Family History Tips--Part 16

Dead Men Tell No Tales

When fitting together the pieces of your ancestral tree, disparate facts can be quite puzzling. The date on a baptismal record or birth certificate disagrees with a tombstone or death certificate. Likewise, names of parents or siblings differ from record to record. Earlier in this series, I discussed the reasons for name variations, most of them being transcription/indexing errors and variance of names. But here we will look at the fact that “Dead men tell no tales, mate.”

After you die, your next of kin and friends can give all kinds of information on your past—where and when you were born, who your parents were, and so forth. Unless they can contact you through a séance, they go with what they remember. Sometimes it is correct, sometimes not. Information is relayed like the old children’s game of Chinese Whispers; we called it Whisper Down the Alley. Two general rules I go by is to use the facts closest to the time of occurrence and the preponderance of information. Here are my tips in trying to arrive at the truth on your ancestors.

Who gave the information? Information on marriage license applications, military draft registrations, and census records usually have correct data because the person in question often presented the facts. However, be careful with the latter because information may be second-hand. A next-door neighbor may have answered the census taker’s questions, or a child may have translated for a parent. The 1940 U.S. Census does tell us who gave the information with the indication of a circled x by a name. In this sample my great-grandmother who only spoke Polish gave the census taker her family’s information. And, of course, in the case of posthumous records, the next of kin may have been wrong.



Birth dates such as those in certificates and baptismal records should be accurate unless the registration or baptism took place much later. Look at the record date in relation to the occurrence date. Furthermore, even individuals can’t seem to remember their own birth dates. Sometimes they lied in order to get married without a parent’s consent or to join the military. Birth dates recorded decades later in obituaries, tombstones and death certificates are often wrong. If the dates differ, stick to the earliest records, such as birth certificates, baptismal registers or draft registrations, if available.

Incorrect names in obituaries and death certificates can often be wrong especially if the deceased parents died decades ago and the next of kin never knew their grandparents. Stick to names in earlier records, if possible.

Immigration dates on census records and other sources can sometimes be recorded decades after the date of occurrence. Look for the preponderance of dates and dates closest to the time of their arrival into America. The 1900 through 1930 censuses each has a column for the date of arrival. Again, obituaries are often wrong when arrival dates are given.

Next time we will take a look at Ancestry’s “famous” shaky leaf.