Starting From Almost Nothing

Supporting guides

• How Do I Start With Only a Name?
  Start with a name by adding every other fact you have, however small: dates, places, family details and any service hint. A name alone matches too many people, so the added facts are what make the search possible.
• How Do I Start With Only a Photograph?
  Start with a photograph by listing everything visible, uniform, badges, background and format, then checking each detail against service timelines. A photograph is a bundle of clues, not a single answer.
• How Do I Start With Only a Medal?
  Start with a medal by reading its engraving and identifying its type, then searching the medal roll for the engraved name and number. The medal gives you a roll entry, and the roll entry gives you a unit to research.
• How Do I Start With Only a Place?
  Start with a place by asking which units were there on which dates, using unit histories and memorial records. A place alone is a question about units and dates, not a shortcut to a person.
• How Do I Research a Very Common Name?
  Research a common name by holding the service number, unit and dates as filters from the start, and by refusing matches that fit the name but not the filters. Common names reward patience and punish quick matches.
• How Do I Handle Spelling Variants?
  Handle spelling variants by searching every variant you can find, including phonetic spellings and initials, and by matching on number and unit rather than spelling alone. Records follow the spelling on the form, not the family spelling.
• What If I Have No Hint About the Service?
  With no service hint, test each service in turn using the clues you have, starting with the service that fits the place, dates and any uniform or medal detail. Keep each test separate, so a failed test in one service does not contaminate the next.
• How Do I Test a Family Story First?
  Test a family story by splitting it into checkable claims, dates, places, units and events, then checking each claim against a record. A story that splits into testable claims is researchable; a story that stays whole is not.
• How Do I Build a First Timeline?
  Build a first timeline as a dated list with a source note for each line, leaving gaps open where you have no source. A first timeline is a working document, and its gaps are the research plan.
• What Are the First Dead Ends to Expect?
  Expect dead ends from common names, missing records, variant spellings and units that cannot be fixed from the clues you have. Each dead end is a finding that narrows the next search, not a reason to stop.
• What Is the Single Best Next Step?
  The single best next step is the one that fixes a filter: a service number, a unit, or a firm date. Any step that adds a filter makes every later search sharper, while a step that adds only a story does not.