Don't get lost in the weeds

Here is today's helpful hint: Don't get lost in the weeds.

By that I mean, don't spend so much time on the little inconsistencies you find while you're searching and inputting. Data are dirty. Sometimes you'll find an individual, and all the information doesn't match with what you know about him or her. Look at the larger context. Does the information about the individual you've found generally match with what you know, but there is one wrong piece of information? Is most of the information wrong, but you haven't found anyone else with the right name or in the right location?

Here are some things to consider:

• Mistakes are sometimes made.
• There could be mistakes in the original documents
• There could be inputting mistakes
• Sometimes documents are difficult to read
• Sometimes the people providing the information made mistakes, couldn't remember, or lied (In our records, lying was most common when a person younger than 18 was trying to enlist to fight in the Civil War.)

Keep these thing in mind when you're searching. For example, you've found a soldier in the 1880 census. He's living with the spouse and children that the Mil Info says he should be living with. But his age is 10 years off. Is this your guy? It probably is.

A lot of this is common sense, and you'll get better at it with practice. If you're not sure, make a mental list of the evidence for and against this individual being a match. This might help you make the decision quickly.