Documentation Made Easy:
It’s All About Sources
By Doris Bateman
Documentation: A seemingly scary word that just means recording the info you found and where you got it.
Goals of this class:
 Learn why documentation is important
 Understand the vocabulary
 Learn how to document your sources
Evolution of documentation: WHY should anyone bother?
 So you can find the source again
 If you know where the information comes from, you can better evaluate its worth
 If you know where you’ve been, it helps you know where you are and where you are going
 It makes your research worth something:
 Good research vs. Just an opinion
 It helps other researchers to find the same info
“Documentation has two purposes, to provide the location of a source and to communicate the strength of
our sources. Good citation does more than locate the source; it provides a quick, visual indication of its
quality.”1
The quality of the sources we use and document will determine the quality of our research. Your research quality
determines whether others will want to use your information, and share theirs with you in return.
Standards for good research have evolved over time.
 In the beginning, researchers recorded vague sources or no sources
 The LDS church requested more specific sources
 Then came the realization that a source should be linked to each event
 The book ‘Evidence’ by Elizabeth Shown Mills changes it all
 Up to date family history software makes using her approach easier
 The old definitions no longer worked as well for all aspects of our digital age.
 Luckily, Elizabeth Shown Mills wrote the classic work about documentation. It was titled ‘Evidence’
 Next, she wrote ‘Evidence Explained’ so that lay people could get even more from her work.
 She introduced a standardized vocabulary and format that is currently accepted by all major genealogical
institutions.
Part I: Sources: What is a source?
A source is anything you get your information from:
 A book, birth certificate, census record, person, internet site, etc.
The way we think about sources is changing…It used to be primary vs. secondary
Sources are now labeled original or derived
 Original: Something that didn’t come from a prior record.
Example: An original handwritten patriarchal blessing
 Derived: Something copied, or extracted, from another record like the extract that a paid researcher made
from a parish register
Example: Elizabeth Man Lesson: Whenever possible view the original source!
Elizabeth S. Mills wrote this basic principle:
“Sources provide Information from which we select Evidence for Analysis.” 2
Part II: Information
What is Information?
Information is the data contained in the source--Dates, Names, Places, Relationships, Etc…
The information can be primary, secondary, or a combination of both
 Primary Information: Recorded close to the time of the event by someone with 1st hand knowledge of the
event.
 Secondary information: everything else.
Primary or Secondary Information?
Birth Certificate, Death Certificate, Journal, Newspaper clipping, Census, etc.
Good Research vs. Opinion
 Wherever possible you need primary source verification for your names, dates, and places.
 If primary sources do not exist, a case can be built by using several secondary records that are in agreement.
 Remember, “by the mouths of two or more witnesses, shall the truth of all things be established.” D&C: 6:28
What is Evidence?
 Direct when it directly answers the research question
 Indirect when it gives clues to the answer of the research question, or
 Negative when it does not contain information that answers the question that should be there.
Part III: Citation
Citation: exactly where in the source you found the information
ie. Page number, folio number, etc.
 A good citation is specific to the event.
 A good citation is detailed enough that someone else can find the same information easily.
 For example:
Newspaper Item:
Charles G. Ferris obituary, Van Wert, Ohio, Van Wert Weekly Bulletin, 21 September 1888, p. 4, col. 3.
The 6 elements of a good source citation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Author: Who provided the information
Title: Title, obviously
Publication info: Publisher, Location
Date of the info: Usually the year
Location of the source you used: Library/Archive/Repository, call #, and/or URL
Reference to the specific info: Page, entry, line, document #, etc.
Part IV: Citations in Online Trees: Easier than Ever
How to add citations to two popular online trees
Family Tree in FamilySearch.org
Add a source from within Family Search
Step 1: Find a source in that applies to your ancestor.
Step 2: Copy the text and attach the record to your ancestor and other family members.
Add a source from elsewhere on the Web
Step 1: Under Sources, choose “Create a New Source”
Step 2: In a new tab, open the website that has the source. (i.e. “find a grave.com”)
Step 3: Copy & Paste the website address and desired info into the source you are creating, and name it.
Or, if you have an image of the source, click “Add a Memory” and add it now.
Step 4: Click “Save”
Note: you can also use this method if you find a record in Family Search that the search engine doesn’t find!
Ancestry.com: Add a source to your Ancestry Tree
In order to sync Ancestry Information to Family Tree, you MUST:
1. Have a free LDS-Ancestry account
2. Put a Personal Tree on Ancestry.com
3. Use the “old view”
Step 1: In ancestry, find a source that applies to your ancestor
Step 2: Copy the text and attach the record to your ancestor and other family members. Paste important text into
“Description”
Step 3: Sync the source with the record on Family Tree:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Go to the Profile page of an ancestor (in ancestry.com)
Click on “Sign in to Family Search”
Sign in with your LDS account user name and password
On the drop-down menu, click on “Connect person to Family Search”
If the person is in Family Tree:
e. Choose the name that displayed under “Find Best Matches” And Click “Connect Person”
OR… If you know the Family Search ID, choose “Find match by Family Search ID,” enter the ID #, and Click
“Connect Person”
If the person is not in Family Tree:
e2. Click “Add to FamilySearch”
f.
g.
h.
i.
Click “Compare person on FamilySearch”
Click by the paper clips (example: “Compare 7 sources & reason”) to tag source to the event.
Scroll down the page. Click in the box of the source you desire to sync.
Click “Save Changes.”
Step 4: Copy/Paste pertinent information from the source into notes in Family Tree so it will be available to those
who don’t have an Ancestry.com subscription, assuming you want to be helpful to others.
Bibliography…
1 Ancestry Insider Blog, http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com/2011/04/citations-have-two-purposes.html April 6, 2011
Proving Your Past: Quickly and Easily Adding Source Citations to Your Online Family Tree.
Ancestry.com.[<http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=11870&cj=1&o_xid=0001029688&o_lid=0
001029688>] Sept 9, 2009.
Howells, Mark. “Cite For Sore Eyes -Quality Citations for Electronic Genealogy Sources”.
Ancestry.com.[<http://learn.ancestry.com/LearnMore/Article.aspx?id=782&cj=1&o_xid=0001029688&o_lid=0001029
688>] Sept 9, 2009.
“Internet Citation Guide for Genealogists”. Progenealogists.com Internet Site
[<http://www.progenealogists.com/citationguide.htm>] Sept 9, 2009.
“Introduction to Genealogy; Lesson 4h: Source Citations for Civil Vital Records.” InternetSite:About.com.
[<http://genealogy.about.com/library/lessons/blintro4h.htm>]
Sept 9, 2009.
Seaver, Randy. Dear Genea-Man: What is Proof? (Revisited)” Genealmusings Blog Posted: 07 Sep 2009 04:10 PM PDT.
[<http://www.geneamusings.com/2009/09/dear-genea-man-what-is-proof-revisited.html>] (good info on evaluating
evidence)
Wylie, John. “How to Cite Sources”. Genealogy.com [<http://www.genealogy.com/19_wylie.html>] Sept 9, 2009.
(good, concise examples)