Gail Shaffer Blankenau – The good, the bad and the ugly, citation and evidence © Page 1

Gail S. Blankenau, Genealogist

7424 Stevens Ridge Road

Lincoln, NE 68516

402-416-0704

gblankenau@msn.com www.discoverfamilyhistory.com

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

The Wild Wild West of Citation and Evidence

Copyright 2017 Introduction

The practice of good citation is not one of the more glamorous aspects of genealogical practice,

but it is a critical component of any good genealogy, whether pursued as hobby, avocation or

profession.

Definition: “ Citations are statements in which we identify our source or sources for a particular

assertion.”1

Some Genealogical Assertions you MUST cite:

Any statement of FACT: Birth, Marriage, Death, residence, etc.

Direct Quotes.

Other authors’ conclusions (it is good practice even when

paraphrasing to give credit to the person who said it).

Some reasons to practice good citation:

Credibility

Support your thesis or proof argument

Conform to professional standards.

Manuals of Style:

Genealogy is related to history. Most historians use the Chicago Manual of Style for the

humanities or Turabian, which is a simpler version of Chicago. Elizabeth Shown Mills’s book,

Evidence Explained, is based on these style manuals and is the most comprehensive work in the

genealogical community. See the Bibliography at the end of this hand-out.

Problems with citation can take many forms

1 Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence explained: citing history sources from artifacts to cyberspace. Baltimore, MD:

Genealogical Publishing Company, 2017, p. 42.

Gail Shaffer Blankenau – The good, the bad and the ugly, citation and evidence © Page 2

The Ugly

Ugly Case #1: Gustave Anjou – had a lot of citations, but some were deliberately created

to prove a more illustrious lineage.

Ugly Case #2: Saddam Hussein – paid a genealogist to prove his direct descendant from

the Prophet Muhammad.

Lesson: Not only do we as genealogists need to learn the art of good citation, but we need

to verify others’ work when using it as a basis for our own work.

The Bad

Footnotes and sources that are sloppy and/or incomplete

Lesson: A little time up front will save you a lot of time later, by writing a good (not

perfect) citation as soon as you see something you might use.

Notes that are non-existent:

Lesson: Although some genealogists did not set out to be fraudulent, the lack of sources

for their assertions lead to major errors in their work. Unsourced family trees online are

suspect for this reason.

Take care in using others’ citations

Lesson 1: In general it is not a good practice. Lesson 2: If you do use another person’s

citation, cite that person’s work and cite the work that he or she has cited. The original

source MATTERS.

Ensure that your source supports your assertion

Lesson: Always check others’ work as well as your own. Another example is a citation

for a Bible record not only supporting a birth date but a birth place that the Bible does not

mention.

The Good

We have several types of citation with which we must become proficient. We have source list

entries, also known as bibliographies, full reference notes and the subsequent reference notes.

Gail Shaffer Blankenau – The good, the bad and the ugly, citation and evidence © Page 3

Elements of a good citation

Title or creator of the source

Author(s), editors, or compilers

Publisher

What it is

Page #

Film #

Record group name and #

URL for online source

Repository (sometimes)

THERE IS NO ONE RIGHT WAY

As we discussed, you should use a manual of style. Whatever style you choose, be consistent

within that publication, database or report. If you are writing for a specific publication, study

several issues of it to see how the editors handle their citations.

Cite What you See

Some researchers are tempted to cite the book or manuscript if it has been imaged online

or on microfilm. You should always cite what you see because different versions of the

original may have been imaged. Moreover, some films accidentally left out a few pages

in the process.

Source of a source

In general, we should check the original, but many journals will accept evidence from

well-known publications, such as the Rhode Island or Massachusetts vital records (brown

books). If you use these books, and they cite the original source, INCLUDE that original

source in your citation (and you may want to discuss the original in your narrative).

Waypoints – to use or not to use, that is the question

A recent debate emerged on the Association of Professional Genealogists email list

regarding the use of waypoints. These can be very helpful with FamilySearch citations

because some of the images online are only browsable and unindexed. Elizabeth Shown

Mills weighed in with a nice melding of two methods that will ensure that if the website

goes away, we can still track down the source.

My example using her solution as my template:

Madison County Probate Court (Edwardsville, Illinois), Vol. 1, p. 66, Susannah Smith

estate (widow of James Smith); imaged in Illinois Probate Records, 1819-1988, database

with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 17 Jan 2014); Madison

County > Probate records 1821-1832, Vol 6 > Image 63.

Gail Shaffer Blankenau – The good, the bad and the ugly, citation and evidence © Page 4

Consider making your own style sheets to copy and paste from Word!

