--- title: Learning from our mistakes description: We often learn from our mistakes. A promise that “I won’t do that again” can be a valuable tool. And, if repeated enough times, it becomes known as experience. --- # [Vita Brevis A resource for family history from AmericanAncestors.org](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. # Learning from our mistakes [April 04, 2014](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2014/04/learning-from-our-mistakes) [Critical Analysis](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/critical-analysis), [Spotlight](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/spotlight), [Research Methods](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/research-methods), [Research tips](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/research-tips) [Henry Hoff](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/author/hhoff) We often learn from our mistakes. A promise that “I won’t do that again” can be a valuable tool. And, if repeated enough times, it becomes known as experience. A decade ago I had a luncheon talk entitled “My Ten Worst Mistakes in Genealogy.” When the title appeared, Robert Charles Anderson commented, “and he updates it frequently!” In fact, I *do* update it, but now I separate the mistakes that did not appear in print or in a lecture from those that did. And I’m glad to say the former far outweigh the latter. To avoid mistakes in the *Register*, I have a long checklist for each issue, which I update when I see mistakes elsewhere that I easily could have made myself. One of the mistakes I’m always trying to avoid is inconsistency, especially when one little part of an article is changed, and I don’t see all the related pieces to change in the text and footnotes. The main problem is with the English language: singular vs. plural, tense, collective nouns, etc. Children are often a problem area, as their order may change. Also, some may have actual birth dates, some may have “circa” birth years (based on age at death, for example), and others may have “say” birth years. The last may be based on year of first marriage (if known) or on the order in which they are listed in a parent’s will. Other times “say” birth years are assigned to try to make sense of a list of children, perhaps yielding a clue that the father had more than one marriage. On top of this, each child must have the correct updated birth date when carried forward. If relationships must be qualified by *probably*, *perhaps*, or *possibly*, it is important to present that doubt consistently, both in the text (including the lineage line back to the immigrant) and footnotes. When there are multiple marriages among families and the same first names are used, the smallest inconsistency can create unexpected results. The article on Rebecca (Meriam) (Prescott) Parks in the October 2013 *Register *showed that two of her Prescott daughters married Williamson brothers, and two of her Parks children married Williamson siblings, who were first cousins of the Williamson brothers. These relationships only became apparent during the editing process. Because genealogy is so heavy with detail, it is easy to make mistakes. I should know! And this is a good reason to submit your work to a journal like the *Register* that publishes additions and corrections, so that errors do not become a permanent part of the genealogical record. ### Share this: - [mailto:?body=https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2014/04/learning-from-our-mistakes](mailto:?body=https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2014/04/learning-from-our-mistakes) - - - More - - ![Henry Hoff](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported%20images/ff153354c69d7d7180f645a2ff0517b6%3Fs=96%26d=identicon%26r=g.jpeg) ## About Henry Hoff Henry Hoff is Editor of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register and is a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists as well as a Fellow of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. He is also a Certified Genealogist. His genealogical interests include New York and the West Indies. Henry is the author of more than 125 genealogical articles in numerous scholarly journals and is the co-author, compiler, or editor of seven books.[View all posts by Henry Hoff →](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/author/hhoff) [← Ships of the Winthrop Migration, 1629-1630](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2014/04/ships-winthrop-migration-1629-1630) [Genealogical building blocks →](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2014/04/genealogical-building-blocks) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ### Recent Posts [Sailor Bill and His Forgotten Wife](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/sailor-bill-and-his-forgotten-wife) [Professor X](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/professor-x) [Part I: Malaga Island, Maine](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/part-i-malaga-island-maine) [The Norwegian folge](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/the-norwegian-folge) [Research…in a Miniskirt? 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