Transcript Family History

I’m proud
of my
Family History
Introduction - 1
Well, I guess we all are, otherwise we would not be gathered here
this afternoon. I am sure that we have all spent many hours, even
years, in gathering all the references we can to our own particular
families. We have spent considerable sums of money in purchasing
computers, programs, reference books, copies of certificates, CD
collections and innumerable postage stamps. Our relatives have
been asked, even coerced into revealing the little snippets of legend
and scandal that put the flesh onto the bare bones of our
genealogies. Some are, even at this moment in time, in foreign lands
trying to lever extra secrets from alien repositories.
It will not be unexpected that during the course of this day, someone
will be bailed up and forced to give an explanation of how to get
that detail about cousin Fred that has so far eluded us. And, when
we leave, connection to the Internet will again be difficult as we all
try to gain access at once.
Introduction - 2
Our erstwhile friends and neighbours shudder when we invite them
to “have a look at what I discovered the other day!
“Just by chance, the computer is active and, it won’t take a
moment!
“I’ll start off at a familiar point for you . . . . . . . . “
Introduction - 3
You remember John was my earliest Quaker . . . .
My starting point - 1
- well, here’s some things I’ve found out about him!
My starting point – 2
One should not be surprised if the reaction is a little luke-warm.
“Gee, that’s great!
“But where did ya get it?”
Now, your friend or neighbour can ask you the question. What
about those others who come along in future years when you are
no longer around to give the answer? How will you prepare an
answer for them?
Ladies and gentlemen, we have to learn to document all our
sources so that others can go back to them when a doubt arises.
This afternoon’s exercise is an introduction to one way of doing
this.
The response
Family History
Documentation
Guidelines
Preamble
In the early days of computerised genealogy, database sizes
were restricted and everyone tried to conserve space. As a
result, a minimum of notes were entered and, wherever
possible, codes were chosen for abbreviations to the names of
counties, provinces , states and countries.
These devices allowed a considerable advance in records but
produced, in their turn, the possibilities of confusion. Just as
the town name Richmond when unqualified could refer to a
place in half a dozen different countries (or in 41 of the United
States of America), so the code NFK unqualified could mean a
county in England or an off-shore island of the state of New
South Wales.
With the phenomenal growth in the space available for storage
on modern PC systems we no longer have to consider such
restrictions and, in general, we may avoid future confusion by
writing all place names in full, even to the extent of adding
latitude and longitude.
So now we have the ability to give a precise account of the
source of any piece of information. This can now be presented in
a standardised format so allowing our computers to sift through
information rapidly and point to the repository where another
researcher may find that piece of recorded information. It also
means that we can collect a number of less precise details and
assess the overall reliability of the background ideas expressed.
“Mony a mickle maks a muckle”
Preamble - 2
Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, Family History Documentation Guidelines, July 2000, San Jose, CA; SV-PAF-UG.
Rules for Good Documentation
•
•
•
•
•
•
Document as you go.
Enter sources and notes in a consistent format.
Enter a source description only once.
Use confidential information with discretion and
sensitivity.
List all sources found for each event.
Identify and document conflicting or missing
information.
Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, Family History Documentation Guidelines, July 2000, San Jose, CA; SV-PAF-UG.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Avoid using abbreviations.
Specify additional research where needed.
Strive to obtain primary resources for each
event.
Welcome input and constructive review of your
documentation.
Identify all researchers by name for all
contributions, including your own.
Recognise that good documentation requires
continuous refinement.
Rules for Good Documentation - 2
How to Create
a
Source Citation
(These guidelines are specific to PAF)
There is a lot of fuzzy thinking in this area. The Silicon Valley
people are not alone in coming up with phrases such as “Creating a
New Source.”
Stop and think about it! The information was obtained from
somewhere. This was the source, and there is no way in which we
can go about creating a new source to record it. What we are really
talking about is making a template for information that may often
come from a common source which can be modified to suit a set of
specific circumstances. Our purpose for doing this is to point others
back to the pre-existing source so that they may check upon our
individual interpretation of the recorded facts.
