Hi everyone!
Here's an interesting article from Rootsweb Review that's "food for
thought".
Rick B
====================
Previously published in RootsWeb Review: 27 July 2005, Vol. 8, No. 30.
Striving for Perfection
You might say Paula PERFECT fits her name, well, perfectly. She wants
everything to be error-free. When she married Stewart STICKLER all of
her friends laughed and knew this was a marriage made in heaven when
Paula became Paula (PERFECT) STICKLER.
To say that Paula is obsessive/compulsive about perfection is
an understatement. Her favorite pastime is family history research and
Paula's friends have an arsenal of "Perfect Paula" stories about her
attempts to achieve perfection in genealogical record keeping.
There's the tale about her scribbling in a history book to correct a
typographical error. Then there was the time Paula, flashlight and tools
in hand, was apprehended by the night watchman at the local cemetery
where her great-grandparents are buried. She was caught red-handed
trying to "correct" the spelling on her great-grandfather's stone from
GREEN to GREENE.
The family Bible entry showed that great-grandpa GREENE had been born on
March 22 and that is the day he'd always celebrated his birthday.
When Paula obtained a copy of his birth certificate she noted the date
of birth was listed as March 23. Now most people would just shrug off
a one day difference in the birth date of an ancestor who has been dead
for more than 30 years -- but not Paula. She sent in a photocopy of the
Bible record along with a sworn affidavit that Silas GREENE had always
celebrated his birthday on March 22nd -- and demanded that the state
correct its record.
A tad over the top? But look how many of us approach "errors" we find in
online databases at RootsWeb. If you find a user-submitted family tree
that includes your ancestor and his name is spelled GREEN when you have
never seen it spelled other than GREENE, do you demand that the
submitter (or worse yet RootsWeb) change the spelling?
Does it really make a difference and have you considered that the
submitter may well have found great-grandpa's name spelled GREEN in
records he uncovered that you have not yet discovered? Name spelling
variations are common in genealogical records. Only greenhorns insist on
a particular spelling of their family names. It is not unusual to find
an ancestor's name spelled two or more ways in the text of a deed or a
will and then quite often the signature will vary from the spelling(s)
in the document itself.
Does it really matter whether great-grandpa was born on March 22 or
March 23? Is it not more important to prove his parentage and the
connection between the generations than whether he was born one minute
before or after midnight on a given date?
When you find online user-submitted data that conflicts with your
research information, take the time to check the source of the
information listed by the submitter (if provided, of course). Then,
follow up by contacting the submitter to further review any serious
discrepancies between your data and his. If you are unable to reach the
submitter, he/she does not respond, and/or the two of you cannot come
to an agreement and you feel strongly that your interpretation of the
evidence needs to be represented, upload your file with sources and
explanatory notes. This enables others to review the data in both files
and decide for themselves which to believe. Nothing counteracts
erroneous data more forcefully than having a genealogy with well-
substantiated evidence and cited sources online.
RootsWeb does not edit, alter or remove genealogical data from someone's
online database just because you feel you can prove something is
inaccurate or differs from what you have in your files. The world is
filled with conflicting genealogical information -- in books, on CDs, in
online files, and on tombstone inscriptions. Even official documents,
such as birth records, contain inaccuracies.
For those of you, like Paula (PERFECT) STICKLER, who are concerned about
pinpoint accuracy in genealogical records, the starting point should be
with your own database. Have you checked it to be sure it is error-free?
Use the error-finding and fixing capabilities of your genealogy software
program to locate inconsistencies and improbabilities. Do you have
anyone in your database whose birth, marriage, and death dates are
inconsistent or improbable -- such as marrying after they die, living to
be 176 years old, or a woman giving birth at age three?
Make certain that your database includes sources for all information.
Your sources might range from a family Bible entry to a vital record,
military record, or an interview with a much older cousin. All are your
sources and represent how you came to know these pieces of informa-
tion you have included in your file. Even thought there might be 10
incorrect (and unsourced) databases with the same individual for whom
you have listed a source in your file, your inclusion of a verifiable
source will help to outweigh incorrect data in the other family trees.
RootsWeb's WorldConnect (
http://wc.rootsweb.com/) is an excellent place
to share your family tree. Combined with Ancestry World Tree for viewing
and searching, it represents the largest family tree database on the
Internet -- truly a place for genealogists the world over to meet and
share data with their cousins. Even Paula (PERFECT) STICKLER understands
the benefit of uploading her own PERFECT family tree to WorldConnect.