As I’ve been reflecting back over my years of searching my family connections, I’ve been thinking. Am I as interested in my family history now than as I was when I was growing up? I know for sure that I’m more excited about knowing more on my family history now than when I was much younger.
Back than, I didn’t know how to go about searching. Or what to ask my relatives. I was shy. Now, that my curiosity has grown, I have questions. And I ponder them. And I search to discover whatever I can find out from what I was told by relatives.
What are some of my mistakes I’ve made along my family connections journey?
I was assuming that all the information I had was correct but later found out some were false. I was using a few sources and not comparing the evident with documents to back things up. I was not reading the whole documents and didn’t search for more clues. I was not checking all the sources available
.
I was not using a system to compile my information and up dating things. I was adding some of my in laws’ lineage to my tree who aren’t related to me. I was jumped around searching for a lot people and not focusing on one person or family. I accidently deleted people from my tree and had to re add them.
And in all of these mistakes, I wish that I shouldn’t have done them. However, I think that there is some good in making mistakes. We can learn from them.
Yes, I have made lots of mistakes while on my family quest to discover more on my family history. I see that I need to review what I discovered on a regular bases. I see this is a mistake when I don’t look over what I have. This makes me aware that there may be new information waiting to be discovered.
Yes, only if I would have listened more to what my relatives were sharing about the family. I should have recorded the stories while it was fresh in my thoughts. Then should have went back over what was shared.
The cropped photo is of the cover of my Blakey Blakley WHITE Family Connections ~ Book III. “By Word Of Mouth” journal. I did write down some of what my parents shared with me. I re read this journal from time to time. And I have found some clues to what my parents shared with me. My parents words still speak to me.
I continue to have a notebook recording. My current one is “The Stories We Tell.” When some of my siblings and relatives are sharing some things about back in the days, I jot what they say down. I continue to search newspapers for articles for additional information.
Some Experiences From My Mistakes
There are some things that I have been noticing as I’m spotting my mistakes. I discovered this as I was matching up information. Things didn’t match up. There came a time when I had to re do a person the tree. I’ve learn to check things out and need to review my family connections profiles for updates.
While I was preparing this blog, another theme come to me. I’m working OVERLOOKED; The theme for Week 48 In 2022. These mistakes that I’ve overlooked were on a census. This is on my 2nd Great Grandfather Elias W. Bartlett Sr.’s Family Connections. I’ll post in early December of 2022.
What can we do with our mistakes?
I’ve learned that mistakes can make us better or bitter. We can’t change with we did. Bu, we should learn from them. In some cases, we can improve on what we did wrong and try not do it again. We can see what we did in a new light. We can make our mistakes into something better and positive. And discover something else from the mistakes.
One day, I was on my family tree adding things. I was in a hurry trying to login out. I didn’t login out. I accidently deleted a person from my tree. And when I didn’t that I said OH NO!. I saw all the information that I gathered on that person vanish before me eyes.
My first reaction was not get mad. I took a deep breath. And I started adding the person back on my tree. It took a while. I continue to learn my lessons to slow down and watch what I’m clicking on. Even with the final look at this blog, I made a mistake.
May we learn from our mistakes and see the good in them.
May more ideas to blog come to us as we journal
May we share about our searches and family connections.
Amen.
Thanks for reading.
Mistakes While Searching ~ Week 23 In 2022
God bless
S.A. Blakley
August In Remembrance Blakey Blakley WHITE Family Connections
Week 23 ~ Amy Johnson Crow ~ Generations Café #52Ancestors 52 Weeks ~ facebook
Mistakes. We all make them — and that includes us and our ancestors. What’s a mistake that an ancestor made? What’s a mistake that you’ve made in your research?
