Evidence evaluation is the difference between genealogy research that builds a lasting legacy for your family and research that just doesn’t hold up over time. This means taking a close look at each and every record related to a person and determining if a fact is actually proven. Many genealogists will say: “Family history that can’t be proven is just mythology.”
A Simple and Solid Evaluation Process
While every research situation is different, a basic and quick process can be used when determining if a record proves a fact such as a birth date.
Types of records to find and evaluate
How would you prove the birth date and location for your maternal grandmother? Let’s first look at the types of records that could prove or disprove these facts:
- Birth records such as a birth certificate or birth index
- Sacramental records (baptism, marriage)
- Census & voter records
- Marriage records such as a marriage license, marriage certificate, or marriage index
- Death records, such as a death certificate, death index, or Social Security Death Index. Remember that not all records are equal! One of the biggest rookie genealogist mistakes is to give equal weight to every record whether it was a vital record certificate, a newspaper article, or a fact mentioned in a family story.
Record proximity to fact date
One of the factors in determining whether one record is better than another, is how close is the date of the record to the fact you are trying to prove. Example:
- For one ancestor born about 1896, there is no birth certificate since the county and state didn’t require one to be filed.
- The first record listing their possible birth date is the 1900 US Census, listing the age, the birth month and year.
- In addition there is a 1910 US Census Population schedule, as well as a 1905 New York State Census schedule, and a 1915 New York State Census schedule, but only the age is listed.
- Next, there is a United States World War I Draft Card dated 5 June 1917, written in their own handwriting, which lists his birth date as 31 January 1896.
- Finally, there is a death certificate dated April 1976 with their wife listed as the informant and a birth date listed as 31 January 1896.
In the above case, it is determined that the draft registration card dated 1917 is the strongest record since it is one of two records listing the complete birth date AND it is closest to the birth date in terms of when the record was created.
The 4 steps of evidence evaluation
Review each record and use these points to evaluate the quality of the record.
- Source Type: A source is Original if it is the first written statement, photograph, or recording of an event. Subsequent copies are Derivative and may be reproduced by hand, machine, camera or scanner; they may be reproduced on paper, in microform, as photographs or digital images, or in any other medium that records the image whether transcribed by hand or technology. Example: A birth date listed in the Social Security Death Index is considered derivative since an index is often transcribed from original documents. An actual last will and testament that is signed and executed with names of children listed would be considered original. Note: The process of accessing reasonable facsimile copies of source records - such as census schedules - online can be considered in determining whether a source is original or derivative. Most of us will never be able to travel to an archive and have an original census schedule in front of us to research. In these cases, many genealogists will use the designation original for clear online copies of actual documents. The source citation for the record should always indicate if it was accessed online, and if so, which online website, the website address (url) and the date accessed.
- Clarity: A record is deemed to be Clear if the information can easily be read. Use Marginal if information is partially obscured and researcher must "guess" at words or letters. Use Unclear if information cannot be determined. Example: A hand-written will that is difficult to read and a fact - such as the execution date - cannot be determined would be Marginal or Unclear.
- Information Type: Use primary if the fact was recorded by a knowledgeable eyewitness or participant in the event being documented, or by an official whose duties require them to make an accurate record of the event when it occurs. Use secondary if the information was supplied by a person not at the event and/or the information may include errors due to memory loss or influenced by other persons who have a bias or could have been under emotional stress. Example: A draft registration card that was completed in the person’s hand with their own information would be primary information. A marriage certificate signed by both spouses would be primary information. However, a census schedule completed by an enumerator would be secondary information. A death certificate with information supplied by an informant would be secondary information.
- Evidence Type: Direct evidence is any fact that is explicitly stated. Indirect evidence is inferred from one or more pieces of evidence within the record. Example: A census schedule for 1910 lists a person’s age as 30 years. Subtracting 30 years from 1910 results in 1880 as an estimated birth year, but not an exact birth date. This is indirect evidence since it needs to be “back engineered” to obtain useful information. A draft registration card that lists the complete birth date including day, month and year would be designated as direct evidence.
The goal: 4-Star records
Using the four points of evidence evaluation, a “4-star” record would be original, clear, primary, and direct. A record that is original, marginal, primary, and indirect would be a “2-star” record. So in a situation where I have five records that I believe prove the birth date for a person, I need to consider a combination of how many of the four points of evidence are the best plus don’t forget the proximity of the record in terms of the date of the event.
Of course, every research situation is different and there is no “simple” process of evidence evaluation. But consistently employing an evaluation method for each fact collected will help you build the skills needed to produce solid and proven genealogy research.
Explore more about research evaluation
- Ask The Expert – Evaluating Your Theory of Family Relativity™ at MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- Evaluating Your Smart Matches™ and Record Matches on MyHeritage at MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- Genealogy Cheat Sheets by Thomas MacEntee at Genealogy Bargains Blog