Getting to the Roots of Your Family - RootsWeb - Ancestry.com

e. On the given name search, putting only a “J” will act like a “J*” and all names beginning with the letter
“J” will be returned.
Pay attention to the different searches and variables you are using so that you understand what you have
searched and what you haven’t searched. If you’re not careful with your wildcards, you might get many
more search results than you want.
4. It was common for a widow to revert to her maiden name. If you are looking for a possible second
marriage, remember that the maiden name was likely used.
5. If you are unable to find a child in civil registration that you believe existed from the census, try using the
mother’s maiden name. The child may be illegitimate.
6. Research everyone in a family in each generation. As parents get older, they will often live with one of
their children. This can tie one generation to the next.
7. Always look at the original record. You never know what clues will be found in the original that aren’t in
the index. You may miss something extremely valuable as well as get a sense of record such as how
complete it is and how legible it would have been to an indexer.
8. The Scottish were often big on the following naming pattern:
a. First son named after the father’s father
b. Second son named after the mother’s father
c. Third son after the father
d. First daughter after the mother’s mother
e. Second daughter after the father’s mother
f. Third daughter after the mother
Some families followed the pattern religiously, others not at all. Paying attention to this however may help
determine which ancestor is yours when there is more than one possibility. It can get a little tricky when,
say, both fathers share the same given name.
9. Always evaluate your information. Consider the following:
o Did the person providing the information witness the event?
o Was the information recorded at or near the time of the event?
o Is the information consistent and logical?
o Does it suggest a place to go next?
For example, we were all at our births but we are not the primary source of information for when and
where we were born. Someone had to tell us because we couldn’t have cared less at the time☺. It is
similar at the time of our deaths, the birth information is usually provided by someone who wasn’t there.
10. Don’t forget to return to indexes such as the Scottish Church Records index available at your Family History
Center or the International Genealogical Index (IGI) when moving to a new generation.
11. Make sure and learn something about the place you are researching. Knowing more about where an
ancestor lived will help you understand them better and may help you determine family relationships
when there are potential conflicts. For Scotland, consider the following:
o A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, Samuel Lewis, 1851, British Reference 941 E5L 1989
o The Gazetteer of Scotland, John Wilson, 1882, British Reference 941 E5j
o Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, Francis H. Groome, ca. 1894, British Reference 941 E5g 1894