Group member Chris Bailey kindly agreed to speak at our August meeting and share his 52 years of genealogy research experience. The following is the handout that Chris wrote and shared:
Genealogical Record Sources
EVALUATING PRIMARY & SECONDARY SOURCES
Some
Tips & Oddities I’ve Found in 52 Years of Research
By
Chris Bailey
Primary sources or data is information which was given by the person himself, or herself or a patent and near the time of an event. A good example is the name of parents as recorded when a person applied for a marriage license.
Secondary sources are those of a second or third-hand nature or given by the person in question at a time far removed from the event. Old handwritten family histories are usually secondary sources.
Note: Family traditions rarely have more than
a fragment of truth, if any. Some records contain both primary and secondary
information. For example, a death certification has primary data for the death
date, death place, burial place and cause of death, but the birth date,
birthplace, names of parents of the deceased is secondary and may be
inaccurate, depending on the informant's knowledge. Following are the types of
records one will encounter in searching their ancestors:
Census
records – Census records are
extremely important to trace the movements, occupations, names and nativity of
individuals, but they must be used with some caution. Their accuracy depends on
who gave the information, how accurate their knowledge was, and how carefully
the census taker recorded the data on his worksheets and transcribed it onto
his final record. Also realize that some census takers were poor spellers and
may have recorded names as he heard them. Be aware that some people never had an accurate record of their birth or birth
place and never knew exactly how old they were. For this reason you will often find inconsistencies in birth dates
given in census and death records. Also, if a family was not at home when
the census taker arrived, the data on the family may have been given by a
neighbor. How accurately could you give the names, ages and birth places of
your neighbors and their children? Census records have limited value from the
first federal census in 1790 to 1840
as only the head of household was named and other household residents were
unnamed and indicated only by sex and age group.
Census
records 1850 and after became more
valuable that those taken 1790-1840 in tracing ancestors, as all household
residents were listed, however, from 1850 to 1870 no actual relationships were
noted, so relatives and non-relatives may be living in a household. Finally the
1880 census added relationships to the head of the household as well as the
birth place of the parents of each individual.
The 1900 census is
particularly important as it gave not only the age, but also the month and year
the person was born. However, this compiler has found that people’s year of
birth was often incorrect by one or more years. In most instances when comparing several census enumerations, the earliest
one often is the more accurate. If a child was enumerated as two years of age
when the census was taken on June 1, 1850, but claims in the 1900 census that
he or she was age 50 and born in November, 1849, one can be certain that child
was in fact born in November, 1847, not November, 1849. The 1900 census is also important as it
asks for the number of years a couple had been married and the number of
children a woman has had and how many of those were still living – often
indicating unknown children who had died young and not recorded in other
records. The 1910 census asks this
same important data, but additionally tells how many marriages the husband and
the wife have had, often indicating unknown previous marriages. Of course, keep
in mind that people are not always honest about this, particularly if they were
divorced and wanted to forget about an unhappy marriage or had not told their
later spouse. The 1930 census has an
oddity in that it asks the person’s age the first time they were married. This
can also indicate an earlier marriage.
Birth
Certificates – Data on birth
certificates is usually accurate as to birth date, birth place and the names of
parents as a parent, grandparent or close relative usually supplied the data.
However, doctors often recorded this data on forms they eventually registered
at a vital records office, so errors or omissions can be made. Birth
certificates may also tell the number of birth of the mother and how many are
still living. Except in New England, birth records do not start to be kept, or
kept consistently, until the latter part of the 19th century.
Marriage
Certificates, Licenses or Bonds – The data on
these are usually correct as to date and place. If the names of parents are
given it is usually reliable as the parties being married normally supplied the
data. Be aware that dates given in marriage licenses or bonds are usually not
the actual date of marriage. Marriages often occurred the same day, but may be days
or weeks after a bond or license was issued. Sometimes the certificates asked
if the parties have been married before and are widowed or divorced. Again,
divorces are not always admitted to. Marrying parties under age, usually 21 for
men and 18 for women, were generally required to have consent of a parent to
obtain a license. Ages were often recorded on the marriage license and
sometimes the actual date and place, but it will be found that some parties
lied about their ages when one or both were under age. In most states marriages
were kept by a county recorder and began to be recorded about the time a county
was formed. Sadly, in Pennsylvania, New York and some other states, marriage
records were not commenced until the latter part of the 19th century
making maiden names of wives difficult to prove.
