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Archiver > ADVANCED-RESEARCH > 2005-05 > 1115442497


From: "Lisa Lepore" <>
Subject: Re: [ADVANRES] primary resource
Date: Sat, 7 May 2005 01:08:17 -0400
References: <20050505232039.6786.qmail@web90004.mail.scd.yahoo.com>


Vicki -

Your message makes perfect sense to me - you are trying to connect
your
ancestor to the correct family. You are trying to document the family
as best
you can, and so far have not found sufficient proof to tie him in to
one family
or another. I think your reasoning for using state X is sound for the
moment,
since it seems to be the only documentation you have right now. What
other
documentation do the others have that would have more weight than
these
census records?

From your last message, it sounds like many of the researchers of this
family
have chosen to use as proof a genealogy that was probably written a
long time ago,
and is generally considered to be the last word on the X family?

As wonderful as it is to find a respected genealogy or history that
contains your
family, just because it is published in a book, does not make it true.
One still
needs to find the original documents or some other pieces of
information that would
back up the statements in this book. A published work like this may
be no
more reliable than the census data, especially if it does not include
the sources.

If you haven't done it, get hold of this book and see exactly what is
given as the
source of the data. Then, try to find this source. You mentioned
Quaker records,
but I don't recall if you mentioned the state you are working in. If
you already know
which records you need to see, but don't know where to find them,
maybe someone
on the list can help with this. If you can't get hold of the book,
maybe you can give
us the name of it, and someone can help you locate that.

You mentioned marriage records - again, what city, county, state, are
you looking in?
The information will vary greatly or maybe not exist at all, depending
on the location.

Just because a guy is named Abraham Lincoln, it does not mean he is
the President's
relative. I think you are on the right track, and it's good to get
input from people
who have no association with this family, so they can give an unbiased
opinion.
I would just suggest to ask more specific questions so that someone
might be
able to point out a resource that can help you.

My 2 cents,
Lisa

----- Original Message -----
From: V Billings
To:
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 7:20 PM
Subject: Re: [ADVANRES] primary resource


1850 was the first census record I found him in. In this census he
was still living. The place of birth is listed as a state other than
the one he was living in. By the next census year he has died. The
children have all listed their father's state of birth as the one
their father first listed in the 1850 census. At this point, I have
no proof for either state. This is where the problem comes in though.
His surname is the same as a very large group who is researching this
surname. Although apparently they also have no written proof, He is
being included in this family as well as his children and their
children etc. Right now the written state of his birth is one the
group has surmised he had to have been born in making him fit into
their family. I've been told the state on the 1850 census may have
been listed because his family was traveling when he was born, or who
knows who gave this information, or I've seen on one site a woman just
says she has heard mentioned !
the state
of his birth as listed by him is wrong....she doesn't believe it. I
know I've made this e-mail terribly wrong, and I apologize. It's I
need someone who is smarter than I am to give me their input. I don't
care which family he is part of. When he is written about, though, I
would like the information to be correct. I'm reluctunt to give out
the information I have on my direct line. If the large group is wrong
about his place of birth and who he is, I would be adding my family in
which we don't belong. Does any of this make sense to anyone???
Gene Stuff <> wrote:
I think this depends on what other sources of information you have. In
many
cases census records are the only record I have of where someone was
born.
On the other hand, if I had a birth certificate created at the time of
the
birth that conflicted with the census, then I'd probably assume the
birth
certificate was correct, but I'd sure make note of the conflict. The
birth
state listed in the census may be somewhere that the family lived when
the
child was small. If the birth state is repeated in several census
years
then I'd give it more weight. That's pretty strong evidence that at
least
that's where the person thought they were born.

It's difficult to state unequivocally that one type of document is
always
more reliable than another. There are errors in every type including
primary vital records. All we can do is gather all the information we
can
and then make a judgement based on the weight of evidence.

KG

>From: V Billings
>Reply-To:
>To:
>Subject: Re: [ADVANRES] primary resource
>Date: Thu, 5 May 2005 05:57:44 -0700 (PDT)
>
>How much importance do you place on the census record...if any?
Primarily
>the person's state of birth. Consequently in later census records,
the
>children of this person also state their father was born in the state
that
>was first recorded.
>
>Vicki
>



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==== ADVANCED-RESEARCH Mailing List ====
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of its people, their respect for the laws of the land and
their loyalty to high ideals." - William Gladstone

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