The phone rings at 7:45 this morning, I'm in the middle of making breakfast before we head out to homeschool co-op at 8:45. I almost don't answer, but the inclusion of an actual person's name on the caller id with the unknown area code intrigues me. I answer. The gal asks if she has the right person & then says she's trying to find out more about my ggg-grandfather Ebenezer Tanner's 2nd wife. Hold the phone!!
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| A picture of Ebenezer Tanner that always hung in our living room. |
Never, ever give up on genealogy forum posts!
This gal had found a post I made on GenForum 13 years ago in 1998. She was so excited to find a reference to her gr-grandma's maiden name, she took a shot in the dark, Googled my name & called the number she found. People's e-mails change, but if someone has sheer determination, they will track you down. I don't use forums much anymore, some of that comes from lack of available time, but I am even more convinced of their usefulness after today:)
Always cite your references!
Early on in my research, it seemed like a mad dash to find all there was to find, after all there were a ton of blank spaces on that family tree! In my rush, I was very lax in writing sources down. So when this gal asked me today how I knew her gr-grandma's maiden name, I couldn't tell her for certain. Hopefully I have it written in my notes somewhere. Sourcing things is becoming increasingly important in this age of information. People take a quick glance at a source & take it as their own without much thought as to the accuracy of the item. I have seen many a family tree on-line clouded with mis-information. It only helps you in the long run to keep track of where you got that nugget of info. You never know when you'll be asked to prove something, even at 7:45 on a busy morning:)
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