Tombstones – The accuracy of these
depends on whether or not the stone was erected near the time of death (many
were not) and the correct knowledge of the person giving the data to the stone
cutter. Birth dates or ages on tombstones are often hearsay and less likely to
be accurate. Errors are occasionally made by the stone cutter and may not have
been corrected because of cost. Often when a husband or wife died, a tombstone
was erected, but the surviving spouse lived a number of years longer and
perhaps with children. By the time the remaining spouse died, there was no
money left for a tombstone and none was erected. Children may have intended to
erect a stone, but it never got done. In some instances a tombstone was erected
long after the party or parties were dead. In those instances one must verify
even the death dates for correctness. Another great problem with tombstones is
that the elements (particularly acid rain) wear the inscriptions or they have
been damaged, sometimes to the point of being illegible. Errors can be easily
made in transcribing them and printed books of tombstone inscriptions and even
data on findagrave.com often contains errors.
Probate,
Estate, Guardianship, Court records – These legal
records are extremely important and are usually accurate for relationships and
the other data they may contain. Many of these records, if extant, are
available only in court houses although some are now being digitized and
available on Ancestry.com or the LDS Family Search websites.
Land Records – Records of the transfer of land from one party to
another can give proof, clues, or evidence to relationships, particularly when
there is no will and the deceased owned property which must be either passed
to, or sold, for the benefit of heirs. In some instances land may be passed to
children without deeds and can pass by inheritance for several generations, but
when finally sold outside of the family, land transfer deeds are required. If
your ancestor sold land and there is no record of him buying the land or
acquiring it from the government, he probably received it by inheritance.
Church
records – Church records are
usually accurate if events (christening, marriage, burial) were recorded.
Church records were kept well by some denominations (Catholics, Quakers) and poorly
by others (Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians), though there are
exceptions. Many denominations do not have centralized repositories for their
records, so are often difficult to find, if they survive or were ever kept.
Military records – Military draft registrations, service records and pension
records often contain valuable primary data about an ancestor. U. S. Pension
records, in particular, may contain detailed family data and personal
information not found elsewhere. Abstracts of Revolutionary War and War of 1812
pensions are available in book form. Unfortunately, because of the volume of
Civil War pensions, these are not available except at the National Archives.
You go to Washington, DC and search the original records or order copies
through the mail. Sadly, the price has gone from $7 a record when I was first
doing research to $75 a record now.
Bible
records – Unless births, marriages
and deaths were recorded in a bible near to the time of the event, they are a
secondary source. Many bible records were recorded years after the events when
memories had faded. However, prior to 1900 a bible was often the only record
persons had of their birth date. Bibles may also be the only record of complete
births, marriages and deaths of early family members. However, since bible
records may have been recorded from memory years after an event, if dates in a
bible conflict with dates from primary sources, the latter should be used.
Newspaper obituaries – Though valuable and informative, data in them must be
used carefully and are only as accurate as the knowledge of the person who
related and recorded the data. Death and burial information is usually
accurate, but birth data and listings of relatives may contain errors or
omissions.
Printed
genealogies – Compiled genealogies
vary greatly in value and correctness. If they are not well documented, which
is often the case with many poorly researched genealogies of the early 20th
century, they should be used with caution and considered secondary sources.
Data taken from compiled genealogies usually need to be verified with primary
sources.
Internet Sources – In recent years
many of the above sources have become available on internet sites. Here are
some of the popular sites:
Family Search – www.familysearch.org. This important
site is the Latter-day Saint’s Family History site and particularly valuable
for their historical records collection. You have to register and chose a
password, but this site is FREE! Worldwide records are available. The U. S.
section of this collection is arranged by states and birth, marriage and death
records are often given for certain time periods for most states. Although many
records are abstracted from records by volunteers (thus errors do occur), in
many cases the original record has been digitized and one can view the document
for additional data and accuracy. Other areas of this site have family group
records compiled by individuals and should be used with caution. This site also
has the card catalog of items in the LDS genealogical library in Salt Lake City.
