Family name, to Clan, to Tartan

**Big Paul** · 29th June 05, 05:44 AM

Also, be very careful of the information you get from LDS (Mormon) Church. I have found, and heard of, many inaccuracies with their data. Much of it is unreferenced and unchecked. don't get me wrong, it's still a great source, just verify everything.

**macwilkin** · 29th June 05, 05:47 AM

Originally Posted by Big Paul

Also, be very careful of the information you get from LDS (Mormon) Church. I have found, and heard of, many inaccuracies with their data. Much of it is unreferenced and unchecked. don't get me wrong, it's still a great source, just verify everything.

I've heard good & bad things about LDS's Family History program, Paul -- but you are right, verify everything.

T.

**Scotus** · 29th June 05, 07:26 AM

The Newberry Library in Chicago is one of the larger genealogical libraries in the country. That's where I have spent many-a-day. I believe have broken the addic.... I mean.... hobby of genealogy. I had better not post too many replies on this thread or IT will draw me back into it's clutches. hehe

**Rufus** · 29th June 05, 09:50 AM

Originally Posted by cajunscot

I've heard good & bad things about LDS's Family History program, Paul -- but you are right, verify everything.

T.

One of the main problems is that anyone is able to submit unverified information to the LDS Family History records. It even warns you on familysearch.org that you'll need to very the records.

If you're a member of the LDS church, you can gain access to more complete records concerning baptisms (incl. for the dead), confirmation, temple endowments, etc. My sister told me this weekend that she's been using this information, because it's much more accurate. Just a little tip for any LDS people on the forum.

**Sir Robert** · 30th June 05, 10:45 AM

Verify your geneology, You would think that you would know what your parent's names were, right? I didn't untill I did the geneology. My Father was a Craig raised by his Mother's sister and her husband who adopted him and gave him their name Von Whupperfeld. My Father's signature was J.W.Craig. So I am Barron Von Whupperfeld right? No. I found that I have an older brother named Jerry so he gets the Barrony and I get the shaft.

My Mother's side is even more wierd. Verify everything.

Now sometimes it just don't matter for example there were 5 families of Donnells in North Carolina in 1703. now the hardcorp geneologists have confirmed that 4 of those families were blood kin to each other but the 5th can NOT be tied to the others not by the records anyway. You are warned sternly that the fifth family is not related to the others by the geneologists. OK I started looking at the records and low and behold in my family (the fifth bunch) a Donnell married a Donnell, well I do not beleive he married his sister, more likely he married his cousin from the other group of four Donnell families.
So dispite the most stern warnings I treat this whole set of Donnells as kinfolk. These people were Presberierians and thus were Scots who came over from Ireland. The famous Scotch-Irish. I know because the cemetary where they are buried is Presberierian, if they were buried in a Catholic church I would guess Irish.

**macsim** · 30th June 05, 01:29 PM

Something I've found success with is going back as far as I can on a particular line and when I get stuck, I go to the other end and try to find immigrants or early settlers of the name I'm looking for. Sometimes I am able to meet in the middle by working forward. This is how I found my Scottish clan. My g-grandmother was a Hester. I got back a couple of generations more but hit a dead end. Then, in researching for my SAR membership I found several Hester/Frazier marriages in the DAR books. I traced them forward and was eventually able to connect my line to one of them. A lot of it also was just a process of elimination.

I've also found people often race ahead and make assumptions that so-and-so was such-and-such's son becuase you've got a name or two in the same area but then you start checking dates and you realize so-and-so must've been one virile son-of-a-gun to have fathered a child at age 3!

And, as others have said here; document, document, document.

**Scootter** · 11th July 05, 09:31 PM

Wow guys, Thanks. I got kind of busy with the move and cleaning and forgot I'd posted this :sad: .

I am from LDS familys on both sides. I know somebody has moms side documented. I just never thought to ask her for the info. Dad says his side is documented back a ways but nobody seems to know where the book is. So I get to start from scratch. I really need to sit down with grandpa and get the info from him before I move. For some reason I feel a little weird talking about this stuff with my family, I'm not really sure why.

You guys have given me a lot of good information and good leads. Now I just need to find the time to follow up on them. First things first, get the info from grandpa and Grandma. then Document Document Document.

Scootter

**Doc Hudson** · 12th July 05, 04:44 AM

When you talk to Grandma and Grandpa about family history, be sure to take a tape recorder, and take notes.

I didn't and now lots of family history is gone with no record other than vague memories of stories handed down in the family.

**davedove** · 12th July 05, 04:47 AM

Definitely check with ALL your older relatives, plus any other relatives since they may have already done a lot of work already. Also, the sooner you can speak with them the better. I just got started with my family tree and I'm in my forties. All my grandparents are gone, and I'm starting to lose aunts and uncles, and some who are still alive are, sadly, not all there anymore. So I've lost a lot of potential information. Fortunately, some work had already been done and I've been able to match it with online information. But check with your relatives NOW. You never know when they will be gone and all their knowledge lost.