Friday, May 11, 2012

A is for AUTHENTICATE

It is so important to ensure that information obtained is correct.  Authenticate all information.

When I first started researching I happily copied information from Ancestry and other sources only to find out later that a large portion of it was incorrect.  Mistakes get copied from tree to tree.

I have even found several headstones where dates have differed from the death certificates.

Alot of information included in family history books and handed down through the family has been incorrect also.   For example, my great great grandparents wedding date had been brought forward two years in all family records and family tree books.  On ordering certificates to authenticate information, I found that my great grandmother was an "instant baby" born two months after the wedding of her parents. My grandmother would be absolutely disgusted if she was still alive.  My grandmothers family were very proper and religious.  When I moved in with my boyfriend (who is now my husband) my grandmother said to me "Sharon, I did not think that you would get involved in this barn yard caper".

It takes longer to correct mistakes than it does to ensure the information is correct in the first instance.

When I started researching I was trying to do it on the cheap but have learnt that if you are serious about researching your family then it is very important to order certificates to authenticate information.  It is amazing how much additional information (and the leads) you can receive from certificates.

My Tip:  Don't believe anything (treat it as a lead) until you have verified or Authenticated information.  Also keep your sources and notes on how you obtained information for future reference.

My Top 2 Websites: 
www.bdm.vic.gov.au
www.familysearch.org





2 comments:

  1. Great post Sharon. My Great Uncle has the wrong year of birth on his headstone. When I noticed it my cousin argued with me, until I said your Dad is recorded as being born in Dec 1907, my Grandfather was born in March 1908. So as I have a birth certificate, we appear to have a miracle on our hands! My great Uncle was born in Dec 1906, & there were no miracles!

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  2. First up Sharon, congrats on beginning your blog - welcome to the world of geneablogging!! And what a fabulous post you've started with ... AUTHENTICATION is something that sadly, is so often neglected by so-called researchers these days. It is good to have a reminder as to just how important it really is to do so.

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