Don’t Believe…
I believe we family story collectors and historians need to double check what we believe. This can include what we believe about what we see, what we hear, and what we think.
Don’t Believe Everything You See
My first leap into genealogical research included gathering information for a friend about her Uncle Harry. My first official “finds” were two U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) online records.[1]
Several months passed before I found another of Harry’s official records. It took me a while to realize the roster[2] included a “9” in the serial number in the position that the NARA records had a “5.” As a genealogy researching newbie, I’d never heard of various genealogical standards.[3],[4] In my ignorance, I weighed what I had found. Two to one, in favor of the “5,” I chose the NARA listed service number as the most likely to be correct.
However, in additional searches, I found the troublesome digit usually listed as “9.” Dang. Which serial number was correct? Before I started searching genealogical records, I’d assumed all—or almost all—“official records” were accurate. Finding two different-by-the-third-digit service numbers for Harry frustrated me because I didn’t know how to verify which serial number was likely the correct one.
Fortunately, I’d joined a group of family history writers who had experience in genealogical research. They introduced me to nuggets that included “mistakes happen” and “look for original records.”
Fortified with a new perspective and good advice, I used both serial numbers in my request to NARA for a copy of Harry’s official “Individual Deceased Personnel File.” His service number, listed on eleven records, consistently reported the pesky third digit as “9.”
After much more research, I wanted to honor Harry with an obituary for Stories Behind the Stars. This is an organization of volunteers whose goal is “to research and write the stories of all the WWII fallen.”[5] In the obituary I wrote and posted for Harry S Morton,[6] I included the serial number with the “9.” On his FamilySearch profile (G3W1-VZB) and the Ancestry profile page I’d created for him, I added his correct military serial number, but noted some records included the similar serial number. Hopefully, this will help future researchers make sense of the two different serial numbers when they find them in Harry’s various military records.
Don’t Believe Everything You Hear
I first met Elaine, a good friend of my older sister, JJ, when we were in grade school. When I was a child, I’d heard that Elaine’s much older brother had been a sailor on board the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor on the morning of 07 December 1941. Several years ago, while visiting the University of Arizona’s USS Arizona Memorial in Tucson, I took a photo of Gordon Eugene Berry’s plaque and emailed it to Elaine.
I later found online his obituary written by a Stories Behind the Stars volunteer.[7] When I read names other than Elaine’s mom and dad listed as Gordon Eugene Barry’s parents, I thought, No! That’s wrong!
What could I do to help correct the information? Hmm, a copy of his birth certificate probably included his parents’ name. I could send it to the Stories Behind the Stars author and ask for a correction to the obituary. I drafted an email to Elaine asking if she had her brother’s birth certificate.
Fortunately, JJ called to visit. I mentioned I’d sent Elaine a photo of her older brother’s USS Arizona memorial plaque.
“Oh,” said JJ. “He was Elaine’s uncle.”
“But someone told me he was her brother.”
“They were mistaken.”
Thankfully, my sister and the Stories Behind the Stars author knew the facts. I deleted my misguided draft email to Elaine. That day, I hope I learned several lessons. First, to question my understandings and conclusions before I question someone else’s work. And second, to become more gracious with myself and others because “mistakes happen.”
Don’t Believe Everything You Think
While reading A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny, I ran across a quote by Buddhist nun Pema Chodron: “Don’t believe everything you think.”[8]
Several weeks later, while compiling a list of organizations responsible for maintaining World War II US military gravesites, I categorically dismissed the National Park Service (NPS) national cemeteries. Relying a long-held but unsubstantiated idea, I mistakenly thought NPS cemeteries only included graves for those who had died during the Civil War.
While searching for cemeteries for WWII burials, I inadvertently clicked a link to the NPS website. A United States map pinpointed NPS national cemeteries in a wide swath from Vicksburg to Gettysburg, with one outlier in Montana.[9]
Veering off my search for WWII gravesites, I randomly selected the Vicksburg National Cemetery listing of interments to see what kind of information it contained. There I observed names of Civil War veterans whose remains were buried there.
Okay, I thought, now I know that the NPS national cemeteries can also contain the remains of some of the Civil War veterans.
