I Won’t Forget Who Told Me That
or
The Importance of Sources
First, I’d just like to get this out of the way. Record ALL sources! Think you’ll never forget that afternoon spent with Aunt Tillie? You might not, but your grandchildren will wonder just where you got that fantastic information if you don’t make a note of it. What if it’s actually someone you don’t know? Someone you called out of the blue who gave you some valuable leads? Will you remember 6 years from now that you talked to 5th cousin thrice removed, Joe Smith, on the telephone? Or that you ran into your grandmother’s cousin in the grocery store and she told you her mother was a mid wife? You run home, write down that great grandmother was a mid wife (that’s really exciting news), but fail to note that cousin Mae told you. Trust me, five years later, you’ll wonder who told you that juicy tidbit.
When I first started, I diligently noted all my sources — in a separate notebook. Yes, I know that’s odd. Who knows what I was thinking? The sources need to be right next to the information.
So just how much “source” should you record? As much as you have patience for.
If it’s a book, include title, author, page number, location of the book, even publisher and year printed, but I’d say these last two aren’t as important if you’re tired of writing sources.
Census notations should include year, state, county, district, page and microfilm roll.
Court records would have book and page number and courthouse location. For instance, a marriage record in Talladega County, Alabama would say:
Marriage Book D, Talladega County, Alabama, page 104
For the afternoon visit with Aunt Tillie, “Interview with Tillie Smith, daughter of Narcissa and James Smith, July 16, 2005?.
To prevent occasional confusion, when writing a county, don’t forget to include the state. There is a Shelby County, Alabama and a Shelby County, Illinois and others, I’m sure. You’ll probably know it’s one state or the other, but future researchers might not. But what about Randolph County, Georgia and Randolph County, Alabama? They’re actually close geographically. That could really be confusing!
I’ve been guilty of all these things and have had to look them up again to verify location or source. A few, I still have no idea of where the information came from. Learn from my mistakes. Record those sources!