On the subject of building accurate, easy to follow pedigrees:
The following is an excerpt from the latest newsletter from Pat Gooldy of Ye Olde Genealogy Shoppe in Indiana:
"One of the pitfalls in searching huge databases is the peril of finding a name and assuming that is the individual for which you are searching when indeed that gentleman is not the right age, not in the right place, and indeed, is not related to your fellow at all. That only leads to mythology, not genealogy, and many miffed and confused descendants wondering why they can not follow the scenario for the family you have built. You are building not a pedigree, but a nightmare for your descendants.
Genealogy means many small steps taken in the effort to build a pedigree. Each step must be tested in many ways to be sure it is not a mis-step. The larger the database, the more options you have, but also the more risk of making a mistake".
Emilie Garcia
Port Orchard, WA ----
References: Genealogy Pitfalls
Thanks Emilie for this. For those that aren't already doing so you need
to add details to your individuals and above all REFERENCE where you
found the information so others can come behind you and REPRODUCE and
CONFIRM your findings and more importantly carry them further. You need
to build a good foundation. Even if you are starting with Oral History
you need to reference the person who told it to you, when, what age they
were, where they told it to you, basically everything about that person
including the relationship to you.
joseph
===================
Joseph Puentes
http://H2Opodcast.com (Environment Podcast)
http://NuestraFamiliaUnida.com (Latin American History)
Emilie Garcia wrote:
> On the subject of building accurate, easy to follow pedigrees:
>
> The following is an excerpt from the latest newsletter from Pat Gooldy of Ye Olde Genealogy Shoppe in Indiana:
>
> "One of the pitfalls in searching huge databases is the peril of finding a name and assuming that is the individual for which you are searching when indeed that gentleman is not the right age, not in the right place, and indeed, is not related to your fellow at all. That only leads to mythology, not genealogy, and many miffed and confused descendants wondering why they can not follow the scenario for the family you have built. You are building not a pedigree, but a nightmare for your descendants.
>
> Genealogy means many small steps taken in the effort to build a pedigree. Each step must be tested in many ways to be sure it is not a mis-step. The larger the database, the more options you have, but also the more risk of making a mistake".
>
> Emilie Garcia
> Port Orchard, WA ----