FAMILY HISTORY — FUN AND FOIBLES
Joel Warner's presentation tackles some research problems from four different families. During a review of each of these cases, we identify interesting flukes, errors and assumptions which took us down some wrong paths. We will also look at the corrective actions which solved some problems. We are able to see that one of our best tools as family history researchers is a healthy skepticism. This keeps us from jumping to conclusions not justified by the documents we have available to us.
Our goal as family historians is not to put together what probably happened or what might have happened. Our goal is to find, through reasonably exhaustive research, what did happen. We cannot know everything, but by linking documents together we can be reasonably certain of many things.
My goal in this presentation is to use real cases to demonstrate how perseverance and luck will often help researchers solve problems. Some may take patience as more and more records become available. But there is great satisfaction with connecting yourself to the real lives of the real family members who contributed to what and who you are.
Joel Warner has had interest in Family History since he was a boy. This was due to his mother and grandparents, who did family research and shared stories of how his ancestors came to America, the problems they faced and what they left behind. He finds working with others to help them progress is enriching and fulfilling.
He has lived in Jacksonville for about 30 years, finally landing here after living in California, Utah, Ohio, Indiana, Oklahoma, Maryland, Australia and England. He is a member of the Jacksonville Genealogy Society and the Southern Genealogy Exchange Society. He has served on the planning committee of the North Florida Genealogy Conference.