tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post8901701562512937997..comments2024-03-21T19:08:05.737-07:00Comments on Genealogy's Star: Evaluating Genealogical ResearchJames Tannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-70039873227788194842016-04-25T17:30:08.774-07:002016-04-25T17:30:08.774-07:00Yes it does. There is is an appearance of support ...Yes it does. There is is an appearance of support without there actually being any. James Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-2626603119847038072016-04-25T17:29:01.787-07:002016-04-25T17:29:01.787-07:00Thank you for you kind comments. They are apprecia...Thank you for you kind comments. They are appreciated. James Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-20200987408455254792016-04-25T12:22:21.629-07:002016-04-25T12:22:21.629-07:00>"However, despite the long list and the a...>"However, despite the long list and the apparent detail of the entries in the FamilySearch.org Family Tree, there were no sources cited for any births, deaths or marriages. The citations demonstrated more than adequately that the family lived in Utah but there was not one citation showing their origins in England."<br /><br />This happens a lot - a family may have hundreds of sources but not one that applies to a specific fact. The visual layout of many systems (especially FamilySearch Family Tree) makes it impossible to see what facts are connect to what sources and see where additional sources are needed. It's actually been a tough thing to teach people that they have to look at the sources listed, because it may be nothing more than a child's marriage record that says the parents lived in a particular place, not actual documentation that they lived in a particular place. Telling the difference between the sources and where they go takes me an extraordinary amount of time it seems like!Crafting in Yoohoovillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08223824425648008880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-57806009594295215952016-04-25T08:04:29.822-07:002016-04-25T08:04:29.822-07:00James, I enjoyed this post, being one of the profe...James, I enjoyed this post, being one of the professionals who spend their time with original source documents and take pains with source citations. Most professional work I see is very careful to focus on evidence, not proof. "Proof" is a word knowledgeable genealogists avoid, as it is so easily misunderstood and carelessly used. <br /><br />I don't know that the chasm between the casual tree-builder hobbyist and the scholarly researcher can be bridged, or whether it needs to be. There seems to be room aplenty for everyone, and I appreciate the casual hobbyists who keep my Ancestry.com subscription affordable. Best, Jean Andrews, CG(sm)Jean Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06441874364401240612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-65919479770504336172016-04-24T12:17:49.393-07:002016-04-24T12:17:49.393-07:00I guess I was in-artfully trying to say the same t...I guess I was in-artfully trying to say the same thing that you just wrote in a more concise and better way. Thanks.James Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-43972722372683032742016-04-24T08:52:59.565-07:002016-04-24T08:52:59.565-07:00“If the author or researcher is expressing an opin...“If the author or researcher is expressing an opinion, derived from experience or contemplation, that is fine. But if you tell me that your opinion on a historical or genealogical question is a "fact" and that the fact is proved by some source, you had better tell me your source.”<br /><br />This is where you lose me, surely all trees are opinion, even those backed up by DNA are simply opinion not fact.<br />If you think they are fact then I am afraid you are being misled.<br /><br />“For example, if I find a birth certificate for my grandfather, I am justified in assuming the date recorded is correct unless I find another document that contradicts that same information.”<br /> <br />Perhaps that is so in the USA but here in good old Blighty things are different.<br />Nothing repeat nothing can be assumed to be accurate everything requires other documentation to back it up.<br /><br />Think about it how were parish records complied, the vicar would make a note in his rough book during the week and would then copy it in to the register once a week on Sunday, very often the registers themselves would be copied into other registers.<br />Even civil registers the most common source of civil registers is the GRO. The GRO does not contain original registers it contains transcripts.<br />These transcripts used to then copied again to produce the certificate though now they are scans of the transcripts.<br />If instead of using the GRO we decide to use a local register office to obtain a copy we get more often than not a transcribed copy.<br />I have a scan of a copy of my mother’s marriage certificate that shows her surname as Imy instead of Guy even though her mother and father’s surnames are clearly Guy.<br />You would have though anyone copying such a record would think that strange and check it had been transcribed correctly.<br /><br />Never assume anything always find other documentation to back it up not just on more source or even two more sources but as many as you can find.<br />Never, repeat never ignore any source that contains information about an individual you are interested in as that one source may be the only accurate morsel of information you will find.<br /><br />Cheers<br />Guy<br />Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661609230878792638noreply@blogger.com