Their microfilms have many original records and some have been digitized and
available on the site or at an LDS branch library.
Ancestry – www.Ancestry.com is a very important site for U. S. and worldwide
records. This site is not free and subscriptions can get costly. One does not
have to purchase a worldwide subscription if you are interested only in U. S.
records. Monthly or annual subscriptions are available. In spite of cost, it is
much less expensive than traveling to record repositories. For U. S. records
many state birth, baptism, marriage, divorce and death records have been
indexed. In some instances the original record can be viewed. Some newspaper obituaries
have been abstracted and digital images can be seen for some, but often the
websites which originally posted them no longer have them available. Some land,
court, probate, and tax records, and city directories, are available. Important
collections include all indexed U. S. census records, military draft,
enlistment and service records, and immigration records. One plus of this site
is that their computers search many indexed records and try to match up records
of persons. However, one must be very cautious as it may match a person
with a same or similar name and birth date and place, but they may not be the
same person. A plus and negative of this site is the many family trees that are
listed. They can be very helpful if the researcher who compiled the records was
careful and correct – and many are not. They should be used as a guide to be
confirmed by more research. Often few sources are listed and it is obvious that
many people copy other’s research with no checking of original sources, thus erroneous
data is often copied over and over.
Find A Grave - www.findagrave.com has become a very important site for U. S. and some
foreign tombstones and burial records. This site is being added onto daily and
many monuments have photographs. Often newspaper obituaries or other family
data has been added to the site, but remember these are secondary sources and
should be double-checked. Death dates on tombstones are usually correct, but
birth dates and ages may be in error as those who erected the stones (sometimes
years later) may not have known the correct data. If the tombstone is pictured
on the site, check it to make sure it was copied correctly as copying errors
are found. It is my personal belief that a person should not be entered on this
website if there is no tombstone or burial record, but occasionally data has
been entered when someone who thinks their ancestor was buried there, but probably
has no proof. Note: Many cemeteries were not located within town boundaries,
but in rural areas. Locations listed for rural cemeteries found on
www.findagrave.com five the a close town near the cemetery, but not rural or
township location. Exact locations can often be found on the internet. It is
also noted that many burying grounds have changed their name in recent years
from “Cemetery” to a more flowery name – “Memorial Park”.
Historical
Newspapers – There are a few sites
for historical U. S. newspapers are available, but almost all charge a fee.
There are few 18th century newspapers and many are late 19th
or 20th century papers. Some of these newspapers are indexed by
optical scanning which is sometimes very poor. However, if you want to pay the
price of subscription you may find an obituary or some other information about
an ancestor. Some newspapers have been digitized and indexed, such as the Brooklyn
Eagle or a series of Western New York newspapers, so it is good to check
the internet.
Other
Websites - There are other
websites that can be found on the internet. Some have data submitted by
individuals and may not have been well researched. These have little value. Others
offer you a free searches, but then try to charge you for copies of birth,
marriage, death certificates or other data. Your research may incur some costs,
but try to use your funds wisely.
SOME ADDITIONAL ITEMS
GIVEN
NAMES & SURNAMES
Surnames:
Keep in mind that the general population adopted surnames in the 15th
century. Except for ancient some Royal lineages (many of which are probably
phony), you are not likely to trace an ancestral surname earlier than the late
1400s or early 1500s, at best.
Given
names: You will find instances during your research when persons switched
their given and middle names if they preferred the latter. In some instances
they even adopted a different name or nickname. Generally the earliest record
of a name was the name the person was originally given by the parents. People
often switch their given and middle names or adopt nicknames during their
lives.
