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| Fact or Fiction: How to Know When You Have a True Lead |
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| Written by Shelly B. | |
| Friday, 29 September 2006 | |
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In your Family Research The decision to build a family genealogy involves knowing where to look and how to find the correct information. One of the difficulties that will crop up when researching family history is discovering leads that do not ring true about your history. Consequently, it is important to be sure when you have a true lead in your family research and when it is simply misinformation that you can disregard. There are a few ways to aid you in determining whether your family research is fact or fiction. The first thing that will help you recognize if your family research is true is by being aware of the kind of evidence that is being used in the information. Direct evidence is recorded information that needs no interpretation or continued research. This is the best way to be sure that you have a family lead. If you have direct evidence, it will clearly fit into other evidence that you have found. No interpretation is required, only the date that it was recorded, the people involved, or events that were occurring. Indirect evidence, though, is usually information based on circumstances. This is second hand information. It does not lead directly to your family history and still needs more effort and search. Discovering the fundamental facts for your genealogy not only includes finding primary sources and checking their validity, but also documenting accurate facts. When cross checking information, always explore 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 rate as primary sources. These will help you to establish a foundation when documenting your genealogical history. From here, you will be able to combine other sources from magazines and newspapers to your genealogy. The source that you are referring to, is another thing to consider when sifting between true or false information regarding your family. Every source, whether found on a website or in a newspaper, should be checked in order to be sure it is of good quality. The first type of sources that you should direct your attention to are those that recorded the events of your ancestors when they took place. These are the best sources with which to establish real leads in your family research. The dates and people mentioned in these types of sources can help point you in the right direction. Secondary sources, on the other hand, are records that were added after a significant amount of time passed and could be flawed by faulty memory etc. While these can help to fill in some missing areas in your research, they will also call for some dilligent effort to establish the most accurate evidence. The information that is gleaned from the sources, should always have additional information attached to them, 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 may be questionable links to your actual lineage. After you have gathered 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. Doing so will lead to more accurate and consistent information about your family history. It will also allow you to filter out contradictory information that you previously thought to be direct or secondary evidence. When you find leads, it is essential to decide what missing areas need to be filled in, allowing you to validate the information about your ancestry. By thoroughly investigating genealogical information, you will be more apt to find the correct data you want. Documenting sources, cross checking information, filling in the missing pieces, and finding vital primary sources, will all help to guarantee that you are discovering factual information about your family tree. By not investigating and double checking the details of your family history, you may encounter false information or unreliable sources that can take you along the wrong path in the discovery of your genealogy. |
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