HI All, I am currently in the process of writing articles on each of the descendants of the 10 children of my ancestor who died in 1804 in Northampton County, NC. In writing a narrative description, I am able to explain my reasoning! I have also included the abstracts of deeds and other court records as well as the full text of wills. This does not make for really exciting reading! And I footnote everything I can. Footnoting is tedious, but it is necessary. Ancestry is good for some documentation, but it does not have much in the way of wills, etc. The rental of microfilm reels at the LDS Family History Center has been extremely helpful for me. My genealogy papers are a real mess and in writing the articles, I have been forced to sort them out and get them organized. Those with minds that are made up will not listen to reason and I do not try to contact them or encourage them to contact me. I do hear from researchers (vs. compilers) who have read some of the articles. These are people who understand the importance of documentation and common sense. I really appreciate hearing from them. One last note--- In the process of doing the writing, I have sometimes changed a line of descent because the text highlighted errors or lapses of logic that I had not noticed before. Think about writing your own family history. Bonnie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carolyn H Pappas" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 12:48 PM Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] Virginia Citations Hi, While working at the DAR for many years, I was the one of those who worked on patriots where the lineage or service had been questioned. My answer, if I could not solve the problem was "genealogies are helpful as a guide but many are not acceptable unless the information can be verified by sources, such as vital records, Bible records, cemetery records, or other records that could be used in probate court cases." I also would sometimes use 'third generation personal knowledge.' Common sense must also used (5 year old girls do not give birth.) I have been very careful in writing family histories and articles to footnote everything. As a result, my works are credible and I have heard from other interested genealogists about them. ________________________________ From: "Tarter, Brent (LVA)" <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Mon, March 14, 2011 12:23:55 PM Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] Virginia Citations The comments about online genealogical resources and family trees also apply to print sources. None is perfect, and some are horrible. The ones without citations to source material always put me on my guard. It usually takes experience and an accumulation of knowledge to learn which print or online sources to trust and how much and also which to dismiss. No published work, regardless of the format in which it is published, is better than its compiler. Brent Tarter The Library of Virginia [log in to unmask] Please visit the Library of Virginia's Web site at http://www.lva.virginia.gov 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 To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html