{"id":25877,"date":"2017-10-06T11:05:40","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T15:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=25877"},"modified":"2021-04-22T13:37:57","modified_gmt":"2021-04-22T17:37:57","slug":"filling-in-details-in-my-family-tree-sometimes-the-facts-dont-agree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/filling-in-details-in-my-family-tree-sometimes-the-facts-dont-agree.html","title":{"rendered":"Filling in Details in My Family Tree: Sometimes the \u2018Facts\u2019 Don\u2019t Agree"},"content":{"rendered":"

My great-great-great grandfather Robert Starbird<\/span> (1782-1870) was a farmer in Gray, Cumberland County, Maine, and the father of 12 children. I recently took another look at this family to try and fill in some data gaps in my family tree, with the help of GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I looked at Robert\u2019s son Henry Hamilton Starbird<\/span> (1815-?). Henry was born in Gray, Maine, to Robert and his first wife Eunice Millett<\/a> (1786-?). He married Hope P. Cobb<\/a> (1820-1873) in 1845, and they had one child, Florence Starbird<\/a> (1853-?).<\/p>\n

To find Henry, I searched for his name in GenealogyBank<\/a> and restricted the results to just Maine newspapers, since I assumed he spent his life in Gray, Maine.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Source: GenealogyBank<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thanks to GenealogyBank, I very quickly found what I was looking for \u2013 an obituary notice listing Henry\u2019s death date as 5 August 1867:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Gray, 5th inst., Mr. Henry H. Starbird, aged 51 years.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"An<\/a>
Source: GenealogyBank, Daily Eastern Argus (Portland, Maine), 9 August 1867, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I quickly did the math to be sure this death date would line up with the birthdate I had in my records: 26 February 1816. If he died in 1867, Henry would have been about 51 years old at his death, just like the obituary said.<\/p>\n

To be sure, however, I kept looking in the search results to see if I could find any other records that would confirm that Henry died in 1867.<\/p>\n

This probate notice from September 1867, which named Henry\u2019s wife Hope as the executor on the estate, does just that:<\/p>\n

\u201cHenry H. Starbird, late of Gray, deceased. Will and petition for the probate thereof, presented by Hope P. Starbird the Executive therein named.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"A<\/a>
Source: GenealogyBank, Daily Eastern Argus (Portland, Maine), 11 September 1867, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now that I have two records that verify his death, I can continue looking for additional information.<\/p>\n

Looking at Find-a-Grave I found this.<\/p>\n

His tombstone clearly says that he died on \u201cAug. 3, 1867\u201d \u2013 a discrepancy.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Source: Find-a-Grave<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The obituary gave the date as the 5th of August\u2026 the tombstone the 3rd of August. Which is correct? A typo in the newspaper? The chiseled mistake of a stone carver? Both are known to have happened \u2013 I\u2019ll have to keep digging to find the answer.<\/p>\n

Genealogy Tip:<\/em><\/strong> Sources don\u2019t always agree. Keep digging to get all of the information. Just like a television mystery \u2013 sometimes the \u201cfacts\u201d do not agree. Record them all until you can verify which one is accurate.<\/p>\n

Related Article:<\/strong><\/p>\n