1southernbooklady
I am curious if people here have any philosophies or guiding principles they use when evaluating records to decide if they are valid and can be included in their family history. I frequently find myself stymied by records that seem only tenuously related to the people I'm researching -- vital records that have the right names and dates, for example, but no other supporting evidence. I have a birth record from what I think is the correct person in the correct Parish in Dirmstein, Germany in the 17th century, but when you are dealing with people who are named Christian and Hans and Johann, how sure can you really be that you've got the right Christian/Hans/Johann?
I learned very early in my family tree project to absolutely not trust other trees on public sites like Ancestry -- so many of them seem to cite each other as evidence! I finally decided that I needed at least two independent corroborating facts or sources to really be confident of a record, but of course the further back I get, the harder this standard is to maintain. I'm wondering how others deal with the issue. My pile of "things I am certain of" grows very slowly, but my pile of "things that might be relevant" threatens to become a mountain.
I learned very early in my family tree project to absolutely not trust other trees on public sites like Ancestry -- so many of them seem to cite each other as evidence! I finally decided that I needed at least two independent corroborating facts or sources to really be confident of a record, but of course the further back I get, the harder this standard is to maintain. I'm wondering how others deal with the issue. My pile of "things I am certain of" grows very slowly, but my pile of "things that might be relevant" threatens to become a mountain.
2DCBlack
I am fortunate that my German ancestors were from Wurtemburg, and the Wurtemburg Family Tables on ancestry provide incredibly detailed information on every member of each family. Makes it easier to ensure the record refers to the correct Eugene, Karl, Emma, or Rosine. Plus, the tables go all the way back to the 1500s.
I have more trouble with my Scottish ancestors. I know that one branch came from Campbelltown, Argylshire but have not yet been able to determine where other branches originated.
I have more trouble with my Scottish ancestors. I know that one branch came from Campbelltown, Argylshire but have not yet been able to determine where other branches originated.
3thornton37814
>1 southernbooklady: You need to examine them in light of other records to make sure they are the same. You would be corroborating the information. If you are a member of Legacy Family Tree webinars (https://familytreewebinars.com/), there are a couple of really excellent videos in the webinar library on the topic:
Rebecca Whitman Koford / Are You My Grandpa?: Men of the Same Name : Case Studies
Karen Clifford / Too Many with the Same Name
I always tell people that a subscription to Legacy Family Tree Webinars is the best value in genealogy education!
This article is pretty good: https://familyhistorydaily.com/genealogy-help-and-how-to/avoid-ancestor-mix-ups/
Rebecca Whitman Koford / Are You My Grandpa?: Men of the Same Name : Case Studies
Karen Clifford / Too Many with the Same Name
I always tell people that a subscription to Legacy Family Tree Webinars is the best value in genealogy education!
This article is pretty good: https://familyhistorydaily.com/genealogy-help-and-how-to/avoid-ancestor-mix-ups/
4southernbooklady
>3 thornton37814: thanks for the resources! So far my guiding principle has been "proceed with extreme caution" :)
5thornton37814
>4 southernbooklady: Proceeding with caution is wise.
6jeri889
I 2nd the recommendation above for the Legacy Family Tree Webinars series, a lot of great videos. It is subscription based, but if you sign up in advance for upcoming webinars you can see it for free at the time it airs and for a few days after.
Also, next week is Roots Tech, the big genealogy convention and this year it is free and all virtual. There will more than likely be quite a few sessions on evaluating evidence and a whole host of other topics.
Also, next week is Roots Tech, the big genealogy convention and this year it is free and all virtual. There will more than likely be quite a few sessions on evaluating evidence and a whole host of other topics.
7avaland
>1 southernbooklady: I no longer use other trees as suggestions, or on Ancestry.com if you are on the page where you can transfer information from other trees to yours, I click into their sources and evaluate. Often I transfer the sources and fill in the name myself rather than have the source say it was from other trees. Wish I thought to do it at the beginning. I’ve been going back and filling things in; I’m fairly confident the names are correct but I want the sources!
8southernbooklady
>7 avaland: Yes, I agree. I never import people from other family trees on ancestry, although I do scour them for documentation (which, unlike you, I do like to import if possible, so that the finder of the original source is automatically credited). It becomes pretty clear pretty quickly which trees are managed by someone doing serious documented research, and which are simply just adding whatever things come up in the "hints" to their trees.
Perhaps the thing I have loved most about all this is the training I am getting in reading and interpreting historical documents. I am, at this point, fairly confident about my ability to decode Mennonite vital records, since a big chunk of my family is represented in them. I am, however, a novice at interpreting land deeds, wills, and probate court documents. Those take me a long time to go through and understand. I find census data and other government records like marriage licenses and death certificates pretty clear going, but property assessments very murky.
