So! Where Ya From? Geography in Genealogy.

Um, not a good time in history to sound like you're from....um....anywhere...

Many of the same political considerations apply to geography as to names – it might not have been expedient to be named “Adolph” freshly from “Germany” at one point in history while job hunting. 

You're Irish with an Irish name? Pretty much blacklisted you at one point in American history.
 
So people might say they are from somewhere else with a different name.  Record keepers might not have known or cared what the difference was between two locales at some points and wrote down what was convenient or common. Or their friend answered the door and was dared to lie to the census taker or a child answered the door and was thinking of grandma instead of mom's place of birth, or they write down a place of birth just so long as it starts with an "I" (or pick a letter) even though its totally different than where they are actually from (Iowa vs. Indiana vs. Illinois...I find this sooooooo often on records.).  Sometimes I swear that the census takers swept through town and then wrote down the names and households and places of birth from memory the next day rather than at the time at the home they were at. 

Names of places change over time as well as well as spelling of them.  Towns disappear, get swallowed up, names get shortened.

For example, Dearborn Illinois is now Chicago!



Yamhill, Oregon used to be called Yam Hill, and the Nestucca Valley used to be called Nestockton here in Oregon.  Clark County Washington used to be Clark County, Oregon when Oregon was a territory extending up to Canada.

Entire country names change – Yugoslavia doesn't even exist anymore!  There are two Irelands.

Street names change, highways get re-routed, roads get lost, county names change, territories become states by different names, counties come into existence – geography can be challenging and very interesting to locate people by!

Also, remember, there are multiple places with the same name! All fifty states have a town/city called "Aurora" and there are thirty two "Springfields" outside the US in the UK/Commonwealth, and Wisconsin has FIVE towns by that name in different counties!

If you wish to go further in your research, don't forget to use Google and Wikipedia – you can learn how to read a Township map among other things.

The internet is your friend!  However, too often we don't use it to our best advantage!  Do research while doing your research!  Take time to learn geography while doing your genealogy and keep these things in mind while you're doing your work.