Once again, we acknowledge the importance of primary records.
The new record we will produce is best referred to as a
Source Citation.
Creating a New Source Citation
S = Source Citation Selection Buttons
The Latter Day
Saints recognise
that people
Notice
all the letters
“s”
very quickly forget where their information
came from. Yet this piece of knowledge is
one of the most important when judging the
accuracy of statements of fact. Thus PAF has
adopted the “constant reminder” approach on
this screen.
Here are recorded the most important facts in
any person’s life, so a request is made for a
source citation for each piece of information.
Now let’s look at these as you would see them appear on your
screen.
These buttons are either plain or
have an asterisk before them.
In the first case no citation is
available: in the second, one or
more citations have already been
attached.
Clicking on one
of these buttons
will allow you
to add a citation
to that particular
item.
For a
completely new
database the
procedure will
be slightly
different to that
to be used in all
subsequent
instances.
Source Citation Selector Buttons - 2
Selecting a Source
Only on the first occasion that you use this feature will a window appear, as it will in
a moment, on the left and as it is described in the Silicon Valley Manual. From then
onward, an alphabetic list of those sources entered in your particular database to date
will be displayed. This is shown, below right.
In either case, to add a citation, click the New button at the
bottom of the window.
A Methodical Approach
• The next screen shows the preset Template
that is chosen as the basis of organisation.
• Fill in each section in sequence (examples
will be given later).
• Tab from field to field. Enter closes the
window.
• This part of documentation requires the
most thought.
The Template
This is the form
that will be used
to enter
information
about the
Source.
Here is a blank
template.
Creating a New Source Citation
Adding sources to a database is a three part process.
At this point you type in the source description which includes the title, author,
publication information and any other information that describes the source as a whole.
Let’s imagine we are recording
something we found on the 1881
British Census disks.
Type in “1881 British Census
transcript” for the Source Title,
“Public Records Office, London,
England.” for the Author, and
“Electronic Transcript to CD by
LDS.” for Publication Information.
Note the Sample Footnote that is
created.
Click on Repository
Oh! Oh!
Here we go
again!
Recording a Repository
This time, the only suitable
button seems to be this one that
is labelled Add.
Fill in the requested
information. In this case, Name
would be Family History
Library and Address would be
35 North Temple Street, Salt
Lake City, Utah, 84150 USA.
The telephone number is 1-801240-3702.
Now the Repository panel
should look like this.
How the Source and Repository Lists develop
The initial hard work is
worth it. Just like a
person’s name, this
information will only
need entering once.
From then on, it is
available to you for
reuse at any time.
Applying these Ideas
For the purpose of this exercise, we will use an
actual record that exists in my database. Currently
it has only one Source referenced, so we will add
another.
We will do the following things in the order
shown.
1.
Click on Primary person
to edit.
2.
Click on the “*s” after
Events, birthplace.
Sources for birth of
Frederick Andrews are
shown. Note the Citation
detail added.
3.
Click New.
4.
Select “Frederick
Andrews of Ackworth”
and add details.
5.
Enter in
Film/Volume/Page
Number “Childhood
1850-1859” page 13.
6.
Add Date of Entry.
7.
In Comments enter the
relevant paragraph.
8.
Click OK, then Save.
Applying these Ideas – 2
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel!
View all
Sources
This button helps you find a
Source List while you are
working.
Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, Family History Documentation Guidelines, July 2000, San Jose, CA; SV-PAF-UG.
Guidelines for Source Citations
The preparation of Source citations may be summarised
under the following headings. Each item in turn is expanded
in the following slide series.
• Source Titles
• Author
• Publication
Information
• Source Call Number
•
•
•
•
Actual Text
Source Comments
Repository
Citation Detail
Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, Family History Documentation Guidelines, July 2000, San Jose, CA; SV-PAF-UG.
Source Titles - General
• A Source Description is only entered once
and becomes part of an alphabetised Source
List.
• How it is worded determines how it shows
up in the list.
• Changing any field in the Source Template
will be reflected wherever that template is
used.
Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, Family History Documentation Guidelines, July 2000, San Jose, CA; SV-PAF-UG.
Source Titles – Basic Rules
• For a published book, use the title on the title
page. Check the Print title in italics box.
• For an article, enter the title between inverted
commas, do NOT italicise.
• Unpublished works should be given a descriptive
title that clearly and uniquely identifies it.
• Where there is the possibility of multiple source
citations select a title that is general enough to be
used in many different applications, with the
specific source described in the Citation Detail.
The same source can be entered in a
number of different ways • by record type;
• by place;
• by surname.
Listings by more than one of the above are possible, for
example name and place, but beware of titles becoming too
long and thus difficult to sort.
Source Titles – Basic Rules 2
Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, Family History Documentation Guidelines, July 2000, San Jose, CA; SV-PAF-UG.
Author
•
•
•
•
•
Surname first, comma, given names
Give all names, or if more than three add et al.
Specify an editor as: Smith, John; editor.
Name author of a journal, diary or letter.
Name the recorder or transcriber of an interview,
audio-tape, or video-tape.
• Indicate the name of an institution that created a
record, index or database as follows:
NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages,
191, Thomas Street, Haymarket, NSW 2000.
Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, Family History Documentation Guidelines, July 2000, San Jose, CA; SV-PAF-UG.
Publication Information
• Published books: enter place, name of publisher, copyright
date, in that order. Include edition number and reprint date
if available.
• Published articles: Name the periodical or newspaper,
place of publication, edition number, reprint date, etc. The
name of the periodical should be enclosed by codes <l> . . .
. . </l> so that it appears in italics.
• For an unpublished or privately published work, enter the
type or form of the document.
• For an object such as an engraved cup, sampler, medal,
etc., include anything known about its origin, manufacture,
creation and ownership.
Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, Family History Documentation Guidelines, July 2000, San Jose, CA; SV-PAF-UG.
Source Call Number
• Enter the library call number or microfilm number
if located in a library or archive.
• Source call numbers are written without No. or #
and identifies the source as a book, film, or fiche.
• If the source is in a private collection, include any
identifying label details.
• If the source is in a computer file, identify the disk
it is on or an Internet URL.
Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, Family History Documentation Guidelines, July 2000, San Jose, CA; SV-PAF-UG.
Actual Text
• The text you want to appear every time you
cite the source should be entered here.
• Examples of actual text in a Source
description include subtitles of books,
introductions to church parish records and
text that refers to a number of individuals.
Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, Family History Documentation Guidelines, July 2000, San Jose, CA; SV-PAF-UG.
Source Comments
• Include anything that will help in evaluating
the worth of the record.
• Describe the condition of the record.
• Indicate the nature of the original source if
the record is an abstract, an index, or a
typescript.
Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, Family History Documentation Guidelines, July 2000, San Jose, CA; SV-PAF-UG.
Repository
• Name of the library or archive where the original
source was viewed.
• The agency or archive holding a transcription or
abstract of the original copy.
• Name the person in possession of a book, letter or
document, even if the person only has a copy of
the record.
• Specify the LDS Family History Library in Salt
Lake City, Utah, (FHL) if the microfilm or
microfiche was borrowed from the FHL.
Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, Family History Documentation Guidelines, July 2000, San Jose, CA; SV-PAF-UG.
Citation Detail
• Used to expand information, so page
numbers, line numbers, etc. may be added.
• If applicable type the date that the record
was made. This is the date the record was
actually added to the source and NOT the
date you entered it into your files.
In conclusion
It is hoped that this presentation together with any discussion
that followed it will have placed before you a number of
ideas. We hope these will enable you to modify your current
Family History database so that it will help those who come
after, to expand upon your current knowledge.
By your provision of clear markers, any new facts that are
discovered should be quickly comparable with those cited in
other resources already referenced by you.
In pointing you to the efforts that are currently being made to
create general standards for reporting we hope we have
helped you to understand the importance of collecting all the
evidence that is available.
Sydney DPS, November 2000