors had the same Christian name/ First name . . . and it's also common that Surnames/ "Last Names"
were often misspelled in official records.

That drove me crazy !

Plus, 25 guys named William, 30 guys named James or John . . . all of em' with our surname.

I was ready to quit myself.

:bounce:

Don't know that I'm continuing my search. Far too tedious for my liking...

Don't stop your research @Yankee Brooke !

(Take a break indeed, but do not stop your research).
 
Great advice !

I've learned to ignore the "amateur internet researchers".

No doubt they mean well, and aren't trying to mislead anyone.
But they tend to jump to conclusions when they see something on popular ancestry sites.

I've learned to focus on family stories, family Bibles, and such.
Family legends are also worth looking into.

Many of my ancestors had the same Christian name/ First name . . . and it's also common that Surnames/ "Last Names"
were often misspelled in official records.

That drove me crazy !

Plus, 25 guys named William, 30 guys named James or John . . . all of em' with our surname.

I was ready to quit myself.

:bounce:



I have the same issue with some lines on my mothers side. It can be a pain in the neck.
 
I've learned to ignore the "amateur internet researchers".

No doubt they mean well, and aren't trying to mislead anyone.
But they tend to jump to conclusions when they see something on popular ancestry sites.
This is SO true. Lots of folks are happy to find an answer and happy to add another fact to the tree - without ever giving that "fact" a once over and making sure it makes sense.
 
If by amateur, a non-professional genealogist is meant, I disagree: a knowledgeable and trained amateur can uncover information unbeknownst to professionals. A genealogy group that is meeting via Zoom in Maine recently hosted a presentation by a man who is without degree but with deep experience. One of the points that he made is that one's research is only as good as one's sources.

However, if by amateur, an enthusiastic collector of names & dates, is meant, I agree 100%. These well meaning people make mistakes which, if copied by others, actually spreads misinformation. If a person is going to invest both time and money, s/he might as well be correct.
 
This is SO true. Lots of folks are happy to find an answer and happy to add another fact to the tree - without ever giving that "fact" a once over and making sure it makes sense.
It's funny at times, but also sad for those working hard to find details about family history.

One famous "grave" website has my Grandfather listed as the Dad of a first cousin that died in infancy.
(Actually it was his Granddaughter).

He lived from 1895 until 1940.
My infant cousin lived almost 24 hours during one day in 1964.

Her Dad and his father had the the same name.

Someone forgot to add "Jr." and "Sr."
I'm sure that has confused younger family member's attempting to research our family history.

I'm not criticizing such internet sites, they can be a great starting point !

I'm only saying such sites are at times very far from accurate.




 
The example you give @7th Mississippi Infantry is a great one because anyone looking even a bit critically at the information would stop and say "Wait - that can't be right!." But all too often people just hit the add button without reading the names and dates. And once a false fact gets added a few times it gets added a LOT of times.
 
It's funny at times, but also sad for those working hard to find details about family history.

One famous "grave" website has my Grandfather listed as the Dad of a first cousin that died in infancy.
(Actually it was his Granddaughter).

He lived from 1895 until 1940.
My infant cousin lived almost 24 hours during one day in 1964.

Her Dad and his father had the the same name.

Someone forgot to add "Jr." and "Sr."
I'm sure that has confused younger family member's attempting to research our family history.

I'm not criticizing such internet sites, they can be a great starting point !

I'm only saying such sites are at times very far from accurate.
I can think of an online tree where the compiler made the same mistake: he listed my Ggrandfather's death and burial in Norway--but then, 20 years later had Ggrandfather emigrate to New York! Of course, it was a great uncle--named for his father--who emigrated (while still alive). And a friend had a grandmother who was an orphan, passed from one relative to another. Someone put up that tree and found the grandmother on the 1930 census with a family--but not on the 1940 census. This compiler assumed that the grandmother had died. My friend contacted the compiler and went over the whole story but the compiler's mind was made up (and he refused to even research that possibility). 😦
 
I can think of an online tree where the compiler made the same mistake: he listed my Ggrandfather's death and burial in Norway--but then, 20 years later had Ggrandfather emigrate to New York! Of course, it was a great uncle--named for his father--who emigrated (while still alive). And a friend had a grandmother who was an orphan, passed from one relative to another. Someone put up that tree and found the grandmother on the 1930 census with a family--but not on the 1940 census. This compiler assumed that the grandmother had died. My friend contacted the compiler and went over the whole story but the compiler's mind was made up (and he refused to even research that possibility). 😦
It is very frustrating when you find an error and try to fix it and the "owner" of that fact either won't do it or can't be bothered. This is my biggest gripe with FindaGrave - it's very hard to get bad info fixed. And since it links into Ancestry it gets repeated over and over.
 
If by amateur, a non-professional genealogist is meant, I disagree: a knowledgeable and trained amateur can uncover information unbeknownst to professionals.
You are correct.

I should have "re-worded" my comment.
That's not what I meant.

I'm an amateur myself, and after ten years of research on various family topics ... I've uncovered more facts than many "professionals"
within the official state Archives & History Agency.

Especially about War of 1812 family records . . . along with a major murder case from the late 1930's.
( My G Great Grandfather's murder to be specific)
 
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You are correct.

I should have "re-worded" my comment.
That's not what I meant.

I'm an amateur myself, and after ten years of research on various family topics ... I've uncovered more facts than many "professionals"
within the official state Archives & History Agency.

Especially about War of 1812 family records . . . along with a major murder case from the the late 1930's.
( My G Great Grandfather's murder to be specific)
On ancestry a distant relative put up the War of 1812 banner for one a 5th great grandfathers. The guy did miltia duty in the late 1780s and died in 1790.🙄
 
It is very frustrating when you find an error and try to fix it and the "owner" of that fact either won't do it or can't be bothered. This is my biggest gripe with FindaGrave - it's very hard to get bad info fixed. And since it links into Ancestry it gets repeated over and over.
I know very well what you're saying.

I joined that site years ago, and still can't make basic corrections to obvious errors.
 
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On ancestry a distant relative put up the War of 1812 banner for one a 5th great grandfathers. The guy did miltia duty in the late 1780s and died in 1790.🙄
Yep, I've seen many "so called facts" that my ancestor's regiment was only miles away from backing up General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horeshoe Bend.

The fact was ... those guys were no where near Horseshoe Bend.

They were actually down in the Perdido River Alabama/Florida swamps, searching for the remaining Upper Creek renegades that had deserted Tecumseh at the first sign of defeat.
 
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