Famous Inaccuracies

Carolyn Webber FHGEN 111 Comparison Report I discovered many inaccuracies when I started verifying the data that I had gathered from my own relatives. One of my early finds was a compiled genealogy book written about people with my uncommon maiden name. This book was full of family traditions that were easy to prove false. For example, my ancestor wasn’t the illegitimate descendant of Frederick the Great. Her mother was not Frederick’s mistress when she was two years old. I learned the values of analyzing and documenting information and providing sources.
The cost for primary records can be prohibitive, but I have found many records in online databases or on microfilms available at the Family History Library. I have performed extensive research at Ancestry, Family Search, MyHeritage, FindMyPast, various state archives, and sites like SeekingMichigan or CyberDriveIllinois. I frequently consult sites like FamilySearchWiki, CyndisList, Linkpendium or books like Printed Sources by Kory L. Meyerink
I also keep a record of each family in every available year of the city directories. (I will be presenting “City Directories, Why, How, and Oh My!” at the BYU FH Conference on July 26, 2017.)
I have consulted many different church records, from a variety of denominations and from different states. These records were typically recorded at the time of the event, and by someone that knew the referenced individuals
Newspapers and town histories have proven to be informative. I found a small news article about a scandal involving two sets of my third great grandparents. This led to further research in newspapers, and for records about land, adoptions, tax liens, and criminal records. I made some astounding discoveries. The combination of these records was rich with details about the family and they were typically witnessed by people that knew the