Issue 14.12
Terminology used in genealogy uses common words, but we may have some question as to what they really mean. Let me help explain.
Source – 1. The origin that supplies information. 2. An artifact, book, document, film, person, recording, website, etc., from which information is obtained. Example: Western States Marriage Record Index.
Citation – 1. Citations are statements in which we identify our source or sources for …particular information. 2. A citation states where you found the cited piece of information. Example: http://abish.byui.edu/specialCollections/westernStates/search.cfm
Information – 1. Knowledge obtained from investigation. 2. The content of a source – that is, its factual statements or its raw data. Example: Groom Last Name: McArthur, Groom First Name: Daniel Duncan. Bride Last Name: Cox, Bride First Name: Hattie Amanda, Place: St. George, Date: 10 Jan 1918, County: Washington, Volume: B, Page 274.
Evidence – 1. Something that furnishes proof. 2. Information that is relevant to the problem. 3. Analyzed and correlated information assessed to be of sufficient quality. 4. The information that we conclude – after careful evaluation – supports or contradicts the statement we would like to make, or are about to make, about an ancestor. Example: This Daniel Duncan McArthur could not have been the one born 8 April 1820 in Holland, Erie, New York and died 3 Jun 1908 in St. George, Washington, Utah because this marriage took place after his death.
Conclusion – 1. A reasoned judgment. 2. A decision that should be based on well-reasoned and thoroughly documented evidence gleaned from sound research. Example: There have been several Daniel Duncan McArthurs living in St. George. The one who married Hattie Amanda Cox was born 22 Feb 1891 and died 24 March 1947, he was the son of Edward Meeks McArthur and Ida Foss Woolley. He was also a grandson of the original St. George pioneer Daniel Duncan McArthur 1820-1908.
For more information, contact Shanna Jones at shannasjones@msn.com or (435) 628-4900.