Tips from National

Hot Tips from the National DAR Lineage Research Committee

Research Reminders

• Use a pencil until you have evidence. Then use your pen.
• Write on only one side of your paper. Don't mix family lines on a single sheet of paper.
• Start with what is known. Always work from known facts to the unknown.
• Record both positive and negative results. Note if person/family is or is not in a location.
• Check through each book. Read the front pages and be aware there may be more than one index.
• Look closely at the index. Some use subjects and not personal names.
• Look for name variations. Check variant spellings - phonetics and imagination were often used.
• Use maps. County and State lines change from time to time. Check surrounding counties.
• Pay attention to chronology. How old or young is the mother? Is there a generation missing?
• Try the "whole family" approach. Follow brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles.
• Use inter-library loan. Ask your local library for information.
• Review and re-evaluate. Are there facts that don't fit or were missed?  

Use As Clues Only

• Family tradition. Information passed down by word-of-mouth can be and is interpreted differently.
• Undocumented family genealogies and County histories. They can contain both truth and error.
• Similar given names. It is not unusual to find the same name in different states at the same time.
• Information from computer on-line services. Although it may be passed on in good faith, this does not mean that it is correct.
• Information from genealogical indexes. Some have slightly different entries for the same person.
• Lineage Society books. Use as a guide only. Information may not be correct.

Birth Records

• Birth date evidence. Look for Church records, tombstones, Bibles, etc.
• Poll Tax and Jury lists. They are evidence of legal age.
• Note that Jr. and Sr. may not be related. It could be a younger and older man living in the same area.

Marriage Records

• Marriage Records. Witnesses and Bondsman could be related to either party.
• Marriage evidence. Look at Deeds. They may contain information about the wife.

Death Records

• Death evidence. Check for Wills, Letters of Administration, and final Estate Settlements.
• Land Records. Use them to separate two persons of the same name in the same community.

Proof of Residence

• Tax, Jury and Militia Lists. These are indicators of residence proof for the Patriot.
• Land records. Use to place individuals in a specific time and place.
• Missing land record. If the family lived there for generations, the deed may not have been recorded.
• Migration. Check the neighbors and relatives; they often moved together.
• Deed books. There may be a Power of Attorney in the State of prior residence.
• Location of land. This is not always in the County where the purchase is recorded.

Linking Generations

• Wills were not intended to be a complete family record. Look at Deeds and other legal records.
• Pension files. May contain birth date and place and the names of the wife and children.
• Birth records. Be sure to ask for the complete record with the parents'  names.
• Find the family in each possible census. More than one generation may be listed in household.

Document No. Rgg-1002 (August1995) (0895-1000-PS)


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