Female lines are as important as male lines. One-half of your ancestors are female! They can be more difficult to locate since most changed their names when married. Always record females using their maiden names.

Organize from the beginning in a system that suits your needs, but in which you can quickly and easily find information when you want it.

“A court clerk may suggest you need only look at the grantee index, and not the grantor index. Don’t listen! There can be a variety of reasons why the purchase was not entered in the grantee index, although later the sale appears in the grantor index. The first deed may have been a patent or grant from the state or federal government, inherited, overlooked when the index was prepared, or just not recorded. Always check both indexes." Ibid