Analyze Your Family Finds

Record analysis is not scary. You might say it’s more or less common sense!

The word analysis makes some people nervous.

But the thought of analyzing your family history finds does not have to strike fear in your heart!

Think of analysis as a fancy word that sums up the phrase: “Take a few minutes to THINK about.”

I see record analysis as two simple actions:

Think about this record

and

think about this record in the context of other information.

Think About This Record

First, be thorough.

If your find comes via searching an online database, do not just rely on the indexed information. If at all possible, view an image of the original!

Read from top to bottom and side to side.

Squeeze every last drop from this record!!

Take note of the nature of the document. Was it typed? Are there handwritten portions? If so, whose handwriting might that be? Is anything crossed out? Are any lines left blank?

In short, do your best to take it ALL in.

Now take a deep breath.

Let’s process that information.

Who?

Who created this record? Who was consulted? Did these people have firsthand or secondhand knowledge of the events described? Knowing who provided the information can sometimes paint a vastly different picture of the information’s reliability.

When?

When did x or y event happen?

Also – When was this record created?? You likely already considered the event date(s) in the document as critical pieces of information. But have you also carefully considered the date of the document’s creation in relation to the date of the event described? Which is more likely to be a reliable source, a document created at the time of the event, one created within months of the event, or one created decades after the event?

One of my treasured family histories is an excellent example of why considering Who and When is critical to analysis. It is the “History of Carl Johan Petersen and Wife, Wilhelmina Josephine Petersen.” These four pages are rich in details and stories about Carl (1854-1934) and Wilhelmina (1857-1930). I treasure this account! But I take information from it with a grain of salt because the history was written by one of Carl & Wilhelmina’s daughters-in-law who joined the family in 1920.

Take a moment to let that relationship and those dates sink in.

This daughter-in-law was no doubt full of good intention. She may have consulted original sources such as a family Bible, church or government records, or interviewed dozens of people who knew Carl and/or Wilhelmine in their early years. Then again…she may not have. Unfortunately the author did not credit any sources, so I will never know.

Does this make the daughter-in-law’s history worthless? Absolutely not! But is her history the guaranteed, most credible and reliable source for birth information for Carl and/or Wilhelmina for example?

Stop to think.

This daughter-in-law was definitely not a witness to Carl and Wilhelmina’s births, so she doesn’t have that information firsthand. She may have obtained that information from a credible source…but since she did not cite a source, it seems equally likely that her source could have been a poor one. For example, she may have just done her best to recall when they celebrated their birthdays and done a little math to determine what year they were born based on their reported ages at death.

Speaking of their death, is the daughter-in-law’s history a good source for death information for this couple? Now there the answer is more likely YES. This daughter-in-law married their son at least ten years before Wilhelmina died and fourteen years before Carl died, so she could have been present at their deathbeds or at least at their funerals.

Just one more tidbit to consider: Carl and Wilhelmine died in the 1930’s. When did the daughter-in-law write her history? 1975. Hm…So even when calling on her own firsthand knowledge, this author was reaching decades into the past…

Again, I love this history and am by no means throwing it out! But as I analyze individual pieces of information from it, I keep in mind the Who and When it was written.

What?

What was this record’s original purpose? What information does it contain? There may be more information than what you took in with your first glance.

For example, check out this marriage license and certificate:

In ten seconds or less, your eye probably jumped first to the names of the bride and groom, then you searched for a place and a date, and then you were done.

But that’s not all this record says!!

There are names of witnesses to the marriage. These people may of course have been randomly pulled off the street to witness your ancestor’s document…But then again, they may have had a relationship with your ancestor.

In this instance, the groom and one of the witnesses both have the surname Jorgenson. What might their relationship have been? Strangers? Yes, possibly. But also possible: Siblings, Uncle/Nephew, Father/Son etc.

The county recorder and deputy recorders are also named. And the person who performed the ceremony is named and their occupation clarified: Rev. Charles May, Minister of the Gospel. What does this information suggest? Could either bride or groom or both have been a member of a church? Could having this Reverend’s name help you identify which congregation he/she was a part of? Might the church also have created a record of this marriage? Or have any other records pertinent to your ancestor?

I hope this little exercise opens your eyes so you don’t miss a single tiny clue from your family records!

Why?

Why might the informants have stated such and such?

Well because it’s true, duh!

Or at least…We’d like to think that it’s because it’s true, and frequently this IS the case. But a careful genealogist always considers that people are not 100% honest 100% of the time, and that they don’t always have perfect memories to pull from.

A young woman may lie about her age so she can marry early. A young man may lie about his age so he can join the military. Memories fade and fail.

Glittering and glorious things said in obituaries, county histories or other records placed in the public eye may be true. Then again, they may be exaggerations of the truth (or outright lies) inserted to make a person or their family look good.

Why does this record say what it says about your family member? Give it a moment of thought.

Think About This Record and Then Some

You have gleaned every morsel of useful information from your record and have made some reasonable judgment calls about its accuracy and reliability. Now it’s time to pull back and consider your latest find in “the big picture.” This “big picture” lens seeks to answer the question

How?

How might societal norms or trends have influenced this person, their family, this record’s creation at this time?

How would this information fit in a timeline of this ancestor’s life? In a timeline of events in their local community, nation, the world?

How does the information in this record compare to information about this person in other sources? If there is information in this record that directly conflicts with other sources, can you explain why these conflicts might exist? If not, could you have made a mistake in pinning this record as being your person?

And the Conclusion Is…

Part of the beauty of doing your own family history research is that at the end of the day, YOU get to decide what to believe about your ancestor.

Others may counsel you to weight this specific record above that for this reason and so on. But you may see the balance of evidences in an entirely different light.

And you know what? That’s okay! This was a personal journey of discovery. YOU are connecting the dots in the way that makes the most sense to YOU.

My only word of advice or caution on this subject is this:

Remember that your analysis has led you to a well-reasoned theory.

Oftentimes in genealogy this theory is called a conclusion. I prefer the word theory because it helps me to keep an open mind to new evidences.

If you get the chance to do so, read a report written by a credentialed genealogist. Often, they use qualifiers to describe their conclusions. They’ll say such-and-such is “possible,” or “likely.” This interpretation of the information is “most probable.” Etc. The take-away: Seasoned genealogists recognize that a conclusion may be overturned if/when new evidence surfaces that disproves it.

In other words, NO CONCLUSION IS FINAL.

Yet careful, coherent analysis of evidence IS valuable.

Why valuable?

Because your theories, your conclusions can connect the dots, revealing your family story.

So pull out that exciting new find and give an analysis of it your best shot! You’ve got this!! 😀

Next up:

learn how to Note Your Searches