Wednesday, February 10, 2010

NC Bibles are Proving Sources

Proving resources is the key to any thoroughly traced family history. Naturally we want accuracy. One wrong step can take us into a lineage which is not ours. So researchers strive for excellence, trying to find those previous sources. A good practice is to check behind the writer's quoted references. All too frequently the place of birth, death or marriage is not cited. But the writer has discovered the county of residence. That is important. Our next step is to go to that county and research all of the records ourselves. When searching for births, deaths and marriages, we examine parish registers, tombstones, bibles, obituaries, deeds, wills, estates and so on. It is very easy for many researchers to copy another person's work and in the process make typographical errors. These things get compounded. If it is in our direct line we want to make certain that the details are accurate before proceeding on. One fast route to proving births, deaths and marriages is bible records. Anytime that we can purchase information for a reasonable amount of money and save ourselves time and effort driving somewhere and writing down something as part of a research project, whether the result is a break through or a simple elimination, we should do it. Internet finds of someone else' years of hard work are wonder. A few clicks will add information to our research, or eliminate something we needed to know. List of Names in NC-SC Bibles

Jeannette Holland Austin, author of over 100 genealogy books
North Carolina Pioneers

No comments: