And that's why, any time I view other people's family trees on Family Search or Ancestry, I go straight to the sources. This allows me to retrace the steps of any family history researcher and examine the evidence for myself. I analyze and weigh the details of every piece of evidence. If the evidence seems solid, I add it to my tree, cite the source(s), and factor it into my genealogical conclusion.
If a tree has no sources, I move on--nothing to see. Family stories and relatives' memories are only a starting point--we need actual evidence to construct a reliable family tree. Too often, family trees posted online use other family trees as the source (a la the sources titled "Ancestry Family Trees"). Sorry, not good enough for the Genealogical Proof Standard.
Sources for other people's trees, if any, will be hiding in plain sight.* At the top, a family tree on Family Search, with the button "print family with sources" circled in dark green near the bottom of the image. Click, and up pops a pdf of a family group record followed by pages of full sources (like the ones below).
* Thanks very much to reader Marian, who pointed out that on the profile page of each person in Family Search, there are sources listed. Clicking on a fact will bring up any linked sources--then click on the sources to see the documents. I print the list so I can check which I have and which I haven't seen before by comparing with my tree.
PS: Yes, my neighbor knows about the Crandall Family Association. She's actually done a ton of research. We were spot-checking dates and spelling by looking at sources connected with other people's trees.
PPS: Above, from a tree that will be nameless (to protect the guilty), one reason why I distrust trees without sources. Jean must have had quite a wedding in 1805, considering she's listed as dead by 1790.
Interesting. I don’t often look at trees on FamilySearch, but the times I did I never noticed the options. I will definitely pay closer attention next time.
ReplyDeleteOn FamilySearch, there is a Sources section on each person's profile page, where all of the sources are listed, so we don't have to create a family group sheet to see the sources.
ReplyDeleteTo get more specific about sources on FamilySearch, we can click on a fact (a birth place, for example), on a person's profile page, and it will list the sources for that particular item.
Typically these source descriptions include clickable links that take us to the document image, to let us judge for ourselves: Does this document really show the stated fact?
As on Ancestry, if the person who posted the stated fact on FamilySearch has not linked in a source, it leaves us in the lurch, except that we can add the source(s) ourselves.
Finding the sources can be the bane of a genealogist's existence. I love good sources, but hate the ones that say "_____ Member Tree/s." Good to know where the buttons are hiding on different websites to uncover exactly what sources are being cited.
ReplyDelete