Documenting A New Day

Wow, time sure flies by.  Kids are back to school and while currently being unemployed is not my ideal choice, I find myself with some free time to myself. Really glad to have some quiet time. So you ask, what will I do with it?

Well, I try to be organized but this is a fleeting thing for me. So I don't really know what I'll do with it today. There are a ton of things each genealogist will try to accomplish when they are working on things.  One is documentation. 

Documentation is the basis of what we do. If you have a family tree and you have no evidence to provide for how you came to those conclusions, then your tree is worthless. It's no more than a fairy tale; a Rougarou, a Bigfoot, a Yeti, and Sasquatch. :)

What documents do you need to make it real and true?  Here are a few of the basics if you want us to believe you.

- Proof of birth, to the parents that you claim are theirs.
- Proof of a marriage, to the wife you have listed.
- Proof of children you have connected to them. A Census is not necessarily proof of children, see "Proof of Birth"
- Proof of Death.

Why is a Census not considered necessarily reliable? Several reasons - It was not necessarily information that people kept at the front of their minds - Dad didn't always remember dates of birth or his wife's parents place of birth. How often does your spouse forget your anniversary for instance? There could be 10 John James in the same town and 100 in the same state, each with a son named John Jr and Mary.  And that generally if a census taker went and no one was home, they talked to a neighbor. Do you know your neighbors well enough to give all the information they need?

So today, when you are documenting your family tree, keep in mind where the evidence is coming from. Rate it on how reliable you think it should be, and then - take some salt and throw it over your shoulder for good luck!

Enjoy your Adventures in Genealogy!