I had several requests for a class about “proof”. What records or identifying pieces of paper must one have in order to prove ones heritage.

According to Robert Charles Anderson in an introduction to the book The Source, he states:

“A common distinction is that between primary and secondary sources. We will say that a primary record is one that was created in near chronological proximity to an event by someone who had reasonably close knowledge of the event. A secondary record, then, is one that was created at some point removed from the event in question; it represents editorial conclusions based on primary records. A marriage certificate, a census entry, or a deed would qualify as a primary source, while a family history created some generations after the events recorded in the deed or census record, would be a secondary record.”

The differences friends, are this: You can go through the state and get an official birth record for someone when they are available. This is definitely proof. If they are not available, what Great Aunt Bess wrote in 1927, in the family bible about the birth of Grandpa Jones who was born in 1862, is most definitely a secondary resource! But a lot of times, this is all we have.

It is mostly about weighing the evidence. About whether the information is direct (state supplied official document of birth) or indirect (the date in dear ole Bessie’s Bible). A great difference in this would be if Great Great Grandma Jones wrote the date of Grandpa’s birth in her bible, she probably either got it directly from him, or from his mother. Primary is a personal testimony of an eyewitness or someone who wrote it down very near the event. Questions to ask: Where and when was this document made? Who made it? For what purpose was it made? Did the information come from someone with personal information or did it come to this person via the grapevine? Was there any reason for this person to provide false information?

There have been many times for a birth recorded in a bible to be used as a primary source. In the case of my father, who was born in a house in the middle of an oilfield in 1923. The birth was recorded in a county courthouse, which later burned. The birth was also recorded in my great aunts Bible as she was the “midwife”. The Department of the Army accepted the handwritten record as my father’s official birth date. They simply showed them the bible, and had my aunt write an “affidavit” stating that she was present and he was born on this day and this time. And through this procedure, he was eventually able to obtain a state issued birth certificate. The difference here was because she wrote it in the bible when it happened, as she had done many other birth records she was a midwife for. If she had written the affidavit after 20 years, they might have still taken it, but the writing in the bible, which was in a chronological order, in different inks, faded differently etc., definitely helped them gain the birth certificate.

We must also be able to identify the differences in the meanings of words used with regard to genealogical proof. Source is the means by which information comes to the genealogist. Evidence is the physical form in which the information is presented, and proof is the name for a process that takes place in the mind, However, the term is also used to refer to the documents utilized as evidence.

Deeds, marriage records, death records and census entries are for sure “proof” But you must remember that in a lot of those instances, especially the census and any record which was recorded by a “clerk” of any type is only as good as the person who wrote it. My great grandmothers name for example. I have sent for and received three of the marriage bonds issued with her name on them. And all three have a different spelling. Izertry, Izetra, and Izetry. I still don’t have a clue which is the legal spelling, but she spelled it Izetra in her bible. Her death certificate was filled out by someone who took information on her record upon entry into a rehab hospital. Because she was old, ill and of poor eyesight, the death certificate also has an error, and I tend to believe that her spelling was the way her mother intended it. I have seen her on a census, and it was simply I. Timms Mullinicks. Back in the days of our great, great, greats, school was merely something children did to learn how to do the basics, and a lot of them never went to school. If they couldn’t read or write, how then could they make sure their name, birth date or any information was written correctly?

Basically, I would conclude that a primary source would involve a “legal” record. In weighing the evidence, remember that two pieces of information from the same source are not true died in the wool evidence. If the information an obituary is taken from is from a bad record somewhere…then both are secondary sources. With obits, you are generally relying on someone’s memory that is being fogged by the loss of a loved one, so remember to keep that in perspective when doing genealogy.

As researchers, we usually ASSUME that if several pieces of information agree, they are right! And you know what happens when we assume right? Makes an ASS outta U & ME

Break…

Some advice for the beginning genealogist. Buy yourself a good atlas. To find where they lived and where they went, you almost always have to find the county they lived in. If you intend on searching and researching, many of the records you will need to find will be at county courthouses. Knowing the name of the town is never enough. Keep in mind that in the “beginning” county lines and township lines changed many times. A lot of the county sites at http://www.usgenweb.org have maps and information on where and when the lines changed. Keep track of this information as it can mean success or failure. Knowing the town is important but so is the county, and in some cases the township. My grandfather, according to my grandmas bible was born in Des Moines Iowa. However, when I sent for the birth certificate they should have had, they couldn’t find him. A look in the atlas showed Des Moines County, which I also tried, with absolutely no luck. And when I finally found his birth record, it was Jefferson County Iowa, and the TOWNSHIP was DesMoines. Go figure, I like to never found that one!

We had a class already on organizing your “stuff”. Let me remind you that keeping family sheets, and keeping a four or five-generation tree in your genealogy is paramount to having a key to unlock a door. When you are pouring over census records, and any of you who have done this realize that it leads to one being cross-eyed, you definitely need that piece of paper with those dates places and names, cause you sure can get confused. Now, after tonight’s lesson, you need to sort your information by Primary and secondary sources! The primary can be pretty cut and dried. The secondary are always suspect, but can give you a basis on where to look for information.

Citing or writing down your “source”. Where you obtained your information is very important as well. If you got secondary information, and then you realize that there is this name that keeps popping up that is supposed to be a sister to Grandpa Jones, you can re connect with that source to look for her!

It has been stated in class, and out, and I have heard this over and over and over…I don’t need to get proof, cause ole cousin Jenny, who is my fourth cousin three times removed already did all this, and she sent it to me. Please oh please don’t take this as gospel folks. Jenny’s immediate family might be absolutely 100% right but by the time she got to that second great grandparent; she might not have bothered to look for the proof. She might have taken the word of some other researcher who “thinks” this is the truth. Or who heard it from another. I always tell people who are new found “cousins” that the information I have forwarded them contains many pieces of a puzzle, some I have proof for, and some is from the compiled genealogy of another. That way, the proof falls on them. If they are close cousins, I not only share my information, but my source as well. Do not trust something as the truth simply because you found some web page that contained. Just cause it is on the Internet doesn’t mean it is the truth!

You always have the option to check the census if it is available, just to see if you can corroborate the information.

We will be doing a lesson soon on the census, what you can find, and where you can find it.