What do you want to emphasize? Many footnotes begin with the record’s creator, others begin

with the name of the ancestor(s) involved. Either one is correct, but as always, be consistent. I

have both styles in my own stylesheets, depending on the kind of piece I am writing.

Handy Style Sheets online

St. Louis Public Library

http://stlgs.org/resources/on-this-site/citations-a-guide-to-creating-proper-source-citations

Our Heritage

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txsaghs2/LibraryHoldings-

PDF/OurHeritage/CitationStylisticTemplateHeritage-3-5-13.pdf

Bibliography

HOW-TO GUIDES

Printed Resources (Generated using Bibme – I had to fill in the author, etc., for NEHGS, and

change the Chicago Manual of Style, and add italics to some for consistency).

Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence explained: citing history sources from artifacts to cyberspace.

Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2017.

Spaltro, Kathleen. Genealogy and indexing. Medford, NJ: Information Today, 2008.

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 5th ed.

Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Stratton, Penelope & Henry B. Hoff, NEHGS guide to genealogical writing, New England

Historic Genealogical Society, 2014.

University of Chicago Press Chicago Guide to Preparing Electronic Manuscripts: for Authors

and Publishers Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Online Advice:

Wylie, John,“How to Cite Sources, Recording Where Your (six) Find Information

http://www.genealogy.com/articles/research/19_wylie.html accessed 15 April 2017.

Library of Congress, Citing Primary Sources

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/citing.html

Gail Shaffer Blankenau – The good, the bad and the ugly, citation and evidence © Page 5

A Brief citation guide for Internet Sources in History and the Humanities – Footnote and

Endnote citations

http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/about/citation/footnote.html

Online Style manuals with examples of Turabian format

(you can use these to start creating your own style sheet):

http://library.austincc.edu/help/TURABIAN/

https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/PDF/chicago_turabian_uwmadison_writingcenter_june2013.

pdf

Citation Generators

Most of these are best for books and scholarly articles. Most genealogical books are searchable,

however most genealogical journals are not in their databases. They will still generate a good

citation if you plug in the information.

Citation Machine http://www.citationmachine.net/

Generates citations in MLA, APA, Chicago and Turabian- best for looking up books. This

website does not seem to cover many common genealogical sources.

BibMe http://www.bibme.org/

Generates citations in MLA, APA, Chicago and Turabian- best for looking up books.

KnightCite Calvin Coolidge College http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/?

Offers formatting for MLA, APA and Chicago styles- plug in all of the information and let

KnightCite format it for you

Other Books and Articles of interest:

Grafton, Anthony, “The Footnote from De Thou to Ranke,” History and Theory, Vol. 33, Theme

Issue 33: Proof and Persuasion in History (Dec., 1994), pp. 53-76, downloaded 5 October 2016,

http://www.jstor.org/ (JSTOR is subscription only – available through institutions as well).

Rael, Patrick, Reading Writing and Researching for History, Bowoin College, 2004,

https://courses.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ An excellent overview of good history writing for

any history or family history writer. He also includes chapters on citation.

Searching for County Land Records in United States Joan M. Barnes

Community Engagement Librarian University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Land transferred from Individual to Individual

• property deeds held at the county courthouse (registry of deeds, recorder of deeds) • Grantee – person receiving land • Grantor – person transferring land to another

Common Terms

• Deed – document transferring ownership and title of property from one private entity to another

• Quitclaim Deed – seller relinquishes claim to property with no guarantee that the property is free of claim

• Warranty Deed – seller warrants the title is valid and not subject to any outstanding liens. The Value of Land Records

• Establish the location of ancestors • Determine approximate death date • Determine relationships with children, siblings, in-laws

Places to Search for Land Records

• Visit the County Courthouse – Recorder of Deeds, Registrar of Deeds Office

• Some counties have put their deeds online. • Search Google • http://www.cyndislist.com/land/locality/united-states/

• Microfilms available through FamilySearch.org • Order at FamilySearch.org • Microfilms sent to local Family History Center

Searching Tips

• Check both the Grantor and Grantee Indexes • County Recorders office, Family Search microfilm

• Microfilm can be ordered through Family Search.org website • Delivered to your nearest Family History Center

Challenges – state & county borders

• Historical US County Boundary Maps • http://www.randymajors.com/p/maps.html

• Atlas of Historical County Boundaries • http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp

Explore More

• Cyndi’s List - Land • http://www.cyndislist.com/land/

• FamilySearch Wiki • https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Land_and_Property

References Blankenau, Gail. “Using Land Records in Genealogy Research” presentation, Greater Omaha Genealogical Society, Fall, 2014. Greenwood, Val. D. The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy. 1990. Chapters 16 & 17. Haddad, Diane. “Land Records Cheat Sheet.” Family Tree Magazine. May/June 2017.

