The other day I was taking an online survey for genealogists. Part way through the survey I came across a question that stopped me in my tracks. I thought I would share it with you and get your opinion.
The question started out simply enough. Check off the
sources you have used from the following.
- Obituaries
- Newspaper articles, announcements and advertisements
- Old atlases and maps
- Living relatives
- Court records
- Old photographs
- Family records and heirlooms, including a family bible
- Church records
- Family Search, International Genealogical Index or Ancestral file (LDS resources)
- Other online databases (Ancestry, FindMyPast, Scotland’s People)
- Professional Genealogists
- Land Records
- Military records
- Censuses
- Tax and Assessment Rolls
- Wills, Estates, Probate records
- Gravestones and cemetery records
- Local Histories
- Social Security Records
- Telephone books, city directories, provincial or state directories
- Funeral Home Records
- Government Vital Records – births, marriages, deaths
- Ships passenger’s lists
- Immigration Records
- Google maps, Google street view
Needless to say, I checked most all of them.....right....as
any good genealogist would.
However, the next question left me a bit dazed and confused.
Of the above listed sources which were the most important
and why?
Huh..... for a genealogist this is like asking a mother to choose
which one of her babies, her precious children are her favourites. In fact they wanted me to pick my top three. I had to give this some thought, there were a few things I had to
consider.
It depends on which one of my family surnames I would be
taking into account. Each surname brings its own set of special challenges. As so each one of my children.
It depends on what point in my research I am referencing, some documents were more important in the
early going as opposed to now. Do I choose based on now or way back at the beginning? We all know those babies were so cute in the
early days, lest we forget the sleepless nights and diapers.
Then, I just can’t get past the fact that no document is an
island. Any genealogist, worth their salt knows that it takes a combination of
documents to tell the story. No document on its own can singularly take on the responsibility
of your family history, just as it takes
the unique personalities of my children to create our family.
Then I tried to think if I only had access to one document
which one would that be? Again a tough call because each ancestor in my tree
has revealed themselves through a variety of documents. Each one brings it strengths to the equation
just like all my children. Each one has their own personality and although they
all have their strengths and weaknesses, you love them all equally. How could I every choose.
For instance, I think most would say vital statistics are
very important, however, I have found more information on census documents and in obits then in some birth certificates. However, without a vital record, it’s hard to
know for sure your chasing the right person.
Then I could say passenger lists, because for some of my
family, passenger lists and linking them to their homeland, and uncovering the
story of their arrival has been an important part of my research.
How do I choose, and why should I have to? Well I did
against my better judgement.
1.
My first choice was passenger lists, I have
found a couple that have really opened the door to a few of my ancestors and I am
desperately looking for a couple more that I hope will do the same. I’m afraid they just simply don’t exist.
2.
My second choice is vital statistics, as stated earlier;
they really do help you to know if you’re following the right person. However,
I have found a few birth certificates that frankly still left me wondering.
My third choice is census documents – let’s face it they really do
contain a wealth of information, and by putting several of them together; you
really begin to see a person’s life, an entire family and a community.
Hmmm..... maybe census documents should have been first, now I’m rethinking
this.
What do you think?
If you had to rate your babies, your precious genealogy sources, what
would be your top three?
Because I have so many original documents already saved by my grandparents and parents that reveal so much information, I may not be the best one to answer this. But here goes. Church records tops my list because I learned more from information that goes way back from them than anything else -- and it wasn't information my grandparents could have saved. Ships Manifests are second of my thrills from this list -- I learned so many details, including where they had first traveled after arrival (turns out my grandfather listed one of the first people to leave from his area of Transylvania as his contact -- per a historical book on those immigrants)!. Finally I'd say government vital records are crucial. Again, I had a lot of this, but to know these dates and places of births and marriages is critical for placement in time.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...now you got me thinking again. Church records were huge in my French Canadian research, come to think about it my Polish research as well.
ReplyDeleteFor me, my top document would have to be the "hidden" church record which was the one and only place my ancestor named his place of birth. Without that it would be a major road block. So church records would be my first choice for early Australian records.
ReplyDeleteSecond: passenger and immigration documents.
Third: it's a raffle -how to choose?
As to the other documents I like your analogy of rating your babies.
My favorite is "Land Deeds". I just love it when I find one entitled "Division of the Lands of xxx" and it goes on to name all the children including their spouses and sometimes the grand children. It's up near the top of my list along with Vital Records and Obitaries.
ReplyDeleteCharlie