GENEALOGICAL RE-SEARCH  
Reexamining Your Information

Look at the word “research” carefully, and you can see that one of its meanings is “search again.”

Don't be like some family historians who become so caught up in the pursuit of data that they rarely if ever revisit the information they have already collected. Review your data on a regular basis—once every six months or once every year.

Why do we want to review and re-search our own data?

1. As we learn more about our ancestors, relationships between family members become clearer. 

An example of this can be illustrated by one of your QHGS Blogger’s discoveries. I originally found my grandfather’s uncle on a page of the 1880 census. Surnames of the surrounding families meant nothing to me at the time. However, within a year I had found the maiden name of my grandfather’s mother and the maiden name of his uncle’s wife; and, when I reviewed that 1880 census page, family relationships became obvious. In fact, my grandfather’s own grandmother was living next to his uncle!

2. As more information is digitized, the questionmarks and gaps on your family tree might be filled in by another search online: what wasn’t there six months or a year ago, may well be available now. Review family lines you haven’t worked on for awhile to see if there are any puzzles that you might now be able to solve. 

3. New information that you have discovered may indicate that previously assumed truths are far from reliable. Look at all of your information carefully at least once a year to make sure you are following the correct family line back in time.

RESEARCH TIP: Begin the year by printing new family group sheets from your computer program for every family, even ones you haven't worked on lately. Read them as though you were looking at them for the first time, and you may spot information that you missed previously.