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Archiver > OHADAMS > 2000-02 > 0949792835


From: HERMON B FAGLEY <>
Subject: Re: [OHADAMS] Accurate genealogy on the web
Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000 18:20:35 -0500


I wrote only 1 of two. You may, but let's wait awhile for Mr Sexton to
cool
down. I did not post to one of your lists for fear of setting him off.

On Sat, 5 Feb 2000 11:49:26 -0700 "Jean Dalrymple" <>
writes:
> Hermon, can I pass this on to my many lists? Jeannie <><
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From:HERMON B FAGLEY [mailto:]
> Sent:Saturday, February 05, 2000 9:14 AM
> To:
> Subject:[OHADAMS] Accurate genealogy on the web
>
>
> NTERNET GENEALOGY - WHAT'S GOOD! WHAT'S NOT!
> . . . AND WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
>
> by Bettie Cummings Cook, CG
>
> [Published in The Packet, Tri-State Genealogical Society,
> Evansville, IN, vol.XXII, no. 2 (Dec. 1998)]
>
>
>
> Before computers there were two kinds of genealogists. The
> experienced
> and
> the beginners. The experienced passed their knowledge to the
> beginners.
> The
> "experienced" covered degrees of knowledge from more than a beginner
> to
> years
> of work in the field. The work was too new to the beginner to do
> much
> adventuring except acquire blank family charts, work at finding
> dates and
>
> places, and take advantage of seminars, classes, and advice from
> friendly
>
> experienced genealogists. They learned as they went along about
> where,
> and
> how, to look for dates and places. If they did rush to judgment
> those who
> had
> worked at the problem longer quickly called them to task. They were
> usually
> chastised sufficiently to be more careful with future endeavors.
> Still--they
> learned and eventually passed into being experienced. Enter the
> undeserving
> villain . . . Internet Genealogy!
>
>
>
> What's Good!
>
> With the addition of the computer to the home the experienced
> genealogist
>
> became a computer-user and continued to apply his work habits and
> expertise
> with the aid of the computer. The world of the Internet opened
> boundless
> possibilities of accessing records to the genealogist. Email is an
> amazing
> convenience to make contact with others and receive an answer within
> minutes.
> The knowledge to be gained on subjects without leaving your chair is
>
> staggering. The genealogical sites of interest range from very
> interesting to
> ho-hum. There are records of federal, state, and local levels of
> government,
> library card catalogs, resource files that are easily downloaded,
> and
> sites
> dedicated to specific records such as land, marriages, etc. If you
> have
> great
> grandpa's gun he carried in the Civil War, you can learn about its
> make,
> model, and manufacturer by consulting a website on Civil War guns.
> An
> antique
> piece of furniture handed down in the family may be identified as to
> its
> age
> and maker from sites that discuss descriptive markings, styles, and
> time
> periods. You are not confined to US searches. Research on a family
> said
> to
> have owned and operated a winery in Germany led to a list on a
> German web
>
> site of existing wineries. Think of a subject and, except in rare
> instances,
> Internet has some data.
>
>
>
> What's Not!
>
> The Internet has developed a new group of family searchers.
> Unfortunately,
> the experienced genealogist is in the minority. There is new group
> of
> persons
> who know first how to use a computer and second want to locate
> others who
> can
> give them information about their families. Notice I do not call the
> second
> group genealogists because they are lacking in the skills to prepare
> them
> for
> productive research. Before Internet this person would have been the
> beginner
> genealogist sitting across the table from you in a library. The
> computer-user/researcher cruises the Internet hoping to find his
> family
> tree,
> unaware there is a more accurate way to find it using primary
> records.
> The
> cruiser, who in the past would have had no recourse except to go a
> genealogical library and learn the skills, now sets up a webpage or
> a
> newsgroup in quest of the answers. He contributes uncited
> "merry-go-round"
> bits to others. His heart is in the right place but his ability to
> do
> research is not. He is totally oblivious to the fact he is doing
> more
> harm
> than good both to himself and others.
>
>
>
> Is it ever safe to use undocumented material found on the Internet?
> Not
> unless you verify it first with proper sources. Some of it may be
> right
> but
> how much faith can you put in rehashed, regurgitated, uncited data?
> A
> typical
> appeal looks like . . .
>
>
>
> "my grandfather died July 4, 1920. Does anyone know who his parents
> were?"
>
> or
>
> "my Great Grandfather was John Right born 1848. He married Jane ?.
> They
> lived
> in New County and had seven children. I don't know their names . . .
> ."
>
>
>
> Most of us quickly assess these queries as being from beginners. And
> ask
> ourselves why haven't you looked in a census? Why don't you write
> for a
> marriage bond? Why don't you get a death certificate? Why are you
> taking
> up
> byte space and my time to read this unskilled query? It is easier to
> ignore
> this query than deal with it. But where will this searcher turn
> next? To
> undocumented websites, forums, and various tree programs on the
> 'Net. He
> finds and records incorrect data and passes it to another person.
> Thus,
> the
> data is repeated in the name of "helping"for the next twenty-five
> years.
> No
> one knows the data's origins but will not discard it because "it
> might be
>
> something."
>
>
>
> Recently a friend was horrified to learn an ancestor, to whom she
> devoted
>