RELIGIOUS RECORDS - FINDING A LIFETIME OF CLUES IN THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY

Presented by Marcia Stewart

marcial.stewart@gmail.com

June 11, 2017

START WITH WHAT YOU KNOW

At least names, locations, time periods

WHERE TO FIND MORE CLUES

Newspapers, obituaries, funeral cards County and local histories City directories, telephone directories Personal papers, certificates Cemeteries, tombstones, denominational symbols Censuses showing ethnic or religious communities and migration patterns

FINDING RECORDS Local churches, district church offices or archives State or local archives MyHeritage – through Nebraska Library Commission or Lincoln City Libraries FamilySearch.com Ancestry.com FindMyPast.com Google books, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/) and WorldCat.org DustyDocs.com WorldCat.org

BASIC TYPES OF CHRISTIAN RECORDS

Christenings/Baptisms Marriages/Banns Burials Confirmations/First Communion Sacramental registers Church School lists and church censuses Cemetery office/Sexton files Church/Vestry minutes, financial records, Quaker meeting records Admissions and removals, certificates of removal Membership rolls Denominational newspapers/newsletters

HISTORICAL LOCATIONS (GENERALLY SPEAKING)

New England – Congregational Southern States - Baptist, Protestant Episcopal, Anglican Maryland – Catholic, later Presbyterian, Anabaptist, and Quaker Pennsylvania - Lutheran, Quaker, Mennonite, Amish New York - Dutch Reformed, Catholic Upper Midwest – Lutheran, Catholic Northern Europe – Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Finland, Sweden, northern

Germany, northern Switzerland - Lutheran Southern Europe – France, Portugal, southern Germany, Spain, Italy, southern

Switzerland - Catholic Eastern Europe – Belarus, Moldova, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Russia, Hungary,

Slovakia, Latvia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Yugoslavia - Eastern Orthodox or Catholic

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Bochar, Jack, George Rokos, and Louise Rokos. Locations of Chicago Roman Catholic Churches, 1850-1990.

2nd ed. Sugar Grove, IL: Czech & Slovak American Genealogy Society of Illinois, 1998. Print.

"Religion & Churches » General Resources." Cyndi's List. Web. 1 May 2017.

<http://www.cyndislist.com/religion/general/>.

Eichholz, Alice. Red Book: American State, County & Town Sources. 3rd ed. Provo, UT: Ancestry, 2004.

Print.

"United States Church Records." United States Church Records Genealogy - FamilySearch Wiki. Web. 1

Apr. 2017. <https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Church_Records>.

Greenwood, Val D. The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy. 3rd ed. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical,

2013. Print.

Hinshaw, William Wade. William Wade Hinshaw's Index to Unpublished Quaker Records. Swarthmore,

Pennsylvania: Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College. Print.

Humling, Virginia. U.S. Catholic Sources: A Diocesan Research Guide. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1995. Print.

Humphrey, John T., comp. Pennsylvania Births, Philadelphia County, 1644-1765, 1766-1780. Washington:

Humphrey Publications, 1994. Print. (Series of Pennsylvania German church records)

Kirkham, E. Kay. A Survey of American Church Records. 1st ed. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Co. ,

1959. Print.

Szucs, Loretto Dennis. The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy. Provo, UT: Ancestry, 2006. Print.

RELIGIOUS RECORDS - FINDING A LIFETIME OF CLUES IN THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY – Marcia Stewart Page 2

Finding More with Newspapers Presented by Tom McFarland

Tell the story, fill in vital events, and you may get some surprises!

WorldCat – world’s largest library catalog

Microfilm, original copies, original digital copies, OCR scanned issues,

card indexes, book indexes

Major Free Sites

• Elephind - More than United States, strong on Australia

• Library of Congress - Chronicling America – 1789-1924

• Google News Archive - https://news.google.com/newspapers/

• Old Fulton NY Post Cards – 40 million pages from U.S and Canada,

with emphasis on New York

• Trove - over 195 million articles from Australia

State Newspaper Projects

• E.g. - Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection

Local Genealogical and Historical Societies, Libraries

• E.g. - Lincoln-Lancaster Genealogical Society

Newspaper Offices

Some major for pay sites

• NewsBank

• GenealogyBank.com

• Ancestry.com

• Lexis-Nexis

• Newspapers.com

• NewspaperArchive.com

• Historical Newspapers (ProQuest)

• 19th Century U.S. Newspapers via Gale

• British Newspaper Archive

There are so many ways newspapers can help to

build your history!