Citing sources essential to good research

Serious and well trained genealogists and family historians know what academic historians and journalists know: keeping a record of where evidence can be found is essential to good research.

We cannot justify making statements represented as facts about identities and relationships without pointing to the information that supports our claims. This is often known as “citing your sources.” Think of it as leaving a trail of bread crumbs to be able to find your way back and forth between where you started, and where you have been led.

Just like academic historians and journalists, sometimes we get “facts” wrong. This can be due to incomplete information, erroneous information, misleading information, or just plain sloppy research. We not only owe it to ourselves as researchers to make it clear where we found the evidence upon which we base our claims, but we owe it to our readers as well. This allows others to weigh the evidence that we are presenting, and to determine for themselves if our conclusions are correct.

Traditional documentation styles that most high school students should have learned when writing term papers include citing the name of the author, the specific article, the title of the book, the publication information, and the page number. This allows the reader to check behind the writer for the statements being made that are based on the source being cited. Perhaps the reader will come to a different interpretation or conclusion based on that particular source.

A source should be weighed against its relative authority. Some sources are primary, first person accounts. Some are secondary, or hearsay. Others derivative, meaning they are based on an earlier source but are not original and therefore subject to alteration. And some sources are compiled and represent someone else’s interpretation. Without providing the specific sources, the writer and the reader would have no opportunity for dialogue if they come to different conclusions.

The best genealogical research often comes from original and primary sources found in courthouses and archives. These records need to be cited in a way that makes it possible for others to find them. Such sources are unique, and not usually held in libraries in their original form. The internet and digitization of many records is rapidly changing the landscape of original source materials used in genealogical research, adding an additional layer of source citation that should be utilized. Yet the basics of author, article, title, publisher, repository, volume, and page number still apply to citation of these records. One of the longtime standard guides to citing sources is the Chicago Manual of Style, which continues to be the go-to reference for writers of all kinds.

Luckily for genealogists and historians alike, there is a guide to citing historical records that are especially geared to genealogical writing: Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, by Elizabeth Shown Mills (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2017), now in its third edition.

“EE,” as it has come to be known in serious genealogical circles, is a detailed reference to crafting proper citations for almost every conceivable source. It explains the logic behind creating citations, while giving examples of both long and short versions. The goal is simple. Guide your reader to the place where you found the information in a standard and logical way.

For those who think citing sources in genealogical research is just for academics or professionals, think again.

Careful research is essential to documenting our families, and it doesn’t take the beginner long to realize that there is a great deal of erroneous information that has been published. This not only is found in compiled and printed genealogies, but the problem has increased exponentially since the advent of internet genealogy. You don’t only owe it to yourself to leave a bread crumb trail in order to remember how you came to your conclusions – which might be subject to change – but you owe it to your readers so that you can defend your claims against differing interpretations.

Seasoned genealogists know that no matter how thorough your research may have been, there is more information hiding, and waiting to be discovered. Make sure you routinely leave the bread crumbs along the trail for both your own sake and for others.

Email questions with “Ancestor Search” in the subject line to the Augusta Genealogical Society at AugustaGenSociety@comcast.net.