Jay, thanks for the ideas, and thanks for pointing out the clock
problem, my three year granddaughter is a real dandy computer operator,
and i will attribute that to her, and get it corrected shortly..
But so far I have looked at 5or 6 dates that have all had the obit day any
where from a year to 10 years off from what two different sources have,
but all the ages of the desceased have been correct. That is why I am
questioning it.
I think you are right about sending for the obits.
thanks
susan
----- Original Message -----
From: "Plain Jay" <plainj(a)ieee.org>
To: <INVIGO-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Monday, October 01, 2001 3:11 PM
Subject: [InVigo] Errors in Obit Dates - and Otherwise
Susan,
That your computer clock is one year off cannot explain the
problem -
since I doubt you live in a parallel universe one year different than
everyone
else! However, the setting of your computer clock is a simple
example of
"human error" which must always be considered in all genealogy endeavors.
Errors for example can come from -
1.) incorrectly reading dates - like from a weathered
tombstone
2.) transcription errors - computer or typewriter
keying
errors
3.) incorrect reporting by others who were working
from
"faulty" memory
4.) someone manufacturing data to fill in blanks on
forms
5.) erroneous knowledge reported as fact
6.) an error made by some other genealogist - yes we make
them
too
7.) etc. you name it
In the case of the Vigo County obituaries. Here is a way to clear
up
the problem. Request copies of the obituaries in question by the
date
which is
listed in the Vigo County Public Library indexes. If the obituary
cannot
be
found under that date you will be advised and you will know there is
an
error
in an index. When the library staff returns a copy of the obituary
index
to you
they will write on it the date of the newspaper from which it came.
The
date
on a newspaper is very reliable, although the staff could make an
occassional
error in reporting it to you. Then make adjustments from there. For
example
in a newspaper published January 1, 1900, "yesterday? would be
December
31, 1899.
Also remember that these dates are the publication dates, and do not
always
indicate when a person died, or when the person was buried. And of
course,
occassionally, the information reported to the newspaper can also
have
been in
error.
It never ends, but then that's part of the challenge.
Jay