However, before I left the NPS website, I spied the name of a WWII veteran interred at the Vicksburg National Cemetery.[10]
Confounded, I studied the entry. Sgt. Barney Anderson enlisted in the US military in1924, retired in 1947, and died in 1957. Using his serial number, I found he was born in 1903.[11] Therefore, I could state with certainty that this Sgt. Anderson was not a Civil War veteran.
After that double take, I doubled back to the NPS website. I learned the Vicksburg National Cemetery “also contains the remains of veterans of the Mexican-American War, Spanish-American War, the First and Second World Wars, and the Korean War. Vicksburg National Cemetery was closed to burials in 1961.”[12]
That information corrected a bit of my incorrect thinking. Now when hunting for burial information about those who served in the US military—during the Civil War and long after that—I know to search NPS national cemetery listings as a possibility.
Pursuing genealogical research and family history writing is both heady and humbling. In our pursuit of gathering more facts, stories, and context, it’s wise to evaluate everything we see, hear, or think. Hopefully, we’re learning to take more time, ask more questions, and question our assumptions. Also, we can learn from our mistakes and be more gracious with others when they misstep.
- What have you seen, heard, or believed that sent you on a wild goose chase—but eventually taught you a valuable lesson to apply to your future research?
- What is your favorite tip you want to share with other family historians about how you analyze conflicting information?
[1] “World War II Prisoners of the Japanese File, 2007 Update, ca. 1941- ca. 1945,” Access to Archival Databases (AAD) database, search for “Harry S Morton,” NARA, aad.archives.gov (https://aad.archives.gov/aad/display-partial-records.jsp?f=4512&mtch=1&q=Harry+S+Morton&cat=GP24&dt=2212&tf=F&bc=,sl,sd : accessed 08 Aug 2022).
[2] “U.S., Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939-1945,” Ancestry, ancestry.com, image 1458 of 1643 (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1102/images/WW2_6362388__0167_G_07-0766?pId=224785 : accessed 02 Jan 2023).
[3] For example: “Guidelines,” National Genealogical Society, https://www.ngsgenealogy.org (https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/free-resources/guidelines/ : accessed 24 Apr 2025).
[4] For example: “Ethics and Standards: What Are Standards?” Board for Certification of Genealogists, bcgcertification.org (https://bcgcertification.org/ethics-standards#what-are-standards : accessed 24 Apr 2025).
[5] “Stories Behind the Stars,” storiesbehindthestars.org (https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org, accessed 08 Sep 2022).
[6] Linda Jewell, “Harry Sankey Morton, Naval Intelligence Officer, Philippines,” Fold3, fold3.com (https://www.fold3.com/memorial/529970050/harry-s-morton/stories : added 05 Oct 2022).
[7] Jackie Menasco, “Roll of Honor – U. S. Navy – Fallen, Berry, Gordon Eugene GEB., F2c,” Together We Served, navy.togetherweserved.com
(https://navy.togetherweserved.com/usn/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ROHSBV&type=Person&ID=302520 : accessed 08 Sep 2022).
[8] Louise Penny, A Great Reckoning: A Novel (Minotaur Books, 2016), 101.
[9] “National Parks and National Cemeteries,” last updated 08 Jan 2024, National Park Service, nps.gov, (https://www.nps.gov/articles/nationalparks-nationalcemeteries.htm , accessed 22 Aug 2022), “National Cemetery Park Sites” map after para 3.
[10] “Vicksburg National Military Park: MS LA: Internments – A,” list, scroll down to “Anderson, Barney,” National Park Service, nps.gov (https://www.nps.gov/vick/learn/historyculture/inter-a.htm,: accessed 23 Aug 2022).
[11] “US, Veteran’s Gravesites, ca.1775-2019,” index record, Anderson, Barney, Fold3, fold3.com (https://www.fold3.com/record/707018205/anderson-barney-us-veterans-gravesites-ca1775-2019 : accessed 23 Aug 2022).
[12]“Vicksburg National Cemetery,” last updated 03 Jun 2024, National Park Service, nps.gov (https://www.nps.gov/vick/learn/historyculture/natcem.htm#:~:text=Vicksburg%20National%20Cemetery%20was%20closed,near%20the%20USS%20Cairo%20Museum. : accessed 24 Apr 2025), para 1.