An Error in the Record: New Article Published in Ansearchin' News

July 20, 2021

An error in a court house record could be a bit of spilled ink or a misspelled name. What happens to research when the clerk of the county court gets confused and says the wrong person is dead? How far down the research rabbit hole does that misinformation send a genealogist? Is the genealogist left chasing a wild goose. I chose to write an article to forewarn other researchers. William C. Gregory was ALIVE!

Vanessa Wood, “William C. “W. C.” Gregory (1818-1870): A Court Error Recorded His Death in 1860,” The Tennessee Genealogical Magazine: Ansearchin’ News 68 (Summer 2021), No. 2, 34-30.

About Author

Vanessa Wood is a genealogical researcher and writer specializing in American family history, with particular depth in Southern states, California, and families with roots in the United Kingdom. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and the National Genealogical Society (NGS), and holds a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University. She is a First Prize winner of the 2026 Montana Family History Writing Contest and has 25+ published articles in journals including the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. Vanessa is the author of Pryor Wives: Stories of Family, Fortune, and Fiasco (2023), Board in Venice (2025), and The Kinship Papers, Vol. 1. Her books are available on Amazon.com. She can be contacted via email.