It is so easy to make mistakes when doing family history. It might be another person’s family tree that looks fine on the surface but when you dig a little deeper is sending you down the wrong track. It might be from oral history where formal documents prove otherwise. There are so many family tales that are made up to hide the “unforgivable” truth, so many skeletons that needed to be hidden in the cupboard. Formal documentation may not be always correct with information unknown, based on what it sounded like, made up or just an honest mistake. Often even professional transcribers will make mistakes. Mistakes that does happen most frequently to me are interpreting those handwritten records that look like chicken scratches just like this will that belonged to my 4 x great grandmother Margaret Deane (nee Chalklen).

I guess researching family history would not prove to be so interesting and challenging if it was all straightforward so bring on the mistakes and give me the chance to put them right!