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. > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the > instructions at > http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html