Information Baby Steps: Difference between revisions

This class teaches industry best practices (the BCG Genealogical Proof Standard and associated Evidence Analysis Research Process ) established by the country’s foremost genealogists. From ''sources'' we find ''information''. From ''information ''we select ''evidence''. From ''evidence ''we make ''conclusions''. ''Conclusions'' reference ''citations''. ''Citations ''point back to ''sources''.  

Many erroneous pedigrees exist in print or on the Internet. Some are the results of careless research or typographical errors which are propagated from pedigree to pedigree. Some are out-right fraudulent. Fraudulent genealogies are often created to qualify for membership in lineage societies such as the Sons of the American Revolution or the Mayflower Society. Gustave Anjou, a rather famous perpetrator, fabricated genealogies as a professional genealogist.  

Primary information carries more weight than secondary information. “Information is primary if it was made orally or in writing (or even pictorially as in a painting or photograph) by someone in a position to know firsthand (such as an eyewitness or participant) and recorded in a timely manner while memory is fresh.”  

The timing of creation of the record affects its accuracy. The longer an eyewitness waits to record an event, the more their memory is subject to error. The information is considered secondary when not recorded promptly. It should be kept in mind that whether considered primary or secondary, we consider the accuracy of the information to decline over time.  

The quality of the information is affected by the informant, the person who supplied the information. How did he get his information? Was he an eyewitness? Was he biased? The quality of the information is affected by the recorder. Was he acting in an official capacity?  

The quality of the information is affected by the motivations of the informant and the recorder. Many military records contain erroneous birth dates provided by volunteers too young to sign up. Pensioners may lie about eligibility requirements such as length of service or marriage date. People may claim to be older or younger than they actually are. Applicants may fabricate information to qualify to join a lineage society.  

When primary information is copied from an original, the information remains primary, even though the new source is a derivative source. Level 4: Proficient Genealogists Understanding the information we see in records depends on understanding the world in which it was recorded and the reasons for why it was recorded. As the old saying goes, “times, they are a changing.” Definitions change. Standards evolve. Laws are created or amended. Paradigms shift. Context is always evolving.  

As an example, genealogists hate alphabetized census records because alphabetizing all the names removes information about who lived next to whom. Elizabeth Shown Mills faced such a problem with a tax list organized by first letter of last name. She noticed groups of strictly alphabetized surnames seemed to match the tax officials’ visits to neighborhoods. This information allowed her to break through a longstanding brick wall.