Use the following ten steps to discover your genealogy .

1.  Every section of a family history should be as extensive as possible.  Strive to assemble an accurate account of each family.  Someday, we will be the ancestors.  Those who come after us will appreciate working with correct information as they compile their genealogy.

2.  Avoid being a copyist. Do  pull together as much information as you can for proper assessment .   Just because it is in print does not make it a true statement.  Many early  family histories were based on  wishful thinking .

3.  A  famly history ,  to be of value should cite  the sources that were collected in the records .  Use a reference list and assemble your own research,  when possible.  Another person’s interpretation of the data may not be accurate .  duplicating another person’s error only makes it that much worse .

Sources of  data fall into one of two  categories, secondary and primary.  Primary sources are those statements or records , verbal or written, made near or at the   time the event occurred .  The information will be an eyewitness or someone associated with the event . The  quest to find primary sources should be obvious . A secondary source comes from a non-witness, or  one not associated with the occurrence .  The recollection maybe may have been made later , from memory.  Information sources will be found in many different types of documentations including vital records, census and obituaries .

4. Do not procrastinate .  Relatives can give eye witness versions which may never be found elsewhere.   A life time of “tomorrows’ may be needed to find the answer to a question  that could have been asked “today” .

5.  With records ,  there are two criteria to judge credibility.  Are the records original, or copies?  An original is the initial transcription of an happening in  conformity with the prescribed law or custom.  

The event may be noted in one or more orginal records.  The birth of a  child could be recorded in Vital Statistics, in the Church Register,  and in a Family Bible.  These records   would be considered considered orginals because,  in each case, it was the initial entry of  that birth in that  locality.  A copied record is one that has been  transcribed, compiled, or copied from another record.  The other record may have been  an original, or it may have been a copy .  Each time a copy is  made there is a chance for error.  Every new copy ,   the greater the possible number of errors .

6.  A certified copy  is an official copy, but it still is a copy, and is subject to error.  This  problem has been  partially eliminated with use of  scanning or photocopying .   A  scan of an original  record can be considered  as good as the original.

7.  No genealogy can be considered  close to completion unless research is done for each  member of the family.  No one should be overlooked and no one should be excluded.

8.  A name should be recorded as the entire name.  Avoid using ditto marks.  Always record the entire names of the children  on a family group sheet or in your computer database .  When If a person has been known by a nickname,  include it. 

9.  If you find a  nickname has been used, such as  Beth, on some documents, and or nickname for the same individual on  other records, ensure you make note of both the names.

10.  A child born out of wedlock assumes the mother’s name in most cases.

Use these ten steps to guide your genealogy knowledge.

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