When you organize the information you have on an ancestor are there gaps in the timeline where you have no records? Make certain there’s not something you have overlooked. Something in those intervening years could answer other questions or open up entire research avenues.

Are there significant gaps in the years of birth for the children of an ancestor? It could be that children died at birth or there were miscarriages. It could also be that the ancestor did not have just one spouse and was unmarried for a time.

It’s not possible to fill in or explain every gap, but acknowledging you have them is a start. And we all have them–at least a few.

© Michael John Neill, “Genealogy Tip of the Day,” http://genealogytipoftheday.blogspot.com, 1 Nov 2012.