Why Double or Triple
Checking Facts is Important in Ancestral
Investigations by Paul Duxbury and Kevin
Cook
When researching your
ancestors, it is crucial to your research
that you find their correct vital statistics.
You need to know their full name, birth date
and location, marriage date and location,
death date and location, and the full name of
their parents. In order to insure that your
vital statistics are correct, it is
critically important for you to stay
organized and check and re-check your facts
based on a variety of sources.
When researching
your ancestors, it is crucial to your research
that you find their correct vital statistics.
You need to know their full name, birth date
and location, marriage date and location, death
date and location, and the full name of their
parents. In order to insure that your vital
statistics are correct, it is critically
important for you to stay organized and check
and re-check your facts based on a variety of
sources.
The only way to be able to double check your
sources is if you keep complete, accurate, and
organized notes. Notes should be taken on
loose-leaf paper, which can be combined into
three-ring binders, or kept in bound notebooks
so that all of your notes will stay together.
It is also a good idea to develop a personal
system for labelling your notes. On a part of
each piece of paper, such as the
upper-right-hand corner, include pertinent
information, such as the surname of the family
or individual you are taking notes on, the
location where you are taking the notes so that
you can return there later if necessary, and
the date on which you are taking the notes.
Different surnames should be kept on separate
pieces of paper. If your notes mention more
than one surname, create a duplicate under the
other surname(s). Try to not recopy your notes
too much in order to decrease errors. Also,
don't forget to cite your sources, including
title, author, date of publication, and other
pertinent details about where you found your
information. Your genealogical findings will
not be considered reliable if you can't prove
that you got it from a reliable source, and all
your hard work will be for not. Also, if you
cite your sources well, then if you find
conflicting information, you can double-check
the original source to see who or what is in
error. Finally, you may also want to consult a
source again for more information.
When taking notes, you can abbreviate words,
but you must be thorough about certain details
and include full names whenever possible. When
writing names, enclose maiden names in
parentheses and place before married names.
Enclose nicknames in quotes and place after the
first name. Finally, aliases can be included
following surnames by placing them inside
parentheses after the abbreviation "a.k.a.",
which means "also known as." It is helpful,
even essential, to make a list of alternate
names and alternate spellings of names for all
of your ancestors. In index searches that
require the correct spelling of names, such as
the Social Security Death Index, being aware of
alternate spellings and names can help you
locate your ancestor. Names can be tricky in
other ways as well. Alternate spellings of
certain names, such as Gale (Gail) or Francis
(Frances), could indicate whether the ancestor
being referred to is male or female. Therefore,
it is important to write names in your notes
exactly as you see them to ensure they are
spelled correctly. In addition, other names you
may assume are female were actually also used
for males in the past, such as Mildred and
Beverly. Finally, women can have changing
surnames as a result of marriage. You will want
to keep track of all of your female ancestors'
surnames, including their maiden names. If you
don't know an ancestor's married or maiden name
indicate that with empty parentheses or a
question mark when you writer her name.
Place names and dates require just as much
thoroughness and accuracy as people's names.
When you are taking notes, record full place
names, including county, city, and state. For
example, some states may have cities and
counties with the same or similar names. When
writing about places, also include any
references that are made to geographic
landmarks. Record dates by beginning with the
day, spelling out the month, and ending with
the full year. For example, writing the date as
"12 February 1895" makes it clear and correct.
The typical abbreviation for dates, such as
"12/2/95," can lead to confusion regarding
which number is the month and which is the day
(i.e. whether the date is December 2 or
February 12) and what the correct century is
(1895 or 1795?). Finally, carefully check your
notes before you end each research session, and
make sure they are completely clear. There's no
telling when or if you will be able to consult
the source or sources again.