Ms. Mills and Mr. Drake and others,

Let me thank you both for the mountains of work, the dedication, the effort,
and the time spent furthering our genealogical knowledge. I respect you both
tremendously and, in conversations, have used your words and examples many
times.

Sadly, I'm afraid I have lost my way in the current conversation. What you
have said is wonderful, thought-provoking and lofty goals to attain, but is
it "real world" applicable?

Headstones -- a headstone "...is PURE hearsay in its most apparent form."
Hearsay! Yuk! Yet many of us spend days, weeks, months wandering through old
cemeteries looking for that elusive headstone. Entire books have been
written describing what headstones are in a given cemetery. And, in some
cases, a headstone might be the only piece of information we know about an
individual. It is hearsay, PURE hearsay! Do we discard the information? Do
we not use it at all? Should we set aside the books that many of us have
that describe these wonderful headstones? I won't. Do I want to backup the
headstone information with some other form of record? Sure I do, but in lieu
of another record, the headstone is the best information I have. I will use
it and hold it near, appreciating the mere fact that I have something.

Certified, Notarized, Etc. -- what do we really gain? Here is what I have
found to be the case the majority of the time in the "real world." I go to a
courthouse. I copy a certificate (birth, death, marriage, other) on the ever
present copier. I carry the copy to the counter. A clerk gets a rubberstamp
and stamps the copy (certified or notary). A clerk then scribbles something
in the blocks made by the rubber stamp. I pay my fee. I leave.

    Ah-ha! Houston, we have a problem. The clerk has no idea at all as to
what they just certified or notarized! The clerk did no more than certify or
notarize that it was a piece of paper. It could have been something I took
out of my bag, a piece of trash, perhaps my grandsons drawing. It didn't
matter because the clerk didn't bother to look. The clerk didn't actually
see me copy the certificate. The clerk has no idea whether I modified the
copy before presenting it for certification or notarization. The clerk will
not know and no one else will bother to find out if I modify the copy at
home. But the clerk collected the fee and that makes it alright. Yet
genealogical societies will accept this piece of paper simply because it is
certified or notarized. I believe that standard is ludicrous. Give me my
copies, uncertified and unnotarized, and to heck with the genealogical
societies.

    Many courthouses charge 600 to more than 1000% markup just to have a
rubber stamp and some scribbles applied to a copy. This is akin to highway
robbery, yet we tolerate it just to have a meaningless stamp and scribbles.
On the other hand, some courthouses charge the same exorbitant fee
regardless of certification or notarization.

These are "real world" facts. I'm sure that I'm not the only one with
evidence to support what I've said. Is there really much of anything that
can truly be considered as "primary?" Do the "words or actions described or
written by a person who was present at the utterance or event - first-hand -
or who by reason of some unique place and time had the opportunity to
accurately know of those events and words" make it fact anymore than a
worthless stamp on a piece of paper or the lonely headstone in a cemetery?
Did that person who was present at the utterance or event hear the words
correctly and record them correctly? We only assume. Did the person present
at some unique place and time describe the events with an eye towards facts
and without embellishment? We can only hope. Yet we wave the flag and shout
"Eureka!" when we find such things.

For me, I hold my certified and uncertified, notarized and unnotarized
copies in equal esteem. The weeks and months I have walked among my
ancestors in lonely, sometimes forgotten, cemeteries gathering information
makes their worth invaluable to me. I would love to attain the lofty goals
we talk and write about, but right now the "real world" is at my feet and I
cannot turn it away.

Confusion reigns supreme.
Tom
Royalty to Rogues
http://www.l-dunaway.net/

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