Managing "guessed" connections

[Mary Burdick]

I'd be very interested to hear what Reunion users do to keep track of an ancestor you *think* is connected, but you don't have primary resource proof of the connection. A couple of examples of what i mean:

- I have two hypotheses about the father of someone who was in Monmouth County, New Jersey in the late-1700s, then in upstate New York. I have a lot of circumstantial evidence through deeds and other records that seems to show the connection; on the other hand, I came across something at the Monmouth Historical Society that is completely undocumented, but that indicates this guy has a different father. In both cases, the tree goes back farther - just no proof of that one connection

- In several other cases, I have a strong guess about someone's parents; and if that's correct, there's good info about more ancestors farther back.

I'm returning to genealogy after a 20+ year pause. I was a Reunion user back in the day, and then what I did was put a ?? before the name of the "guessed" connection. I'm wondering whether Reunion 11 has other new features to facilitate this or whether other users have suggestions.

[Derrick]

Re: Managing "guessed" connections

I create a separate file in which I work out the the person's relations, and work to make the connection clear enough. Then I add it to my main file. This helps with focus, and it keeps the main family file pretty solid. In theory .

[Daryle Watson]

Re: Managing "guessed" connections

Another option is to create a separate "Island" within your database. You don't have to leave your file to work on this branch and it can beasily be integrated into the main tree later. You can add a link to this "Island" using the quickbar.

I have a three generation tree setup this way.

[Mary Burdick]

Re: Managing "guessed" connections

I'd be very interested to hear what Reunion users do to keep track of an ancestor you *think* is connected, but you don't have primary resource proof of the connection. A couple of examples of what i mean:

- I have two hypotheses about the father of someone who was in Monmouth County, New Jersey in the late-1700s, then in upstate New York. I have a lot of circumstantial evidence through deeds and other records that seems to show the connection; on the other hand, I came across something at the Monmouth Historical Society that is completely undocumented, but that indicates this guy has a different father. In both cases, the tree goes back farther - just no proof of that one connection

- In several other cases, I have a strong guess about someone's parents; and if that's correct, there's good info about more ancestors farther back.

I'm returning to genealogy after a 20+ year pause. I was a Reunion user back in the day, and then what I did was put a ?? before the name of the "guessed" connection. I'm wondering whether Reunion 11 has other new features to facilitate this or whether other users have suggestions.

Thanks Derrick and Daryle,
When you do either of these things (a separate file, or an island) do you have a way of noting in your main tree that you have this other "branch" that might be connected?

[Daryle Watson]

Re: Managing "guessed" connections

I created a note called "Research Projects" in the LOGS file. Since Logs are part of Reunion, it's integrated and easy to locate.

Here is an excerpt from Reunion Help describing Logs:

Family file logs provide places to document your research efforts. For example, you could create a log for each surname or major branch of your family and chronicle your research efforts relating to each surname or branch: your library visits, your written and email correspondence, your upcoming trips and tasks, your travel calendar, research questions, conflicts, etc.

[Derrick]

Re: Managing "guessed" connections

Thanks Derrick and Daryle,
When you do either of these things (a separate file, or an island) do you have a way of noting in your main tree that you have this other "branch" that might be connected?

Not really. I have several dozen family files, and since I keep them labeled with their relevant family names keeping track isn't a problem.

[donworth]

Re: Managing "guessed" connections

Reunion has a way to link two sets of parents (or more) for a given person. You can set it so the parent links on the child's page take you to the most probable parents, but the child will appear in both parents' family.

Then I put something in the NOTES field to this effect, for example:

"Washington Lee’s parentage is somewhat conjectural, although Y-DNA tests have proven that he descends from the family of William Lee Sr. We believe he was the son of William Lee (Jr.) and Mary Polly (Cassady) because of his proximity to William G. Lee in Tulare Co., California in the 1870 census and the fact that one of his sons, William J. Lee, was living in 1880 with John Spurgeon, son of John and Lucinda (Lee) Spurgeon, who would have then been Wm. J. Lee’s first cousin in that scenario. Also, the death of both his parents by 1836 may have contributed to Washington’s willingness to leave for California in 1845.

Another possibility could be that Washington was a son of Joel Lee by his first marriage to Ora Newman (since there is a DNA match to one of Joel’s descendents and autosomal DNA for the Newman family), but there is no other evidence to confirm this. We think George Washington Lee’s wife, Amanda, was more likely the daughter of Joel Lee and Ora Newman based on autosomal DNA evidence. Also, there is no 1830 census slot in William’s household for Amanda - only an unidentified male slot - but there is room for Amanda in Joel Lee’s 1830 census count. We are 95% certain that George Washington Lee was the son of William and Mary Polly Lee. "

[B Jansen]

Re: Managing "guessed" connections

I'm not sure how helpful, but if I have a few leads but not a lot of info, I create a new parent with the first name [Father] and the last name [State Place or Country] then I use separate notes for each lead.