How to Document Genealogy Sources
Genealogy can be a casual hobby or a lifelong pastime as you trace your family and roots through past generations. As you compile information on your ancestors, it becomes vital to document your sources for your own future reference and for others who may use your research. Whether you have expansive information or mere anecdotes about a particular individual, it is important to follow a set standard process of six items for documenting your genealogy sources.
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Instructions
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1
List the name of the source or author of the information. For example, if your aunt Mabel tells you that your great grandfather was a farmer in the early 1900s in the town of Marine City, Mich., you would list Aunt Mabel as the source of your information.
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Notate the title of any record from which you compile source documentation. If you confirm Aunt Mabel's information by researching census records, you would note that the confirmation came from the 1900 census for Saint Clair County, Mich. This will allow others to easily duplicate your efforts and confirm your information.
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Record the publisher information as well as the location in which it was published. For example, if Aunt Mabel has a scrapbook that holds the obituary notice of your great grandfather the farmer, you would notate on your source record both the existence of the scrapbook and that the occupation was listed in the "Times Herald" newspaper obituary column and was printed in Port Huron, Saint Clair County, Mich.
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Date both the information source and the discovery. For our example, Aunt Mabel told you the story in February of 2009. You researched the census record at the library the next month and found that the census information was recorded on May 3, 1900. This will allow you to backtrack the source of your information if necessary, such as if the census states that your great grandfather was a laborer and not a farm owner. You will be able to take your source information back to Aunt Mabel and interview her for further details.
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Document where you found the information. For our example, when you found your great grandfather in the 1900 census, you would write that the information was found at the Mt. Clemens Public Library in Macomb County, Mich., and list the specific library call number where the census can be found.
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Reference the specific information by page, line and entry number, as well as any other information that will allow you and others to quickly locate the data. Although this may seem redundant because you have made a hard copy for your files, you may find that in a year or two you want to go back and look for neighbors or relatives who lived nearby. Having the specific information sourced will put the information at your fingertips within minutes.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep a running log of your research as you work. This will prevent you from going over the same territory, as your genealogy research may span years or decades.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit family tree image by Judy Ben Joud from Fotolia.com
