Excellent advice! Some things never change. Women still tend to lie about their age - just can't get away with it like they used to! ;-) Linda ----- Original Message ----- From: Leanne <magdalyn@xta.com> To: <GenWisconsin-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2000 3:57 PM Subject: [GenWisconsin] oh, everything > Hello everyone, > Cathy, you have taken on a tremendous task, and I'd like to say I > appreciate everything you do. I would suggest that everyone look at the > state coordinator job description, for lack of better wording. I took one > look and knew I couldn't do it. It's unbelievable. > As far as not finding your ancestors...I have had the same problem. It > is not with the way info. is currently entered into the database. It is how > it is originally done, many moons ago. I have the surname MEIER, for > example. I've also seen it spelled MEYER, MEIERS, AND MEYERS, and if that > isn't enough, I have an average of 3 birth years for at least 3 of my > ancestors. Now as if THAT weren't enough, I've found a lead that the name > may actually have been HOHEMEIER. I've come up with a solution, and it has > saved my sanity... > > 1. Make a list of all surnames you are researching. > 2. Write down every possible variation, including phonetic. (bear with me, > I'm serious here. It helped me tremendously.) > 3. When checking by birth year, always go + or - 5 years. And if it is a > year such as 1854, check 1864. Back then, they used pencils, > inkwells...manually inking pens skipped like crazy, and pencil fades. > > I hope these tips help someone out. Using the info. above, I've actually > come out ahead in some searches...including a ggAunt who, for whatever > reason, lied about her age. She was 4 years older than she let on. What a > stinker. > Anyway, Good Luck to Everyone. > Leanne Mitchell > > > ==== GenWisconsin Mailing List ==== > >