> years of work in order to identify his parents, had been added to a
> different
> set of parents with the same surname on an Internet site. The data
> was
> added
> by a computer-user/searcher because his ancestor had a son by the
> same
> name.
> Now if you have any experience at all, you know how many times
> several
> men
> can have the same name! After a number of determined phone calls to
> everyone
> responsible for the error, she succeeded in having it removed. But
> not
> until
> she proved to the website her ancestor was a different man and sent
> an
> obituary for the correct man to prove he had died in another state.
> And
> worse, her well-documented work on the son and his descendants was
> included
> on the website. It had been contributed by still another person
> without
> giving credit to her for the work. It gave every appearance of being
> a
> good
> genealogy with citations . . . except for the one link between
> parents
> and
> the right son. This example of assuming and combining data to make a
> family
> "fit" ought to make you shudder.
>
>
>
> What Are We Going to Do About It?
>
> One of the most agreeable attributes of genealogists is their
> willingness
> and
> unselfishness in sharing data. Some of the nicest people one could
> ever
> hope
> to meet share my enthusiasm for research. We regale each other
> endlessly
> with
> our "finds." The faceless aspect of the Internet keeps us from the
> personal
> evaluation of others that takes place in a face to face encounter.
> The
> truth
> is, there are a very few unpleasant folks in genealogy. So it is
> hard to
> think ill of those pursuing their families on the Internet without
> research
> experience. If we could talk to them, we would treat them as we
> would the
>
> beginner sitting next to us in the library. So how do we treat a
> faceless
>
> beginner on the Internet? WE HELP THEM. Not by sending all the
> answers
> but by
> pointing out where they should look to find the answers. This person
> needs
> the experience of looking at a microfilmed census. Don't deny him
> the
> thrill
> of finding grandfather's death certificate for himself. There's no
> better
> way
> to convert the beginner to learning research skills than for him to
> make
> an
> exciting discovery.
>
>
>
> TELL them data must have citations. Let your data be good examples
> by
> always
> clearly citing your source. Give county, book, and page from which
> the
> record
> was taken. Cite published book sources with title, compiler,
> publisher,
> year
> published, and page. INSIST on receiving the same citations from
> others.
> Contact the websites, newsgroups, and databases and encourage them
> to ask
> for
> citations. Kindly and tactfully point out to web searchers
> information is
>
> useless without documentation. Direct them to local libraries and
> genealogical collections. Tell them what genealogical societies have
> to
> offer. Beginners are often under the mistaken notion that because
> they
> live
> far away from their ancestor's residence there is nothing in their
> locale
> of
> any use. Net-cruisers who are interested in genealogy must be made
> aware
> of
> how much they accomplish by using source records and learning skills
>
> necessary to locate family data. Finding a cousin is fine but no
> matter
> how
> much the cousin can tell you it still has to be verified. My posting
> to a
>
> surname website encourages everyone to cite his or her data. 1 am
> careful
> to
> post cited items and explain there is more to be found by examining
> that
> record. It is beginning to show results. The web master was
> reluctant to
> post
> my first message regarding citations for fear it might offend
> someone.
> Surprisingly (to him) some readers of the site wrote and agreed. The
> surname
> site is developing into a source of information. It is a website of
> various
> documented records on the same surname from many states and, if you
> share
>
> that surname, is one worth visiting because most postings bear
> citations.
> One
> of the main features of Internet is the broad coverage of the
> county. For
> the
> experienced genealogist, it is this aspect of reachable records in
> many
> states that is most useful and one that needs to be developed. Let
> us
> think
> past the materials found on the bookshelf of any genealogical
> collection
> and
> begin to build sites that represent our county's records.
>
>
>
> The flood of incorrect data making the rounds on the 'Net is
> growing. It
> is
> comparable to undocumented family genealogies, early DAR records,
> and
> early
> LDS family files. Both DAR and LDS are making efforts to correct
> their
> early
> files. The 'Net has no one to guide it except experienced
> genealogists
> who
> care. We can no longer afford to ignore the unskilled query. Few of
> us
> have
> the inclination, or want to take the time, to deal with the
> unskilled and
> the
> inexperienced 'Net searchers. Someone is going to have to step up to
> the
> flood and help with the sandbags. If each of us concentrates on
> improving
> the
> site concerning our surname, or a site under the sponsorship of our
> local
>
> group, together we can make a difference. We must make an effort to
> deal
> with
> this growing problem. Get on your soapbox for the sake of good
> genealogy
> on
> the Internet!
>
> ________________________________________________________________
> YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
> Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
> Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit:
> http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.
>
>

________________________________________________________________
YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tag

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