Hi Kathleen:

I beleive that no matter where you find the information on your family, it
is no better than the source that it came from, or that submitted it.
 Gayle M. Garrett
mailto:[log in to unmask]


----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathleen Much" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2001 10:58 AM
Subject: LDS vs. WFT


> People new to genealogy think they have found a bonanza when they
> discover the WFT and LDS Pedigree files. NOT!
>
> It takes a while before you find out that both these sources are
> worthless as documentation; in addition, the WFT violates copyright
> all over the place. At least the Pedigree files were contributed
> voluntarily (though they too may contain plagiarized and unattributed
> material), whereas the WFT filches original research and then tries to
> sell it back to the originator.
>
> I am grateful to the LDS for their microfilm projects and use the IGI
> as a clue to finding original records, but I learned the hard way
> (many years ago) that the Ancestral File is hopelessly corrupt and
> that any entries in the IGI that are not verified by checking primary
> sources are  not trustworthy.
>
> The same is true for books, of course. If an author cites primary
> sources, you MAY wish to believe his/her research. But it's still a
> good idea to spot check the work to see how accurate the citations
> are.
>
> We don't need to pick on historians (or genealogists) for slipshod
> methods. There are meticulous researchers in both fields, and there
> are many reprehensible frauds in both. What we need is a way to tell
> them apart, and probably the best way is to CHECK their work and
> spread the word when we find good and bad research.
>
> That's my aim here: Don't trust the WFT or the LDS Pedigree CDs. Check
> the original record indexed by the IGI. Don't accept undocumented
> research wherever it comes from.
>
> Kathleen Much
> [log in to unmask]
>
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