I have appreciated all of the comments in this thread about the correctness 
 and incorrectness of the LDS sites.  However, I feel I must respond.
 
There is a lot of sloppy genealogy all over the internet - and on people's  
home computers, in lineage societies, etc.  I know it, and you know it -  
for we've all seen it.  Therefore, as genealogists and family historians  who 
care about how our records will go on, we must educate those around  us.
 
I speak to groups a lot and am frequently a speaker at seminars.  One  of 
the things I am most diligent about is documentation of our own works.   And 
- even it can be wrong.  Let me give you an example...
 
My sister was married 25 JUNE 1960.  Just a few years ago, we were  going 
through her belongings and ran across her marriage certificate.  It  was 
clearly dated 25 JULY 1960!
 
What to do?
 
I was at the wedding.  My other sisters were.  We all knew it was  in June.
 
But, if someone else were to run across the certificate years from now,  
they would enter JULY.  It would look like we were wrong and they were  right.
 
The same thing can happen in the databases - someone may record one date  
and you have a family bible that states another.
 
The bottom line is that other people can certainly have it all messed up -  
and so can I and so can you.
 
In my classes, I tell the students that family histories, legends, oral  
interviews, internet sites, etc. are all very important to use as a 
springboard  to take you back to the original sources.  
 
The only thing I strongly discourage about the above sources is having  
people use them as the absolute truth and adding everything they read right on  
into their database.  If they do this, then it continues a long line of  
sloppy genealogies.  
 
And I do mean sloppy!
 
 
Peggy  Clemens Lauritzen, AG

In this life we cannot always do great  things...but we can do small things 
with great love.
Mother  Teresa

Accredited Genealogist and AG are certification  marks of the International 
Commission for the Accreditation of Professional  Genealogists (ICAPGen). 
Genealogists licensed to use the marks have met the  competency standards of 
ICAPGen.

 

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