You must expect to run into some problems along the way. It’s important though, that you not create your own frustrations by making mistakes in the initial stages of your research.
You’ve just taken the first step towards finding your roots. You are taking this course, you are doing what everyone should do first when embarking on a new journey, learn as much as you can about your project, so that you do not waste a lot of time making the same mistakes that others have done before you.
Don’t make any assumptions unless you can back them up with facts; and don’t believe anything you are told unless it can be confirmed by someone else or can be proven by documentation.
I’m not suggesting that your relatives may lie, but stories are often exaggerated or embellished. Stories dealing with the social standing of a family are often improved upon.
Most of our first ancestors in North America had occupations connected to agriculture and the land. After the industrial revolution our ancestors became miners, mill-workers,
railway men or worked in any job connected to industry. So beware of stories suggesting Royal or Noble descent.The most important order of action is to always start with the known and find your way to the unknown.
Just because you find a marriage of someone with the same last name as yours does not mean he is your ancestor. Making this assumption will only lead to disappointment.
