We find genealogical information in many different places: birth and marriage certificates, land records, newspaper articles, etc. Family researchers need to evaluate each record carefully.
Primary or Secondary Source?
The first question to ask is how close the source is to the original genealogical event. Was it written down by someone at the event? Was it written down at the time of the event, or soon after?
Genealogists have discussions on whether a source is primary or secondary, original or derivative. The important thing isn’t the label attached, but the actual value of the source record to your research.
Types of Problems in Genealogy Records
There are several ways in which source records can be inaccurate:
- Knowledge: The person giving the information may be guessing or using family gossip for info. He or she may also be unknowledgeable about the information – for example, a neighbor giving census information, a wife giving her deceased husband’s birthplace.
- Language: Census records provide good clues to an immigrant’s history, but language issues could compound the problem. The person answering questions may not speak English, or the census taker may not understand their accent. If the census taker was an immigrant himself, his knowledge of English could cause misinterpretation of the answers given, or his own accent may have made the questions hard to understand.
- Transcription: Many errors can occur when transcribers can’t read the original handwriting, or are working from either an original document in bad condition or a poor copy. Mis-reading a name is a common cause of not being able to find an ancestor in an index, even when you know they are there. Even when the original or copy is in good condition, typographical errors may occur. A double-transcription system, with two people transcribing and an arbitrator to make decisions when the transcriptions disagree, will reduce errors.
- Time: The more time between the event and the creation of the record, the more possibility of error. People’s memories fade and they may mix up events and/or the people concerned. Records created close to the event will be the most accurate.
- Deliberate Misinformation: Whether now or 500 years ago, people carry secrets and will lie to protect their reputations. Marriage dates, the existence of a husband, stories of military service, and connections to famous families are among the invented “facts.”
Read Errors in Genealogy Records to see how each of these error categories can affect different types of records.
With each source, check who was giving the information, how accurate their knowledge would have been, and if there would have been reasons for misinformation. Judge the value of the information accordingly, and be open to other possibilities when new records come to light.
