Filed under What Is Really Free Online? A Method Guide
First checks before you go further
A free index gives names and references, while the full record copy may carry a charge or require a visit. An index entry is a lead, not the record, so budget for the copy step when the index is all you have.
A record that names the right person in the wrong unit, or the right unit on the wrong dates, is a lead, not a match. The catalogue entry is a record in its own right. Read it fully before you open the record it describes, because it tells you what you are about to see.
Working through it in order
Order matters more than speed here. The same records, opened in a different order, produce a different timeline, and only one of those orders can be checked. Before the first step, gather every clue you already hold into one place. Steps taken with scattered clues produce scattered results.
- Start from the official holder catalogue or site for the record you need.
- Note whether what is free is an index, a transcription, or a digitised copy.
- Check a transcription against the digitised copy or the catalogue entry before relying on it.
- Plan paid steps, such as copy orders, only after the free finding aids have fixed the reference.
How to read this kind of entry
A rank shown without a date is a snapshot, not a career. Find the date it belonged to before you use it to place the person anywhere. A single entry rarely proves a career. It proves one dated fact, and a career is built by joining dated facts in order, with a reference for each. A record that contradicts a family story is not necessarily wrong, and a story that contradicts a record is not necessarily false. Note both, and let dated entries decide, one at a time.
Dead ends to expect here
When two sources disagree and neither can be preferred, keep both in the timeline with a note. A forced choice now will mislead every later step. If every search returns the same wrong person, stop searching and re-examine the filters. Repeating a search with the same filters will repeat the same result.
- A record that is not digitised at all.
- An index that covers only part of a series.
- A transcription error that hides the right entry.
- A free site that stops where the record itself begins.
Where to go next from here
Let the question this record raised choose the next record. A record opened out of curiosity, rather than out of a question, rarely advances a timeline. Where this record and another disagree, the next record should be one that can explain the disagreement, not one that repeats one side of it.
When the next step is unclear, reread the last dated entry in the timeline. The entry itself usually contains the question the next record must answer. Research done slowly, with references, outlasts research done quickly, with enthusiasm. Choose the slower kind.
Primary sources for this guide
This guide keeps its claims general and points to the official holders, so the holder itself is the place to check the current position. It is general educational information only, not personal professional advice, and it offers no record lookup service and no determination of any individual's service.