INFANT
CHILDREN & YOUNG MOTHERS
In the 19th century and
earlier, infant mortality was a serious issue and as many as 20% of infants
died at birth or in their very early years. The mortality of young mothers was
also very high, explaining why you will find some of your ancestors had
multiple wives. Occasionally an indication can be for young, named or unnamed,
children before the days of birth registrations through census or other records
such as a bible record or tombstone inscription. In many instances, however,
there is no existing record for infant children. Children are often born about
two years apart, so if one finds family with children whose births are widely
spread apart, there were likely infant children who were born and died between
them.
Widowed husbands often remarried very
quickly if they he very small children as it was extremely difficult to be a
single parent and take care of young children. Widows often remarried and
occasionally the later husband would refuse to support another man’s child. In
both cases some or all of the children might be relatives of adopted out.
Due to a high percentage of infant
deaths and deaths of wives in childbirth before the 20th century,
statistics claiming the average age of our ancestors was only in the 40s are
misleading. If a woman survived child bearing years and a man did not die of a
vocational accident, they often lived into their 60s, 70s or older.
CALCULATING
BIRTH DATES
Some birth dates are calculated from
tombstones which do not give the birth date, but do give the death date and the
age of the deceased in years, months and days. If you don’t want to struggle
calculating the birth date yourself, put “calculate birth from age at death” in
Google and a program will appear which will calculate it for you. In some
instances the day of death was counted as a day, in other instances the day of
death was not counted. Since we cannot know which method was used, presuming
the age was correct, a calculated birth date may be off by one day. Calculate birth
dates only when no better record of birth can be found for an individual
as many older people did not know their exact age and birth date. Also note
that some tombstones were erected many years after a person died, so the birth
dates, ages (and even, occasionally, the death dates) given on tombstones may
be incorrect.
RECORDING
BIRTH, MARRIAGE & DEATH PLACES
Birth places: Prior to
the 20th century, many people did not know their actual birth place.
Often they claimed a place of birth where they remembered living as a child,
but it may not have been where they were born. Many families lived on farms,
not in towns and may claim (as some do today) their birth place was a town or
city close to their actual
rural birth place. Be specific - list actual birth places, including township
and county, if they were not born in a village or city.
Marriage places: Towns, counties and
states are listed for marriage places when records were found. If the marriage
record did not state the actual town of marriage, only the county and state should
be recorded.
Death places: Some people
incorrectly assume that a person died in the town in which they lived, but this
is not often the case. Many people died in the homes of one of their children
or siblings or in a hospital or nursing home in another town other than their
home town. A record, such as a death certificate will probably indicate the
actual death place. Some statewide death indexes, such as those for California
and Oregon, list the county of death, but rarely the actual town.
Note: The Social Security Index does
NOT list actual death places, but instead lists the last town in which a
deceased resided, which may or may not be the death place, and also lists the
place the Social Security death benefit was sent which may be that of a
surviving spouse, a child or a relative.
DIVORCES
& REMARRIAGES
Not unlike today, many of our ancestors
and relatives had multiple marriages during their lives. In some instances
there are available divorce records or a record, such as a census, which
indicated an individual was divorced. One will find that some divorcees, even
living persons, try to disclaim an unhappy marriage.
In instances where a person remarried
and records were found indicating an earlier spouse later remarried or was not
deceased, a divorce was assumed. In some states, if a spouse abandoned a
partner, after a certain period of time (often 8 years), the marriage was
considered null even if no legal divorce was ever filed and granted. Those
persons were legally allowed to remarry.
FOOTNOTES
& REFERENCES
Footnotes should be used for two main
purposes - (1) comments, cautions or explanations by the compiler about the
person or data, and (2) detailed references and information about your sources.
We probably all wish our relatives were
prominent, wealthy or even Royalty, but in reality most were poor tenant
farmers who may not have even owned land. If so, they may have left meager
records of their existence and often no estate and no probate documents.
MODERN DAY FAMILIES
Data on living families can be included
in your research if: (1) information was sent by a close family member, or (2)
data was found in public records posted on the internet, thus is public domain.
Finding information on modern families
is often more difficult than finding data on 19th century families. Many
post-1940 records are not publicly available, so in many instances marriages,
divorces, re-marriages, as well as births, or deaths, of your family members
that have taken place in the last 50 to 75 years may need to be updated and
verified by YOU.
