We all have our
challenges in our research. I think for
me the biggest challenge has been my 4x great grand parents, John Fitzgerald,
or William John Fitzgerald, and his wife Emily Tennyson. While I have found one source that has given
me John's parent's names, I proceed with caution. Why you may ask? Because like any other puzzle it takes more
than one piece of evidence to support the information that we document.
This may be the
scientist in me coming out. Researchers
don't just test a new medication or medical device once before releasing it to
the public, that could have catastrophic consequences for people. These things are tested over and over again
and exposed to rigorous testing to minimize potential harm t consumers
(patients).
Now I realize that
have unsupported or poorly supported research in genealogy isn't going to cost
someone life consequences, but it can have a domino effect. Let me explain. My 3x great-grandpa, George Lardie,
immigrated to Grand Traverse County, Michigan in 1860 from Quebec, Canada. He married Mary Josephene Chartrand then
Esther Beauchamp. George and Mary had a
son named George, Jr (among their several other children). George, Jr married Harriet Coutu. George and Harriet also named one of their
sons George W., and he married a woman named Clara Franklin. Anyone have a headache yet?
So when I first
started researching someone had given me the information that George, jr was
married to Esther, which was actually his stepmother! I added in the qualifiers to each George to
help keep them straight here, but I did not have them when I was sorting this
information out. So I took an oversized
piece of paper one evening and spread out on the living room floor with several
printouts and different colored highlighters and a family group sheet. Each George got a different color and I made
notes and arrows and colors on my oversized paper until I figured out the right
George with the right wife! I then
contacted all the people that had the information posted wrong online and gave
them all the sources that I had used to come to my conclusions. Can you see the cause and effect now? So first off, please cite your sources. Second, this is why it is important to use
more than one source to support your research conclusions.
Leave your comments
below and happy hunting!
