6. I spent hours at the library and I didn't find a thing!

We all have days where the pickings are slim, and we feel as if we're not gettinanywhere. However, consider that you did learn that your ancestors are not in those particular records. You've eliminated those sources, and it's one more place you won't have to search in the future.

7. I have conflicting information.

This happens more often than you'd think possible. If the census documents say your great-great grandfather was born in 1840, the old family Bible says he was born in 1852, and burial records say he was born in 1848, which do you believe? When this happens, try and corroborate one of the dates from another source. Census documents can be wrong, as can the information in the family Bible. In the 18th and 19th centuries, many babies died in infancy. Sometimes another child was given the name of a child who died. Burial records can be wrong, too - perhaps the undertaker made an error, or someone in the family gave the date incorrectly.

8. I can't find the family in the census.

If you're sure that your family lived in the county when the census was taken, but you can't find them, there could be several reasons. Check:

* Alternate spellings. * That you're looking at the right county in the right state, several states have more than one county with the same name. * The end of the county enumeration. If pages were stuck together when they were microfilmed, the missed pages were then filmed at the end of the county enumeration.

Don't give up. It's possible that the indexer made an error. Names were alphabetized incorrectly, or misread, or even omitted. If the census that you're checking was indexed by several organizations, check to see whether your family appears in another index. It's difficult for us to imagine how laborious it was to write everything - and to make copies - by hand.

8. I have two people in the same place at the same time with the same name: which is my ancestor?

This is a slightly different challenge from the above, "Sorting out names." When you find two people with the same name in the same place at the same time, and either could be your ancestor, you're going to have to examine the information, and perhaps gather more information, so that you can create a biography of these two people. Find official documents: did they own land? What about the census documents of that era? Can you locate a will for either of them? Study the information that you have, locate more information, and then work out which one was your ancestor. Certain names were popular in families, and in localities, because there was such a small marriage pool: people didn't travel far in the 19th century and earlier, because travel was expensive and difficult. Names were passed on from generation to generation. This makes it difficult for you, so many years later, trying to work out who's who.
About the Author

Chris Simeral is the creator of the 7 Day Family Tree Genealogy Research Toolkit. For a free genealogy mini-course, visit <a href="http://www.7dayfamilytree.com/">www.7DayFamilyTree.com.