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Archiver > TMG > 2011-03 > 1300838950


From: Rick Van Dusen <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] Citing Poor Sources - Was: Re: Name changes in narratives
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:09:10 -0700
References: <mailman.235.1300822208.30607.tmg@rootsweb.com><BLU0-SMTP20A909F4E3B5A1CA88EB45B1B40@phx.gbl>
In-Reply-To: <BLU0-SMTP20A909F4E3B5A1CA88EB45B1B40@phx.gbl>


I'd differentiate between:

1. Personal communication ("So-and-so" told me).

2. Personal knowledge (I was there).

3. Personal "recollection" (I remember so-and-so saying).

Not sure I'm comfortable with sourcing a guess.



M.A. Sharpe & A.S. Mackenzie wrote:
> I have myself, and also my mother, as a source, where we "knew" the
> information because we were there, or were actively involved (for my
> mother's stuff, it is stuff that she "always" told me had happened, or that
> she "knew"). I also use "Personal Communication" sources for information
> that may come out of interviews or the kind of casual conversations I may
> have with relatives, of the kind that Darrel mentioned.
>
> And quite often, when I find some of my old stuff, I write myself a note
> that says: "Where the heck did I get this?!"
>
> I also have a source quoting myself, with "estimate" in brackets, because I
> often like to try and estimate a birth date if I have a death date, but
> possilby not an age, so I can have an inkling of what century I should be
> exploring for that information!
>
> I also have a source that I use for information given to me by a cousin who
> NEVER cites ANY sources. I use his initials, and I call it (to myself)
> "Cousin Dave". For me this is a clue that I need to confirm and verify!! Of
> course, that only works for the parts of the family that "Cousin Dave" is
> also researching ;-)) Although I suppose I could 'genericize' the
> "Cousin Dave" and use it to mean "Where the heck did I get this?!"
>
>
> Mary Anne

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