1. ROOKIE MISTAKES In searching for ancestors

2. COMMON MISTAKES  No goals or vague goals  Unorganized note keeping  Direct line search versus collateral search  Search for the living  Untapped sources  Family legends and traditions  Spelling variation, changes in history  Single source versus multiple sources

3. NO GOALS OR VAGUE GOALS Rookies often have little focus. When questioned about the person and event they seek, a rookie may not have anyone specific in mind. They just want to find ancestors as quickly as possible. Further, they are often without a family group when they ask questions. Example: The French couple

4. UNORGANIZED NOTE KEEPING  Rookie family group records have meager source citations, and are limited to births, marriages, and deaths.  Their research logs often consist of small slips of paper tucked into the pages of a spiral notebook  They tend to make handwritten copies of sources.  Their copies of sources are scattered and poorly organized.

5. DIRECT LINE SEARCH VERSUS COLLATERAL SEARCH Looking for a single individual Looking for the farthest back ancestor with the least data Looking for the connection with that famous person instead of Looking at the entire household (siblings, in-laws, cousins) * provides more data points as evidence * provides clues about ancestors * helps fill in the gaps in temple work

7. SEARCH FOR THE LIVING Rookies are more interested in searching for close relations and people they know. They feel that other ancestors are ‘too far away,’ there is no connection Example: Sandy and New Zealand

8. UNTAPPED SOURCES, TALKING ABOUT THE LIVING… Encourage the rookie to talk to grandparents, cousins, aunts, etc. to obtain records, stories, pictures and other information about his ancestors. Especially information that cannot be obtained in genealogical records because of the privacy act (110 years) Example: “The Gap”

9. FAMILY LEGENDS AND TRADITIONS Being send on a wild goose chase Sort out the truth from fiction Example cases: Levi versus Louis Abandoning ship during the South African War (1899-1902)

10. SPELLING VARIATION, CHANGES IN HISTORY Rookie abides by spelling of a name or places; if different it is not accepted. However Spelling variations in documents are not uncommon Nicknames are sometimes used in records instead of the legal names Name changes, adaptions during immigration and at Ellis Island Change in language, change in spelling

11. EXAMPLE OF NAME VARIATIONS AND CHANGES Records example: “Frisian Name” Sietze, Sietse, Siet, Sijtie, Sijtze, Cijtien (Syke) example: Last Name: Crauwel, Krauwel, Crouwel, Krouwel, Cranwel Ellis Island - myth and fact  Going by the ship’s registry name was misspelled by officer in foreign countrySzéleky → Ciqeau  Immigrant had various reasons for a name change: illiteracy minor registered by adult’s last nameDiamond → Cohen stigmatized by last name (Jews)Finkelstein → Stein hard to pronounce in new countryKohnvalosky → Cohn

12. SINGLE SOURCE VERSUS MULTIPLE SOURCES Rookies think if they use a single source: e.g. a census record they are good to go… therefore Rookies are often too quick to draw conclusions without enough evidence Compare records and look at the details; they often provide clues to continue the search

13. OMIT SOURCE CITATIONS AND COPYING RECORDS Rookies tend to be sloppy or totally omit making a reference and a copy of the source documents they find.

14. KEEP AN OPEN MIND THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX LOOK AT THE DETAILS PRAY