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When preparing to gather data from a document, keep in mind these three important pieces of a record’s history: | When preparing to gather data from a document, keep in mind these three important pieces of a record’s history: | ||
'''Events Listed in a Record''' <br> Most records were created to register events such as birth, death, or military service. Noteworthy happenings in a person’s physical, social, religious, family, civil, or private life were recorded by various jurisdictions. However, remember that not all information in a source is of equal value. [[Evaluate the Evidence#Nature_of_the_Information|Primary and secondary information]] can both be contained in one document (e.g., a birth date listed in a death record), so “it is invaluable to know if the information in a document is from primary, secondary, or tertiary sources.”<ref>Cottrill, “What Every Genealogist Should Know,” at http://www.progenealogists.com/sourcetypes.htm (accessed 5 December 2013).</ref> | '''Events Listed in a Record''' <br> Most records were created to register events such as birth, death, or military service. Noteworthy happenings in a person’s physical, social, religious, family, civil, or private life were recorded by various jurisdictions. However, remember that not all information in a source is of equal value. [[Evaluate the Evidence#Nature_of_the_Information|Primary and secondary information]] can both be contained in one document (e.g., a birth date listed in a death record), so “it is invaluable to know if the information in a document is from primary, secondary, or tertiary sources.”<ref>Cottrill, “What Every Genealogist Should Know,” at https://web.archive.org/web/20140705130339/http://www.progenealogists.com/sourcetypes.htm (accessed 5 December 2013).</ref> | ||
'''The Locality Pertaining to the Record'''<br> Usually records are connected to a specific locality: a town, county, state, province, region, or nation. In order to find a person in a record, you must know the specific place (usually the town or county) where the person lived when the record was created. Remember that sometimes the place may have changed since the person lived there—it may have a new name or belong to a new county, province, or state. Gazetteers (geographic dictionaries) can help you determine this information. Also, see the discussion of [[Select Specific Records#Jurisdictions|Jurisdictions]]. | '''The Locality Pertaining to the Record'''<br> Usually records are connected to a specific locality: a town, county, state, province, region, or nation. In order to find a person in a record, you must know the specific place (usually the town or county) where the person lived when the record was created. Remember that sometimes the place may have changed since the person lived there—it may have a new name or belong to a new county, province, or state. Gazetteers (geographic dictionaries) can help you determine this information. Also, see the discussion of [[Select Specific Records#Jurisdictions|Jurisdictions]]. | ||