May 16th, 2009

Everyone’s Favourite Fish – the Red Herring

The Red Herring is a common fish scooped up  in the nets of genealogists worldwide by the thousand.  It’s almost as common in the Mare Genealogica as familia fabula (the family myth).  Being red, it stands out on a page of closely packed type with the scintillating header of COR-CRO: 15 of 385 pages. Being friendly (and equipped with special fins) it catches your eye, waves at you as you try to place (or even plaice, but no we musn’t resort to childish silliness here, we’re a serious blog you know) where you know it from…

It’s a familiar face, it’s got your grandmother’s nose and it says it was born only 10 miles from the birthplace you have on your record – can it be – yes it must be – it’s that long-lost relative you thought you’d never find. Hallelujah.

But beware – red herrings are the cuckoos of the seas.  Hidden behind that cuddly exterior is a whole shoal of bogus relations who will, before you realise what’s happening, devour your entire family tree.

How can you spot one of these interlopers? Here’s an example – if Auntie Mabel’s husband Fred appears to have been born before his youngest child, maybe he’s not the Fred you thought he was, the one so beloved by the family who could pull rabbits (more…)