Nancy Drew's Wrong Assumption

So sorry for the (long) delay in updating with a post.  Needless to say, tons of genealogy work, mistakes included, has gone on in the meantime. 

It always seems that during a Nancy Drew story, she never incorrectly assumes anything.  Her "who-did-it" assumptions always turn out correct.  I wish it was that way in genealogy.  When I last wrote, I was waiting for my great-great-grandfather's confederate pension application to travel all the way from Texas to Virginia.  I assumed that since his application was made in Texas, it meant that he had been in Texas during the war.  WRONG!  While waiting for the copy of his application, I spent some time researching the Civil War in Texas, particularly Matagorda County, which was where his application was made.  And though I did learn about what happened there, I was a good thousand miles away from where great-great-grandpa was.  When his application finally arrived, I was very surprised to learn that he had served in...Tennessee!  My jaw dropped open thinking of the incredible action he was a part of during that time.  And I had to roll my eyes when thinking that I had wasted my time with research on the assumption that he had served in Texas.

Since then, I have taken a more cautious approach to my genealogy research.  I do not start researching an area until I am absolutely certain that an ancestor was there at that time.  I liken this tactic to the way I approach a body of water.  Since I cannot swim, I never assume that it's not deep just because I can see the bottom.  In the same way, since I was not there when an ancestor was, I will never again assume that an ancestor lived in a place or took part in an event until I know for sure.

As a side note, Lewis' application did include many other details and did fill in the blanks between his time growing up in Kentucky and living in Texas.  Right now, his application is the gem of my genealogy collection.