Re-examining Research in a Genealogy Project - Tuchfeld part 3

Re-examining our genealogy documents related to our one name genealogy study has proved useful. We were able to document name variations, occupations and dates that had slipped through the cracks during our earlier research.

We also found somethings that led to more questions than answers. The biggest was when we re-examined the 1870 Rzeszow Census for our Tuchfeld branch. The census, as indexed by JRI-Poland, showed a Solomon Tuchfeld with wife and children living with his brother Naftali Tuchfeld and his wife and children and an unmarried sister. Naftali Tuchfeld is our second great-grandfather. This relationship is clearly identified in the index as brat, Polish for brother. They are living in the same house and apartment. We based many years of research on the assumption that they were brothers. This led us to discover Solomon’s parents, thus we assumed we had moved up another generation in Tuchfelds.

1870 Rzeszow Census as indexed by JRI-Poland

Recently we were able to acquire an image of the actual census record for this household. We only gave it a cursory examination, until now. As part of our re-examination for this project we looked at this image in detail. We discovered something shocking and slightly disappointing. While these two Tuchfeld families are living together, the relationship space in the name box that would show the relationship between Solomon and Naftali is blank. Apparently, the JRI-Poland indexers assumed a sibling relationship not in the actual record. This is why it is important to always see the original record, when possible, instead of relying on an index. It is also important to re-examine the records you have already acquired to see if you have missed something.

1870 Rzeszow Census

As you can see, this leaves us with many new questions. Previous research uncovered that Solomon’s wife’s maiden name was also Tuchfeld. Now the question is, how is Naftali related Solomon and/or his wife Rachel? Could Rachel be Naftali’s sister? Might one of them be Naftali’s cousin? The relationships are now unclear and lead us to more difficult research.

Jacobson and Jacobson Genealogy Researchers  http://www.bocafengshui.com/genealogy.html  specializing in Jewish Galician Genealogy Research.