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The Citizen Gene
WHAT IS PROOF? AND WHAT IS NOT?
By Sue Roe
In determining the one’s lineage to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), one needs to use Primary Sources to prove everything they say on their lineage page and to prove the service of their ancestor. Therefore, it is best thought a good idea to know the difference.
Primary Sources
Definition: A Primary Source is a record that was produced by an eye-witness to the event.
Primary Sources are the kind of sources we should all be looking for to document the events in the lives of our ancestors. These are the ones that provide the best possible proofs of the events in their lives. Examples of Primary Sources: Birth, Marriage, and Death Certificates; Church records of Baptisms and Burials: official court records; and other records where the person giving the information was actually present when the event occurred. With this kind of proof, we can’t go wrong. Only if we can’t find a Primary Source of any kind, should we consider using a Secondary Source to document our lineage.
Secondary Sources
Definition: A Secondary Source is one where the information is given by someone who was NOT an eye-witness to the event.
Secondary sources are based on a variety of things, but not on first hand knowledge. Examples: family tradition, torn lore, hand copies of hand copies of hand copies of primarily sources (The more they are copied, the more errors occur.), documents produced by people who were not present when the event occurred, compiled genealogies that are not thoroughly documented with Primary Sources. Secondary Sources are useful as clues and to fill in gaps when primary sources do not exist. But always use them with caution – most of them will not be acceptable for DAR proof. If you can’t find a Primary Source, then you need to use several Secondary Sources that are in agreement with each other to document the event.
There are two types of sources that need a little extra attention: census records and various types of compiled databases.
1. Census Records can be a Primary Source or a Secondary Source. If we had access to the 1990 US Census (we don’t), we could use it as a Primary Source, because the information on a modern census MUST be collected from an adult head of the household. In other words, a person is giving information about them self and their own children. I think it’s safe to assume that we all have first hand knowledge of our own birth date and those of our own children, so we could use the 1990 US Census as a Primary Source.
1.a. Unfortunately, this is not true of the US Census records that we have access to—1790 through 1930. Years ago, the persons collecting the census data got it wherever they could. If might have been from an adult head of household. I’m sure that it sometimes was. But just as often the information was given by a child, a neighbor, or the hired hand which was not first-hand knowledge. That’s why we find so many discrepancies in census records—and it’s why we cannot use the census as a Primary Source.
1.b. Another contributing problem was literacy. The further back we go, the more we encounter this problem. At the time of the earliest US Censuses, many people couldn’t even spell their own names so the census faker had to spell them phonetically—sometimes with interesting results! If you are looking for an ancestor on the census, you need to consider every conceivable spelling you can imagine.
2. Compiled data bases, such as World Family Tree or the LDS Ancestral File or a printed compendium of genealogy, are Secondary Sources that are useful only as clues, but cannot ever be used as proof of anything. This type of data base is generally not documented and, often, it isn’t even possible to find out who submitted the material. And, what’s more, some of the people who compile these data bases don’t care whether or not they are accurate. This type of source is not ever acceptable to prove DAR lineage.
SUGGESTED SOURCES FOR DOCUMENTING EVENTS
Birth
**Complete official birth records Baby Books
**Delayed birth records Newspaper announcements
Hospital birth certificates Baby Announcements
Family Bible records Social Security applications
Baptismal certificates Military pension records
Marriage
**Complete official marriage records Divorce records
Marriage Bond Family Bible records
Newspaper announcement of marriage Church certificate of marriage
Military pension records Census records (sometimes helpful)
Various court documents Town Clerk records
Death
**Complete official death records Church records
Obituary Military pension records
Mortuary records Probate records
Cemetery records and tombstones Social Security records
Burial permits Professional or fraternal organizations
Life Insurance records Town Clerks
NO TRUTH WITHOUT PROOF
Particular Records
Bible Record – If using a Family Bible Record you need to copy the Title page, copyright date and bible record entry page.
Newspaper Announcement Birth, Marriage or Obituary – Title page of newspaper showing the date and page of the announcement record. Newspaper have notaries so it is possible to get an Affidavit of Publication signed by the Notary Public resident at the Newspaper office. You can then have an Apostille issued buy the Secretary of State certifying the documents’ authenticity.
Town Clerks – New England and New York – A letter from a Town Clerk on their letterhead, dated and signed.
Mortuary or Cemetery - written records on their letterhead, dated and signed.
Land Records – Official Deed – Land Patent – Land Warrant – Bounty Land Warrant
Tombstone Records – Picture of Tombstone – Picture of Cemetery or gravesite
Social Security Application – You can write a letter to the Social Security Administration and request your ancestor’s original application. You must show your entitlement to this information.
Permission was granted for use of the above information which was originally provided by former NSDAR Samuel Ramsey Chapter Regent Sue Roe in her report given at a regularly scheduled Samuel Ramsey Chapter meeting. Thank you Sue!
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