And I'll add my own experience to All and Carolyn's comments - and I'm sure we can all relate to this.
My Dad died suddenly and expectedly. As you can image, my late Mum was devastated and in shock. A few days later, with Mum in hospital in shock, my brother and I got together with the undertaker to sort out the arrangements and coffin etc. The undertaker gave me a copy of Dad's death certificate - there were so many mistakes on it - it was quite frightening. Mum had provided all the details to the doctor and some were obviously because she was in shock but a few others I think Dad had never told her. I had brought my collection of the family certificates with me [travelled interstate in Australia to where Mum and Dad lived] and I had also discussed many things with my Dad confirming the information I had. I ended up doing a formal amendment to Dad's details on his death certificate. And it was only a coincidence at that stage that the undertaker showed me the details from Mum! Which is worse for the informant on a death certificate? A son-in-law who on the odd occasion was able to do something useful for the family at a time of stress and sadness but knew very few facts, or the spouse or close family member who provided incorrect details at a time of stress? Always check and aim for 3 DIFFERENT PRIMARY sources of information - you may not always be able to achieve that but aim for it and keep an open mind at all times. OH - and document and reference the variations! Regards ...... Susie Z From: Al Mieswinkel [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, 24 October 2015 11:33 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [LegacyUG] 'Errors' on documents Allow me to echo your sentiments. In addition to what you have mentioned, I’ve encountered numerous cases of outright guesses, especially dates. And, another you’ve probably experienced is the gravestone itself being in error. I have one surname that I keep searching for and recently found the 37th version of its spelling. Happy hunting! Al 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://support.legacyfamilytree.com Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
