Genealogy comes with one common issue: Conflicting information. It’s completely normal to find that two sources have a conflicting opinion about a person, place, or thing. It’s normal to see two sides to the same story (if not many more).

Imagine that you have two newspapers in your hands. One says that Margaret P. was the first-place winner of a local pie contest. The other says that Margrette P. won first prize. It’s up to you to look at those two papers and see if you believe that they are both talking about the same person or if there was an error. Additionally, you’ll need to use your knowledge and additional sources to determine the correct spelling of that person’s name.

There are steps you can use to help identify conflicting information and resolve it.

1. The first thing to do is to identify what you think is conflicting with something else. For example, perhaps you have a story about an ancestor that doesn’t seem to line up with the newspaper reports. Set that conflict aside.
2. Next, look at the sources. If you have three sources, which one is most likely to be correct? Someone with first-hand experience is the one who likely knows the truth. The newspaper that heard about a story may be correct, but it may not be. And, of course, gossip columns are not particularly trustworthy.
3. You’ll want to corroborate all stories and facts whenever possible. That’s why it’s smart to look through multiple newspapers from the same time period (or even the same day) to find out if stories line up. It’s possible for two journalists to have different opinions, but you’re looking for all the major facts to match.
4. Always remember to think about the context of what you’re reading about or looking at. Today’s rules and social norms are not the same as in the past. They are not the same state to state or country to country.
5. Make sure to resolve conflicts by cross-verifying information. If you cannot prove something through methods of confirmation, then you may want to use that information in your research. However, you shouldn’t throw out the content. Instead, mark it as questionable and note where you found it, so you can always match it up in the future.
6. Document everything. By documenting everything you find, you’re putting yourself in a better position when it comes time to match up information. You may find that something you couldn’t make sense of in the past is easier to understand after you do further research, but you don’t want to realize you’ve misplaced that information.

If you follow these steps, you’ll be in a better position to resolve conflicts. While you may not be able to resolve every conflict, using good methods of analysis, cross-references, and documentation, you should be able to start building the story of your ancestor’s life.