Harness the potential of Ancestry's records

Have you been fully harnessing the potential of Ancestry's vast records? Are you taking the time to explore each facet of the available information within those records? Consider this: when there are multiple clickable names associated with a single record, it's often a good idea to investigate all of them. Let me illustrate with an example. During my research on Henry Erbrecht and his wife Louisa Quasius, an Ancestry hint directed me to a marriage record for their child, Edmund. Despite some spelling errors, I was confident that these were indeed the individuals I was seeking.

Upon examining this record, I found it to be a treasure trove of valuable information. It included essential details such as the groom's and bride's names, the date and location of the marriage, and an added bonus: the names of the groom's parents. Yet, the real revelation came when I ventured further. Clicking on the bride's name led me to an alteration in the information displayed, now revealing the identity of the bride's parents.

A curious pattern emerged when I scrutinized both the groom's and bride's perspectives. Notably, the mothers' names were presented as their married surnames. Intrigued by this inconsistency, I probed deeper by clicking on the mothers' names, which brought about another layer of transformation. To my delight, the groom's mother's maiden name, Sessions, was disclosed, as well as the bride's mother's maiden name, Leber.

Although Sessions appeared to deviate from Quasius, I entertained the possibility of obscured handwriting or transcription errors. Driven by this hypothesis, I referred to a FamilySearch Record linked on Ancestry. Here, I confirmed that Edmund's mother was indeed listed as Louisa Quasius. Moreover, the record pinpointed their origin as Tigerton, Wisconsin—an alignment with my existing knowledge about the family.

Intriguingly, my pursuit of knowledge didn't cease with the mothers' names. I delved into the fathers' names on both sides, only to find that the perspective shifted again. However, disappointingly, no fresh insights emerged from this particular angle of investigation. 

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!