I use the term "abt" to show an approximate date when the date is not known to me.

I use the term "of" to show a place that the person or his family lived in when the real place of an event is not known to me.

I use standard spelling.  The spelling of names wasn't very universal until fairly recently in history.  This meant that a surname was spelled several ways depending on who was writing it down.  One family may have as many ways of spelling as there were records.  Sometimes spellings were done based upon the accents of the person taking or giving the information.  To make my database easier to search I use the same spelling for any family member.  For instance, EZELL will always be found EZELL in my data even though it can be found in records as EZELL, EZEL, EZZELL, EZELE and so forth.  I try to make note of the name changes and spellings in my personal records.

My program has an awful habit of duplicating the notes for the marriages so expect this when you get a file from me. I am correcting this but it will take a million years to finish the task.

When you request information please give me more to go on than just a single surname.  Please identify one or more people as completely as you can.  Once I match your person I will send you whatever I have on the family with that surname.  There will may be many offshoots but I will assume you are only interested in the ancestors/descendants of the person you ask about.

I love and appreciate and want and hope for and welcome any additions or corrections you send.  Use the data but remember that much of it is still waiting for others to prove.

I have found in researching a family that having a time frame and general place on which to focus really helps.  When I used to leave time and place spots empty because I didn't have the actual information I was always having to go forward or backward to other family members to see where and when I should be looking.  As a result I adopted the not-uncommon practice of using approximates when the real info isn't known.  Once the real info is found then it replaces the approximates in my file.  When you get anything from my be sure and make note of how the date or place.  Here is given the formula for approximating and remember that even that is flexible.

I use the term "abt" to show an approximate date when the date is not known to me.

In deciding which place to put when the place isn't known I use this information and generally in this order:

1.  A person's parent's marriage place is used for the children's unknown birth date.
2.  If a sibling born before a person with unknown place has a real place given than that place is used.
3.  If the parents were married and then died in the same state then that place is used sometimes without the term abt.
4.  If the marriage place is unknown then the known place of a child's birth is used.
5.  If the children's birth place is not known then known place of the mother's birth place is used before the father's birth place.
6.  I also check the family of each parent to see if there was migration from the time of the birth until marriage time.

I use the term "of" to show a place that the family lived in when the real place of an event is not known to me.

In deciding what date to use I follow this basic pattern:
1.  A woman is assumed to be 5 years younger than her husband.
2.  A woman is assumed to marry at age 20.
3.  A first child is assumed to be born 1 year after marriage.
4.  A two year space between children is assumed.

This pattern is surpassingly helpful but can have some real drawbacks that you need to be aware of.  Take my husband's family for instance:  Neil's dad was born in 1919.  By this pattern that would make his parents marrying in 1918, his mother born in 1898, his father born in 1893.  However, Neil's dad was the last of 17-18 children and his father's real birth date was 1775!

It can also be a problem when there is more than one marriage.  I might not know which marriage and set of children come first.  In any grouping of children I might not know which child came before which other children.  If death dates of parents are known I will adjust the formula to fit the children in before the deaths...pretty clever of me, huh?  When there is a second marriage and I have to estimate the couple's age then I'll use the same age for the new husband as the old one.  But if I don't know the age of the wife, I'll still put her between 20 and 30 years old at the time of marriage.  If only life were this simple!

One more thing about the estimates: When a date is arrived at because of census information I do NOT use the 'abt'.  Instead I use just the year.  This is because it can be recreated by anybody.  We all know how inaccurate the census data can be and that it can vary from one census to another but it is a measurable starting point.

I will make any changes to place and dates that I discover or that is shared with me.  I hope this doesn't make the information too frustrating for you, it really does help me in focusing as I research my family.

I will put your identifying addresses in the notes so others requesting the notes can contact you, if you request it.  Please let me know the person combination (parent/child or husband/wife) and county so I can identify your lines of interest.  Type out exactly how you want to be mentioned in the notes, i.e.: Cherie Logan <[email protected]>.  I will just copy and paste your info to the notes.

I will only tag notes of people in my database, I don't keep a general researcher data file.  If you want people from a certain county added to my data please submit them.  For privacy purposes please don't submit anybody born after 1910.

    "The goal of Common Threads is to help each of us get beyond the "dead ends" we all encounter in our research by connecting with others who are researching the same line. The intent of Common Threads is not to have everyone enter all the names in their family. The idea is to enter the name of the person in your line that you can't find enough information on, in hopes that there is someone else out there researching the same family line who will find your entry in Common Threads and e-mail you to exchange information."  Deb Kinneer