The Challenges of Genealogy

  The prompt for the second week in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is "Challenge".

  So many of our ancestors faced major challenges in their lives. Who would I choose to write about? How would I choose just one? Then I thought about about the challenges genealogists face in the search for them.

 The challenge of no living parents or grandparents to ask questions, or to verify our findings. Often the ones that are living often won't talk about the past. 

 The challenge of spelling variations, and transcriptions of names. My Kristoff's have been Kristoff, Kristof, Christoff, Christof, Christoph and once Dresdoff.  Dresdoff? Really?  My Broadways have been .. Broadway, Broadaway, Brodway and still shaking my head over Kilondaway! 

 The challenge of the ever changing birth year. Ancestors ages range widely between records. Did they not know their birthday? Did they not care? Did a neighbor answer for them and just guess? Were they trying to avoid being drafted, or possibly trying to appear older in order to get married?

 The challenge of tracing them back to their origins. My 2nd great grandfather, William Kelly, was from Ireland. No hint of where in Ireland, which is vital for Irish research. For a great grandmother, I was so excited to find her marriage record. I couldn't wait to open the envelope and finally know where she came from ..... all it said was Europe. Seriously? You couldn't narrow it down a little?  

 The challenge of the records themselves... some records are missing or were destroyed by fire. They could be written in another language, or not accessible due to privacy laws, which differ between different countries. 
 Even just knowing what records might exist and where to look for them is a challenge. 
 Some records are readily accessible, but in very poor condition. Like the one below.... see all that smudging in the corner. Yup, that's my family.  Thankfully the property description was visible. Once I found that, I could just make out their names. Just tip your head to the left and squint a little.

1911 Census of Canada for Julius Kristoff.

  Yes, there are many challenges with genealogy... and I love every one of them!


-1911 Census of Canada for Julius Kristoff, Saskatchewan, QuAppelle, sub district 4, page 14; accessed on Ancestry.ca