5 Traits of an Exceptional Genealogist

Turn your family tree into a valuable legacy by adopting these 5 traits.

The purpose of this blog has always been to help you be a better genealogist. That can mean:

• avoiding and fixing errors
• learning how to use important documents
• exploring new resources, and more.

This is Fortify Your Family Tree's 629th article. It's time we all strive for more than being better genealogists. Let's work to be exceptional genealogists. Your family tree is your legacy. It will continue to inform and enlighten people long after you're gone. Don't you want your legacy to be exceptional?

Certain traits are common to all exceptional genealogists. Here are 5 traits to set as your goals. An exceptional genealogist:

1. Uses Documents to Support Facts

You know Grandma's birthday because you used to celebrate it with her. But your reminiscences and family photos are not proof. To be an exceptional genealogist, your family tree needs documents.

I have a copy of Grandma's 1899 birth certificate. It supports the date our family always knew. It also includes a different middle name than Grandma claimed to have. And I have my grandparents' marriage certificate. These 2 documents are official proof, and I can cite my sources.

It can be tough to get documents for recent events, such as your close cousins' marriage dates. But for earlier generations, you need to search for the documents.

I've seen DNA matches' family trees list a bunch of grandaunts and uncles without proof. They heard their Grandpa mention these different siblings, so into the tree they go. But isn't it far better to cite the available documents for those siblings?

Following the documents, you can learn so much more about Grandpa's family. You can document the lives of the siblings who died before he was born. You can discover who his siblings married. You can document their children and create a priceless resource for their descendants.

It's the documents that make your family tree more complete, believable, and valuable. It's the documents that break through brick walls, dispel myths, and answer questions. Find out how to use them to "Solve Genealogy Mysteries Step-by-Step".

2. Doesn't Accept Hints without Doing the Research

My maternal grandfather had a common Italian last name—Leone. A skilled genealogist wouldn't assume that my Leone family is part of their Leone family. They'd do the research and see that my Leones came from a different part of Italy than their Leones.

But I've seen people pull my grandfather and his immediate family into their family tree. That means they accepted a hint without bothering to do a lick of research. My grandfather's family was in one little town for centuries—far from their town. I have the documents to prove that. All they have is a shaky leaf.

A hint is a clue, not a fact! Hints can be very helpful when they lead you to documents you can examine. But you must examine them! Compare the document's facts to what you've recorded in your family tree. Think of a hint as someone asking you, "Is this the one?" as they offer you a piece of the jigsaw puzzle you're putting together. Of course you're going to examine that piece to see if it fits. You wouldn't smash it into place because of a hint.

The next time you see an enticing hint, think about these "3 Ways to Tell If That Hint is No Good".

3. Presents Information with Consistency

When I worked for an international company, emailing people outside the U.S., one thing jumped out at me. Dates. People in different countries write dates in different ways. If I say that a project's deadline is 12/10/2024, an American will read that as December 10th. But my British colleagues will read it as October 12th.

That's why I adopted a more universal style, and I use it throughout my family tree. December 10, 2024 becomes 10 Dec 2024. Since the year has 4 digits, the 10 is clearly the day of the month. The 3-letter month varies among languages, yet it isn't hard to understand.

Does your family tree use a consistent date format? Can your dates be misunderstood by your distant cousins in Europe and elsewhere?

An exceptional genealogist records dates and other facts consistently. They leave no room for misinterpretation. For examples of other facts, see "Consistency Makes Your Family Tree More Professional".

4. Cites their Sources

Have you ever found an intriguing DNA match and taken a look at their family tree? If that tree has no source citations, are you going to accept it all as fact? I hope not.

But if you find a family tree and the source citations link to document images, you can see the facts for yourself.

I've built a massive family tree based on Italian vital records available online. And I committed the cardinal sin of skipping most source citations. In my defense, I knew I could go back and create the citations, and I was more eager to build out extended branches. That was wrong of me and very unprofessional.

Now I'm concentrating on filling in those source citations. I don't know when I'll finish, but I will keep working at it. It can become tedious when you're fixing a huge backlog of omissions, so I do mix things up sometimes. I may take a break to explore my 3rd great grandmother's town. But if I add a single new person to my family tree, I absolutely add the source citation at the same time. I've learned my lesson.

If you've been skipping the citations, here's a great way to make the task less daunting. See "Step-by-Step Source Citations for Your Family Tree".

5. Doesn't Believe Family Lore without Proof

If you're lucky, your elders passed down stories about your family history. The problem is, those stories can be wrong. Some stories may be exaggerations. Some may be misunderstandings. Some may be cover stories hiding the truth.

When I first started my family tree, I learned a family connection to a famous historical figure was a lie. Despite hearing this story from the woman who looked ashamed to be the man's niece, it was 100% untrue. To find out how I debunked a longtime family myth, see "Where Did I Find This?"

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What can you do right now to become an exceptional genealogist?

• Try to find documents for the unsupported facts in your family tree.
• Re-examine any person or fact you accepted from a hint or a hunch without doing your own research.
• Bring consistency to the way you record names, dates, addresses, and more in your family tree.
• Fill in those missing source citations!
• Set out to prove or debunk family stories.

Take pride in your work. You're creating a high-quality, high-value family tree because you are an exceptional genealogist.