And I am almost completely clueless about military records, which seem to be a language and a universe unto themselves. For example, I have an ancestor who fought in the Union Army in the Civil War and was not decommissioned -- if that is the right word -- until the war was officially over in 1865. Unlike his three brothers who were invalided out or reached the end of their three-year commitment, this one was released with only the word "Paroled" by his name. I haven't been able to confirm what that word means in context. Nor have I been able to trace his or his brothers' military service -- which battles they may have fought in, for example. They were part of the New Jersey 7th Infantry Regiment, Company D, so they all must have seen some action, but I am a child in the woods when it comes to reading military documentation, so much still eludes me.
Perhaps the thing I have loved most about all this is the training I am getting in reading and interpreting historical documents. I am, at this point, fairly confident about my ability to decode Mennonite vital records, since a big chunk of my family is represented in them. I am, however, a novice at interpreting land deeds, wills, and probate court documents. Those take me a long time to go through and understand. I find census data and other government records like marriage licenses and death certificates pretty clear going, but property assessments very murky.
And I am almost completely clueless about military records, which seem to be a language and a universe unto themselves. For example, I have an ancestor who fought in the Union Army in the Civil War and was not decommissioned -- if that is the right word -- until the war was officially over in 1865. Unlike his three brothers who were invalided out or reached the end of their three-year commitment, this one was released with only the word "Paroled" by his name. I haven't been able to confirm what that word means in context. Nor have I been able to trace his or his brothers' military service -- which battles they may have fought in, for example. They were part of the New Jersey 7th Infantry Regiment, Company D, so they all must have seen some action, but I am a child in the woods when it comes to reading military documentation, so much still eludes me.
9DCBlack
>8 southernbooklady: I highly recommend obtaining the Civil War pension files for your Civil War ancestors. I have two direct ancestors that fought in Ohio regiments during The Civil War and their pension files provided a wealth of information including affidavits with direct accounts of their service during the war and the nature of their injuries.
My 2nd GGF Jerome Black was in the 8th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. He was injured when his horse stumbled during a cavalry charge at the Battle of Bunkers Hill during the 1864 Shenandoah Valley campaign. An account of the incident by his comrade Lewis Creamer, who was beside him in the cavalry line, is included in a supporting affidavit in Jerome's request for pension. Jerome's pension file runs to over 100 pages including many other affidavits from former comrades, friends, employers, doctors etc., a wealth of information to sift through.
Pension files can be requested from the National Archives website at:
https://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war
My 2nd GGF Jerome Black was in the 8th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. He was injured when his horse stumbled during a cavalry charge at the Battle of Bunkers Hill during the 1864 Shenandoah Valley campaign. An account of the incident by his comrade Lewis Creamer, who was beside him in the cavalry line, is included in a supporting affidavit in Jerome's request for pension. Jerome's pension file runs to over 100 pages including many other affidavits from former comrades, friends, employers, doctors etc., a wealth of information to sift through.
Pension files can be requested from the National Archives website at:
https://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war
10DCBlack
>8 southernbooklady: Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7th_New_Jersey_Infantry_Regiment ) indicates that the 7th NJ Infantry was part of the Army of the Potomac, and fought in many of the critical battles of the Eastern theater in the Civil War, including 2nd Bull Run, Gettysburg, and others. The history of the Army of the Potomac is well documented by many authors. I highly recommend Bruce Catton and his Army of the Potomac trilogy.
Of course you would need to obtain your ancestors Compiled Service Record and Pension File to determine if they were with the Regiment at any particular battle.
Of course you would need to obtain your ancestors Compiled Service Record and Pension File to determine if they were with the Regiment at any particular battle.
11southernbooklady
>9 DCBlack:, >10 DCBlack: Thanks for the very good advice. Delving into the National Archives directly is my next step. I've been in talking to my mom about how to prioritize what to look for there. I also have ancestors in Ohio Union Army volunteer regiments and have found more information about them than I have about my folks in the NJ 7th Infantry, partly because in that case someone else has gone before me in the research. One of the highlights of last year was being sent copies of some journal pages of a great-great grandmother remembering her four brothers who went off to war, only one of whom returned.
12thornton37814
>8 southernbooklady: One of the best descriptions of what "parole" in the context of the Civil War is at https://www.nps.gov/apco/learn/historyculture/paroling-the-army-of-northern-virg... I think you'll understand what it means after reading the piece.
13southernbooklady
>12 thornton37814: yes, it was fascinating to read about the parole system. But I don't know if it applies in the case of a soldier who was apparently released or mustered out in 1865
14DCBlack
>13 southernbooklady: He may have been captured, imprisoned, and then exchanged/released near the end of the war after the rest of his regiment had been disbanded? The prisoner exchange protocol between the Union and Confederacy was suspended for several months in late 1864/early 1865. The compiled service record for the soldier would detail if, when, and where he was captured and when released.
