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Lesson 004...                                                                                                     2016 01 01
Verifying-Memory, Fact & Fiction                                                              Published Monthly

Happy New Year To All!!
To start the new year, we chose an area that's relevant to all genealogy buffs in general. VERIFYING.
With so much time involved in building a family tree, it's necessary to be precise right from the start.

There will always be project limitations, whether they are time, space, funding, or other resources.
But to minimize these as much as possible is something that all genealogy aficianados must strive for.
Those who adhere to the strictest of guidelines, will be the authors of the work most others believe in.

All that being said, most people are interested in just having a simple listing of ancestor heirarchy.
Seemingly quick and easy, the same principles still apply... Verify EVERYTHING.

By following that rule, you will undoubtedly run into conflicting information from time to time.
Do not ever, under any circumstances, fall into the habit or routine of automatically dismissing it.
What would it hurt to save the information in the same file or folder with a simple notation attached?

As an example, think of todays "mainstream media" vs "independant" reporting.
Even worse are the social media memes that sway millions of minds with mis-information.
Whether you believe it's Coverups, Bad reporting, Right/Left Wingers, etc., the concept is the same.
Various or opposing views of the same story.

Remember, there are three sides to every story...
Your side, their side, and the truth that's somewhere in the middle.
So accept what can be proven by physical evidence, and seek verification of the rest.


Why So Much Emphasis On Verifying?
The reason is simple. Accuracy.
Prior to the age of internet, verifying was pretty much built into any endeavor-Especially genealogy.
In looking up records such as birth certificates, censuses and more, they were automatically verified.

Though typically considered handy, the invention of "copy/paste" has had a detrimental effect.
Used properly, it's quite helpful and effective at what it was designed for-Saving time.

But when coupled to the internet and managed by human lazyness, it can be rather harmful.
There are many web based innaccuracies that people believe in, simply because they've seen it.
With so many people re-copying mis-information, it soon becomes believable by virtue of multitude.

The severity in differences can range from birth dates, on to children being born of a different spouse.
How much it affects your own tree is dependant on your level of caring, need and overall use for it.
Never underestimate the power of the written word, no matter what type of media it's found on.

In any event, there are things you can do even when conflicting data is found.
Be sure to list or save all the information found, making a note of any discrepancies for your records.


Where Do We Start?
As outlined in the previous lesson, you should start with yourself, then move to the closest relatives.
Enter the information into the software you're using (The software download is available free here).

It's perfectly natural to feel intimidated by the software, but with each use, you'll become better at it.
There's online help, but you'll get the hang of it quickly, and you can always add to or delete items.

Choose the closest family member that you have access to real documents for.
Scan each of those documents, naming appropriately for future referance and searches.
Plan folder and file names ahead for multiple "same-name" family members you'll most likely find.

Example:
John A *******-1940 To Unkn-Birth Certificate
John A *******-1820 To 1892-Birth Certificate

You'll be better prepared for easier searches.
Follow that style for each document, or develop one of your own that you're comfortable using.


Where Do We Get Basic Info?
These are the standard "starting" places to look. The history corners can be combed afterward.

Census Documents are excellent and trustworthy records of information leading to a new generation.
There is the usual sense of task accomplishment, but nothing beats finding a lost family member!
Note: Most websites won't let you save copies, so Censuses are available on CD here. See a demo.

Obituaries can provide a solid and tangible piece of evidence about dates, relatives and places.
They can also hold information about a connected person when no other information is available.
Add a copy to anyones file named in the article. Sometimes it's the only verification of a relationship!

Tombstones sometimes have only minimal information like names or are worn away on early stones.
Later ones usually have birth and death dates, perhaps even "Wife of" or other family placements.
Visit them, record some pictures denoting wording, carvings and field placements if possible.

Photographs show more than just the person. They also help date the photo by the items in it.
If another person is in it, you would know it falls to a certain time when both were alive.
Narrowing an event as closely as possible is a form of verifying, and should not be overlooked.
It may help determine whether other non-related events had actually occurred at that time or place.

Living Family Members have much information about people, places or things that happened long ago.
Like any online article you find, their stories will range from strictly factual to folklore from memory.
Record things, make notations, and verify as much as possible so the rest will have more credibility.


What Do We Do Next?
Go online and look at any of the free genealogy sites and collect whatever data you can use.
Internet/Cyberspace has become the most widely used area due to it's ease of access.

BE AWARE-Much information is posted by persons creating large trees with minimal accuracy.
I recently saw a post regarding a hero ancestor who was painted as a coward by the author of it.
They simply didn't know the complete story, but they do have their own social media historical pages.
Moral of the story.... Verify things for yourself, no matter how reputable you may think the website is.

This problem is HEAVILY compounded by many spelling variations of our surname that have evolved.
There are also multiple same names, and even same spousal names, during the same time and place.

It is however, navigable. Just keep reminding yourself that "It's just data".
At times you'll become frustrated or confused. Walk away, clear your head, and return to it refreshed.
This phase is simply the collection of available data. The sorting and verifying will come later.

Collect the basic information such as birth, death, marriage dates, spousal names for one generation.
This will be enough to get yourself started, and short enough to be able to fix errors quickly if needed.
Sources are rarely shown online, so use the information found to direct you towards what you need.

That being said, collect the information anyway, label it, and make a notation of where you aquired it.
There's always the possiblity that it may be substantiated later with your other findings.


The Point is...
There is nothing so important in genealogy study and family tree building as accuracy.
Accuracy can only be had by verifying each point, however tedious and time consuming.

As always...
These are only basic guidelines, and can always be adjusted to suit your personal needs or budget.
Hopefully the knowledge gained here will help you to be better positioned as a family historian!

      Happy searches!!

        Massachusetts

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