Hello,
Recently I was using Find A Grave search <
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi
> and found the graves of the Carpenters who I was seeking. Those who upload
information to FAG and its sister Billion Graves <
http://billiongraves.com/pages/search/ > are much appreciated and and they are great
tools.
But it became obvious that the person entering the FAG record was not very accurate and
had entered the dates wrong. A picture of the headstone clearly showed the difference.
A death certificate image added to the same FAG record was for the same person, and while
almost identical to the headstone info, the date was two days off.
I duly recorded all information as is and the conflicts seen into my genealogy notes.
This is but one reason why we need to evaluate ALL available evidence and not rely on just
one or two bits of information. Census records, grave records and indexes are not direct
or primary records. But, are excellent to show a trend or progression of someone and used
as secondary sources.
Remember people are human. People are not perfect.
Many grave or head stone carvers were illiterate or barely literate. There was no spell
check for them! They had to copy what was given them or in some cases carve/chisel what
was sketched on the stone. Often newer or replacement stones try to correct errors and
many do. Unfortunately, some newer stones reflect poor genealogy and propagate myths or
other errors. Net result is that you need to document what you find and compare
information to other records.
A census enumerator is often putting down what he (or later she) hears or what they think
they heard. I have a German line that went to New York City where they stayed for two or
three years before going to South Carolina. On most of the census records they are
recorded on they are all born in NY. Why? Because in the place of where the person was
born the enumerator asked, Where ya all from? Well, they were from New York because the
enumerator did not ask where they were born. In a later census, most of the original
family is finally listed as born in Germany.
An official death certificate can also have errors even though it is an original or
official document. Again, while many are accurate, some have errors because of humans. I
have seen uncorrected and corrected typos and just wrong information on death
certificates. They key is to look who supplied the information. Most records have that on
them. The person submitting the information may not be the best person with the most
accurate facts.
Again, all of the above are good reminders of why we need to evaluate ALL the evidence we
find. Document everything you find including conflicting information. Do not rely on any
single source, even original or official sources that are considered primary documents or
sources. Without multiples sources you may never realize something is in error.
Your goal is to eventually evaluate and try to resolve discrepancies. But, remember ...
DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT & DOCUMENT.
John R. Carpenter
Carpenter Cousins Project
http://carpentercousins.com