Genealogy mistakes to avoid #1 - Don’t assume anything.

Let’s say you find your family in the census, a husband, wife and three children. From 1851 in Scotland you will be told how each person relates to the head of the house; usually the husband. Therefore you will be told that the woman is the wife of the head and the children are his children; that’s right, his children. It would be easy to assume that all the children are biological children of both the husband and the wife but the census will not tell us if that’s the case or not. Of course, they often will be, but keep digging and find documents to support this. 

Of course, in the 1841 census, we are not told any relationships at all so we need to be even more careful. Assumptions though can be made when looking at other records too. When you are researching, ask yourself:

How do I know that?

Have I made an assumption or do I have evidence to support my research?

It’s OK to have a theory but don’t rest until you have the evidence. This is the first in a series of genealogy mistakes to avoid. More will be coming soon!

Have you made any mistakes? If so let me know and we may feature it in our #GenealogyMistakes series to help other researchers avoid the same pitfall. Don’t worry, we won’t name and shame you!