In a message dated 1/4/99 8:05:26 AM Central Standard Time, [email protected] writes: > Here hoping that everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. > I am looking for the correct information on a Levi Boggs, b. Oct 7 > 1835, d. Aug 14 1914?????????????? These date from the LDS library. Levi > is the son of Eli Boggs and Sarh "Sally" Eldridge. Per the LDS library > he married a Elizabeth Davis. Levi and Elizabeth had the following > children per LDS; > > David, Arminda, Rebecca, Marion, Silas, Isaac, Will, Henry, Henderson, > Levi, Sarah E. > > Now, more information that I have coming from Sadie Stidham's book, > "Pioneer Families of Leslie County" show Levi to be born in 1835 and > married to Elizabeth Calhoun. This book shows the following children; > > Henry, Isaac, Henderson, Sarah, Rebecca, Marion, William, Levi, Silas. > > Nine children from the book and eleven children from the LDS library. > Two different last names for the wife. > > Both of these sources even show different mate for some of the children. > What I am after is, which is the right source and if both sources are > wrong, then what is right? > Here's a note of caution to all genealogists. The information that can be found at the LDS is information that is submitted by ANYONE in the general public...anyone...like you or me. The LDS does not require sources for the information submitted to them. When you look at their records, there is always a hidden screen you can get to by pressing F? (I forget the exact name of the key), which will lead you to the name and address of the person who submitted that family's history. (If you can't find it, ask the librarian how to find the name of the submitter.) Here's a cute, but true story for you. Several years ago I did some research on another line in my family at the LDS library here in St. Louis. I copied down the name and address of the submitter because I had questions and wanted to contact this person. Well, I could not find her under that name or address. I posted a query to my MAGGARD list, and we were discussing if anybody knew this individual or how to reach her. Guess what? She came forward and 'fessed up! She was a subscriber to my MAGGARD list and had gotten married and moved! Also, bear in mind that Kentucky (where the above family came from) was not REQUIRED by law to record birth or death records until 1911. Before that, the "enumerators" were "supposed" to report this information. This was in addition to their other duties and they complained bitterly about doing it (and many did not) and how it made them overworked, etc. The social security death index is pretty much useless, too. Social security did not come into being until 1922 (?), and then even after that, a lot of folks did not qualify because they were farmers and never paid into Social Security. Even if they did, a surviving relative had to know enough to apply for the "one time" death benefit, from which the Social Security Death Index is derived. There's a lot of places along the line where the "ball" could conceivably be "dropped." Here's another sad, but true story. My paternal grandmother (a MAGGARD and BOGGS descendent), died in Letcher County in 1974. This is well within the time frame for a death certificate to be on file for her, according to Kentucky law. I couldn't find one for her...neither could the state of Kentucky. Even her surviving children did not realize she had no death certificate on file. She never worked outside the home, so nobody ever filed a claim with Social Security. After a trip to Whitesburg, KY and a visit to the funeral home, here's what we finally found out happened. She died right as the funeral home was in the process of being sold. The new owner apparently ASSUMED that the old owner had filed the death certificate with the state. The old owner, either ASSUMED the new owner would do it, or just didn't care. In any event, my grandmother was "dropped through the cracks." I initiated a death certificate for her, myself, and I finally got it filed with the state of Kentucky 23 years after her death, in 1997. I had to leave the "cause of death" blank because, of course, her attending physician had since died, and the medical records at the hospital in Jenkins had been destroyed by the hospital administrator prior to a hostile take over. Isn't genealogy research fun? Bev St. Louis