But surely you might have this problem in almost any scenario, short of providing a copy of the original source material with your family file -- countless records have burned over the years as courthouses have gone up in flame; oral histories disappear when the ancestor dies; a microfilm reader devours an 1800s-era newspaper film; a rare worm-eaten book turns to dust and the original is lost forever. Admittedly the issue is now more frequently encountered in the context of the internet, but this is precisely why we need to transcribe relevant details and date of entry, rather than just a source name.
I agree with you that it's important to chase the rabbit down the hole as far as it goes and find the most original source of any supplied data because errors can and do crop up with every copy and transcription (especially with indexes of hand-written records!), but more and more these days an online database or transcription is the original work, especially when it comes to modern court and cemetery records. Ideally you would use a source like this as a foundation to then go to the cemetery and either obtain the original records or verify the tombstone in person (at which point this can be discarded as a source since it was merely a means to finding the real source), but practically speaking that's not always possible and thus it's most important to provide sufficient detail about when you obtained the record, along with a faithful transcription of the relevant portion of the database (and if you want, you can also take a screen shot and attach that to the source.) That way, even if the original database disappears or moves, you've still got a record of what it did say (and when it said it), so others can make judgment as they see fit. -Steve On Mon, May 24, 2010 at 3:21 PM, Brian L. Lightfoot <[email protected]> wrote: > I wanted to throw in my two cents about this type of online source.... and > many other online databases. The whole purpose of a source citation is to > explain where you got the data and hopefully allow future viewers of your > family file to go back to that source and check the authenticity and validity > of the information. So right there we have a problem with all "online > databases". While the link may work today, chances are that in one year or > longer, the link will be dead. And at that point, the source of your > information as you show it in your citation becomes hidden from the world. > There really is no way around this as that is the very nature of the Internet > "beast". Like politicians, links come and go. > > Now if you could check the information about the online database itself and > determine from where the database info came from, then in reality, that is > the real source of the information. I'm just making this up here as an > example, but let's pretend the online database of the cemetery is based on a > book or official records from the "Mount Hope Cemetery Association". Then > isn't the actual source those records and not the online database? Those > official records tend to stay around and be archived by either a government > agency or a local historical society for a much longer period than any web > site. Many such online databases will explain the source of the data and the > actual repository. I guess the problem is in digging deep enough in order to > make that determination. > > Just thinking out loud here. > > > Brian in CA Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
