[Mrs Graybeard]

Don't misspell the word genealogy.
Don't trust everything you see in print.
We're related to someone famous.
Don't be satisfied with names and dates.
Beware the generic family.
Don't accept family legends without question.
Don't limit yourself to the current spelling of your surname.
Don't neglect to write down your sources.
Don't assume that everything you find on the internet is reliable.
Don't put off talking to relatives.

This was sent to me so I thought I would share it will everyone.

 

[Mrs. Butler Ford]

Excellent Faye! Thank you - we've all fallen for at least one of those "don'ts" at some point in our research...I'm STILL trying to go back and make a note of the sources from my "early years" of hunting dead people! No disrespect intended, I've just learned to keep a touch of humor in the genealogy hunt to help keep the frustrations to a minimum! HaHa!
As to family stories...somewhere in that story will be a shread of truth, well hidden in some cases! In one of the cases that comes to mind, my grandmother always said her stepdad and - who we now know was her third - husband ran booze together in upstate New York during Prohibition. I never have found proof of that, but I did find the families living very close in 1930 (her parents and the third husband and his family) and add to that that the stepdad and third husband were working in the same area, possibly for the same outfit, during WWI...
The other case that comes to mind is that my grandmother falsified my father's birth certificate. I have no idea how she was able to pull it off (my dad has a copy of the certificate), but she put down that the mother was the President of the United States and the father was unknown. The child's name was given as the same as the doctor who delivered him...or so she said. Hang on, it gets odder...turns out the name of the doctor who delivered him is the same as - who we now know as her second - husband! Found that out from her stepdad's obituary. Grandma was listed as Mrs. (name of doctor) and the "doctor" was working at the local steel mill!
A round about way for me to remind everyone not to absolutely believe the stories, but to remember there is a bit of truth in there somewhere whether it's a name or location...it can all be used to help find out more about our ancestors.

 

[Mrs. Butler Ford]

And for "don't believe everything you see in print"...
Butler's 4xgreat-grandfather's biography is in "Perrin's History of Kentucky". The book is a collection of biographies of families SUBMITTED by family members. I guess this would also tie in with the family legends, but...
In the biography (actually it is an uncle's autobiography which includes ancestor information), it says the ancestor fought with Gen. Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans (War of 1812) and later survived the Alamo. Ok, I'm gonna tell this cuz it's in print and Butler and I have had a good laugh with it...it says he survived the Alamo because he "was fleet of foot"!
Impressive, but I've found no proof. I've searched all the books I can find on rosters for the War of 1812 as well as written to the Chalmette Unit, Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve, New Orleans, LA. His name is no where to be found. Additionally, his name is no where to be found in any of the Alamo information. Doesn't mean he wasn't there/didn't do that, just means I haven't been able to find proof one way or the other and that it sure makes for a good family legend...and it's in print!

 

[Mrs Graybeard]

Deb, I am sorry I haven't posted. I have been going back through the information that Capt Hamp Cox sent me on our Faulconer/Faulkner line and each time I read it I find something new to add to my family.

I am planning to post the Robinson and Bradshaw line and I would like for you to post Bulter's.

Faye