Steve asked Olive Tree Genealogy a very good question about making assumptions from details on a census.How can one determine the relationship of individuals on the 1860 census. On the 1860 Hardy County Virginia census, my great grandfather Thomas Wilson is placed below a Pamelia Wilson, and above that a Judy Wilson. Can I safely assume that Thomas is Pamelia's son born out of wedlock?Steve - This is an important question in genealogy. The short answer is "Absolutely not!"
Don't Assume! The meaning of "assume" is to suppose without any proof.
You should never assume anything in genealogy research. You can however create what I call a Working Theory, based on the facts you have found.
List the Possible Scenarios
In the example you gave, you don't know how Thomas is related, or even if he's related at all. Let's look at some possible scenarios (with the caveat that you have not told me the ages of the individuals and that's an important consideration when developing theories).
1. Thomas might be Pamelia's son.
2. Thomas might be Pamelia's nephew.
3. Thomas might be Pamelia's cousin.
4. Thomas might be adopted
5. Thomas might be from a completely unrelated Wilson family
There are other possibilities depending on the ages of Thomas and the other individuals in the census.
Develop Your Working TheoryA simple definition of "theory" is a supposition, or an idea that might be true but are not yet proven.
You think that Thomas might be Pamelia's son. That's a good working theory.
Prove or Disprove Your Theory
Your next step would be to search for records that PROVE or DISPROVE your theory.
* Can you find Thomas or Pamelia in 1850 or 1870 census?
* Look for Thomas' birth record
* Look for Thomas' marriage record
* Look for Thomas' death or obit
Continue researching Pamelia. Find out what you can about her. Is her father named Thomas? That might add a little more weight to your working theory (although that still would not be proof of a mother-son relationship). Perhaps Pamelia has an obit that mentions a son Thomas.
The bottom line is that unless you find proof, it's only guesswork or assumptions. And genealogy is about facts and truth, not guesses. Guesses based on a record you found are important to aid you in developing a working theory but you still must prove (or disprove) that theory.
3 comments:
I love this website and use it a few times a week. Thank you for all your hard work.
However this morning I found a major mistake on the passenger list for the Defense of 1635. As your post suggests.. I did not "assume" an error so I tried out different theories. Several, in fact.
I finally verified thru another ship list (Packrat) and wikitree, as well as more searches for most of this morning.. The passenger lists are very similar except for one problem.. the children's last names.
my queries resulte as follows:
The passengers Robert and Eliz Longe sailed to America on the Defense in 1635 with their 10 children, all carrying the last name of Long(e). Packrat and the Long Family Genealogy verifies that but the list on your site says the children's names are all Mercer.
I've looked and looked for names to verify the Mercer name and can only find Luce Mercer as a servant of Robert Long. Perhaps that's where the confusion started. How can this be fixed?
To help.. here are the links to several Long Family information to back up my inquiry:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Long-3137,
http://www.nh.searchroots.com/Long/longrobcharls.htm,
https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/defense.htm
I hope this helps to clear up the problem. I own The Complete Book of Emigrants by Coldham and it only lists Luce Mercer. None of the others.
Now, on to my next task... I have both sets of names to "fix" on my own family tree.
I can be reached on Isschade@aol.com if you have any questions at all.
Sincerely, Rebecca Snider
Thank you Rebecca. I have added a note to that ship's list. I think you are correct and that a transcription error was made.
Lorine
Thank you for this! I have seen multiple cases where assumptions are what created the trees and not the facts. When I do see something that makes me wonder, I try it out with a spreadsheet or a tree in Rootsfinder, Ancestry or Legacy (or that sort) to see if I can make sense of it and prove it.
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