Perfect!
Randy Crenshaw, M.D.
Charlottesville, Virginia






On May 18, 2010, at 11:57 AM, Steve Stevens wrote:

> Reliable Sources....great topic.  Anyone know of any?
>
> A rhetorical question, but one which deserves an answer.  Here is my  
> experience:
>
> Birth Certificate - my mothers had her name as Emma Sprouse, her  
> name Irma Sprouse, took 2 years to correct vital statistics, two  
> friends who knew her from birth (that was tough, born 1919) and a  
> copy of the 1920 census to get it noted so she could get a valid ID  
> from DMV after 2001.
>
> Bible record - my grandfather was presented a new bible by his  
> mother dated August 12, 1878, he was born Jun 1890 by Albemarle  
> County birth records, 9 Feb 1891 by Social Security Death Index, 9  
> Feb 1890 by tombstone. Any ideas for a real date?
>
> Census record - don't even need to go there.  Seen ages vary more or  
> less than 10 years between census
>
> Death Certificate - ages, dates, parents, etc. given by third party,  
> no mistakes there.
>
> Marriage license - no one ever lied about their age to get  
> married!!!!  Or their names.
> ETC.
>
> No need to go on about primary or secondary sources, all of you have  
> dealt with these things while doing research. Variations of 100  
> years, yeah that is probably impossible......or a typo....overlooked  
> mistake.....or just plain laziness.  We all have made these mistakes  
> and made a decision of which record we are going to use for names,  
> dates, etc. in our files and databases.  So I do get a little un- 
> nerved when someone expresses their perfection in genealogy  
> research, because it just ain't so.  You can do your best, but that  
> is just it, YOUR best.
>
> Then there is all the rest y'all have said too!
>
> Steve Stevens
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bonnie Flythe" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2010 9:24 AM
> Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] reliable sources
>
>
>> Right!
>> Some final comments on the problem of unsubstantiated claims.
>> First, when I started genealogy in 1979 chasing down  
>> unsubstantiated claims
>> took up a lot of time that I could not easily spare.  Beware of the  
>> wild
>> goose chase!  It can be very frustrating.
>> Secondly, Ancestry does have value.  I use it on a regular basis  
>> with the
>> exception of most of the trees.
>> Third, the very fact that Mary's aunts said unsubstantiated is  
>> important.
>> They were well aware of the importance of documentation and seem to  
>> have
>> provided some good clues.
>> Fourth, clerks do make mistakes.  I am currently working on the  
>> Southampton
>> Project and have run into a few-- very few.  Family histories, old
>> biographies, prestigious older genealogy publications, etc. also have
>> mistakes.  The Southampton project is extremely
>> valuable.  It gives anyone with a computer access to wills, deeds,  
>> court
>> orders, marriage records, etc. in Southampton County, Virginia.   
>> Lots of
>> documentation!
>> Lastley, those who simply compile and never try to document are  
>> missing some
>> fun!  I realize that quite a few people would consider hunting  
>> through old
>> documents to be boring, but sometimes a deed or letter gives a  
>> glimpse into
>> the daily activities of these people (in my case, none rich or  
>> famous, but
>> interesting).
>> I do not try to correct the errors that I see on Ancestry.  I would  
>> rather
>> spend my time digging through more old records.  Right now, a  
>> number of
>> trees on Ancestry have one of my ancestors married to his mother!   
>> If people
>> contact me, I am happy to help. Otherwise, I ignore the situation.   
>> Making contact with another researcher like "moonlightgems" is  
>> something I
>> hope for.  Years ago, we helped each other.  The comments and  
>> questions of
>> another researcher are very useful in verifying or at least testing  
>> claims
>> or hypotheses. My main
>> objection is to trees with no support of any kind!
>> Enough from me.
>> Bonnie
>> By the way,  I am particularly interested in the Crumps of New Kent  
>> and
>> surrounding counties, the Johnsons of Goochland County and the Fly/ 
>> Flythe
>> family of
>> Isle of Wight County, Va. and Northampton, NC and the western states.
>
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