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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