Both genealogy professionals and hobbyists know that analyzing evidence properly is of key importance in order to reach sound, researched conclusions. Evidence is the basis for "proving" our family lines. There are three categories with evidence fall under: Record sources, Information source, and Types of evidence.
Record Sources: see yesterday's post for definitions and examples.
1. Original or Direct
2. Derivative
3. Authored Family Histories
Information Source: see yesterday's post for some of my personal experiences
1. Primary - information given by a person present at the event: birth certificate, marriage license, baptism record, confirmation record, land records, etc
2. Secondary - information given by a person not present at the event, hearsay evidence: death certificate, obituaries, findagrave info, etc
3. Undetermined - it's not possible to determine the informant: census records, tax records, etc
Types of Evidence:
1. Direct - the research question is answered by a single piece of evidence. For example, a birth certificate answers what the birth date is.
2. Indirect - direct information cannot be found to answer a question, but other relevant evidence can be combined to provide an answer. For example, an obituary and death certificate can be used to determine a birth date. REMEMBER: the information of death certificates and obituaries are secondary information. That makes them only as accurate as the person giving the information.
3. Negative - this is the hardest to define and understand. the blog, Ancestralfindings, gives a wonderful definition and examples. This technique can help break down the brick wall in your family tree.
While at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, I overheard the phrase, "If it's not documented, it didn't happen." This comment has driven us in our quest to make sure we analyze evidence properly in order to reach a sound conclusion, and then cite our evidence.
Happy Hunting, until next time.
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