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eLearning Series: Geneology
My Family Tree is Important to Me
( 50 articles in this series )
Family
Research: Do You Have a True Lead?
Deciding to create a family genealogy requires
knowing where to search and how to find accurate information.
One of the problems that will occur when recording
family history is finding leads that do not hold true about
your history. Because of this, it is important to know when you have a true
lead in your family research and when it is simply more information
that you can set aside. There are several ways to help you
in determining whether your family research is fact or fiction.
The first thing that will help you recognize whether your
family research is true is by noticing the type of evidence
that is being used in your information. Direct evidence
is recorded information that does not need any interpretation
or further research. This is the best way to know that you
have a family lead. If you have direct evidence, it will clearly
fit into other evidence that you have found. It will also not
need any interpretation with the date that it was recorded
and with the people or events that were occurring. Indirect
evidence, however, is usually information found from circumstances.
This is second hand information and does not lead directly
to your family history and will require more effort and search.
Finding the basic facts for your genealogy not only includes
finding primary sources and knowing which ones are
valid, but
also documenting accurate facts. When comparing information,
always look into records that you know will be applicable to
your search. Marriage records, baptisms, burials, minutes,
military pensions, etc. are all types of accurate information
that can be used as primary sources. These will help you to
build a foundation when documenting your genealogical history.
From here, you will be able to link other sources from magazines
and newspapers to your genealogy.
Another thing to look at when deciphering between true or
false information with your family is the sources that
you are using. Every source, whether it is on a website or from
a newspaper, should have certain sightings attached to it in
order to ensure that it is the right quality. The first type
of sources that you should use are recorded when the event
of your ancestor has taken place. These are the best ways to
find leads with your family research. You will recognize certain
dates and people in these types of sources that can help lead
to the right conclusions. Secondary sources, on the other hand,
are records that were put down after a significant amount of
time passed with the history. While these can help fill in
some holes or gaps with your research, they will also require
more time and effort to find more substantial facts.
The information that is received from the sources should always
have information attached to the sources that proves that the
evidence is not being generated falsely. This means that you
should be able to document all of the information that you
find from the genealogy source that you are using. Names, dates,
websites, etc. should all have complete documentation. If they
don’t, then they are probably not direct links to your lineage.
After you have discovered a certain amount of evidence and
decided on whether the information is accurate or not, then
you can begin interpreting the data. With everything that you
have found, there are gaps and holes that can be filled in.
This will lead to more accurate and consistent information
about your family history. It will also allow you to find contradictory
information that you may have thought was direct or secondary
evidence before. When you find leads, it is important to decide
what the gaps are that need to be filled in, which allows you
to validate the information about your ancestry.
By doing thorough investigations of genealogy information,
you will be more likely to find the accurate information needed.
Documenting sources, comparing information, filling in gaps
of information, and finding primary sources will all help to
ensure that you are finding factual information about your
genealogy. By not investigating and looking into the details
of your family history, you may run into false information
or sources that will move you in the wrong direction when discovering
your genealogy.
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: 2006
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