Pruning

WorldVitalRecords Blog » Pruning the Family Tree: "Different sources of starting information often provide such leads. On one line recently worked by the author, it seemed obvious that the previous researcher wanted the family to be related to a locally famous person.

The direct-line ancestor, whose parentage was in question, would have been the daughter of a military hero, and related to others who seemed to be of great importance to the previous researcher. The hopeful but inaccurate assumptions of the previous researcher led this searcher into more brick walls than were necessary.

After years of trying to verify the information on the family group sheet without any degree of success, the author decided simply to look up what was available for the previously-proven ancestor.

An entirely different family came out of the accurate research. This searching pruned a major branch from the family tree. However, the pruning was necessary for accuracy and allowed room for filling in the new family information. Having now checked on the accurate family, information comes to the author on a regular basis that is active and vital for the further progress of the true line."