lilly, you said ( So I would always believe a Birth certificate before I ever believed any death certificate.)i have a birth certificate that is born example 7/11 and it was suppose to be 9/11..a 7 can me taken for a 9 very easy,but to correct it was quite a lot of other documents of which i could not find..they should have done it as july versus september..so caution to alot of documents.sandy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lilly Martin" <malik@scs-net.org> To: <CAMPBELL-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 4:38 AM Subject: [CAMPBELL] To all persons Questioning Facts > To all others researching, > > I have only been doing research fro 4 yrs, so I have not learned alot, but > a few basic things I learned the old fashioned hard way. > > 1. Never believe that a Will will name all children. A Will will name > only those kids or persons that the writer of the Will would LIKE to give > something to, or to remember in the Will. > > A rich son might not be mentioned, but his dead brother's kids might. > Why? The rich son is already set up for life, why give him more, when he > doesn't need it? I can show you many Wills of men with large families, > and only a few kids are mentioned in the Will, so the names in a Will do > not necessarily equate to the number of children a man/woman has. > > I can show you a death bed Will of a young father, who forgot to name one > 4 yr old son. Why? He was in pain, sick, half dead at the time, his wife > was also sick, and pregnant. I think the neighbor men came to take down > the Will and get it recorded, and they wrote down the kids names as fast > as possible, the best they could, but with both parents laying at death's > door, one little boy got forgotten. He still grew up with the other > brothers, and when he died his kids were partially raised by his brother, > but he was never named in the Will. > > 2. Never put faith in the term Sr. or Jr. You could find a document for > Joel Campbell, and signed by Joel Campbell and witnessed by Joel Campbell, > Jr. and 'naturally' jump to the conclusion that they were father and son. > Not so at all, untrue! They were grandfather, and grandson, and the > father of Joel Campbell, Jr was not named Joel at all. > > So why do people use these term Jr. if not to mean their father was named > the same? They are also used as an identifier of AGE. Let's say I have a > community and there are several men, and in the same area named George > Campbell. Some are brothers, some cousins, some unrelated, some Uncles. > Along comes the census taker, and I tell him my name is George Campbell, > Jr. Was my Dad George also? No, he wasn't, but I want the census taker > to record that I am the YOUNGER man of the area named George Campbell, not > to be confused with my Old Man Uncle of the same name, or my OLDER > cousins, also of the same name. The same could be said of Sr., that might > mean that this man was the OLDEST man in his area name George Campbell, > out of a whole crowd similarly named. > > Don't ever believe the terms of Jr or Sr, unless you first determine > through other mans that you really do know who this person is. In fact, > at first you should doubt those terms, and then proceed to rersearch to > learn the true identity of that person. > > I come from a James Thompson , III yet he always said he was James > Thompson, Jr. Why, because his father was James Thompson, so he thought > he was Jr, but in reality he was #3, he just didn't rmember his > grandfather. > > 3. Never believe a death certificate. The DEAD person did know their own > name, and birth date and birth place and Parents names, etc. But the > problem is, the DEAD person was not filling out the DEATH certificate. It > was some daughter in law, or the cousin, or the old folks home, or the son > in law, and those people may, or may not know anything about that person. > I have many a death certificate filled out even by the deceased own > children, in which all the facts were distorted, convoluted and incorrect. > It is sad, shocking, and frustrating to look at an official document, and > know that it is incorrect. > > How do you verify it was wrong? You find the Birth certificate and then > you know the details of the death certificate were wrong. The parents are > giving the birth record of their child, they know when he was born and > where. If it says Iowa, then you know the death certificate which states > Maryland is wrong. I spent 6 months looking for a family in Maryland, and > I kept wondering why that name was so very uncommon in Maryland, it was > because the family was never in Maryland, nor even near to Maryland, but > the son who gave his mother's death info to the county officials thought > she was born in Maryland. To his mind, anything EAST of California, was > called Maryland! > > So I would always believe a Birth certificate before I ever believed any > death certificate. > > And marriage certificates can be wrong also. It is only as good as the > clerks handwriting. You may remember Nancy Campbell on her marriage > certificate? She was not Nancy Campbell, her name was Nancy Coffey. She > had no Campbell blood in her, she was simply getting married to a > Campbell. That mix up took me 3 -4 months to fathom, other researchers > kept trying to explain it to me, and I would go round and round, still > stupified. Finally I got to grasp the truth of the situation, based on > the parents, and their Wills, etc. > > 4. Never believe a History book which gives the Biography of local > persons, and states who their parents are and where they came from. These > books were written by writers who would come around and say they would > interview folks, and for a fee, they would write up your family story in a > Book which would be specific to your county location. > > My relative knew his mother was Lucinda, but she died when he was a baby, > and he was raised by his loving step-mother Nancy. So in the county book > he never mentioned his real Mom, only talked about his father and Nancy. > Now Nancy was born in NC, his real mom was born in IN, in all the many > lifetime of census records for him, he always states his mother's birth > place was IN. This means he was truthfully well aware he was not the son > of Nancy b. NC, but yet the book says that. So you can never believe a > book, even thought the family was interviewed for the book. People lie, > people forget, people change facts, etc. > > In conclusion, don't believe anything until you have studied it this way > and that, and have understood the family, and confered with others, and > feel comfortable with the facts of the case. Be prepared to find out that > there are birth, marriage, and death certificates which are wrong, or > partially wrong. Be prepared to find Wills which won't name your > relative, yet you know they should be named. Be prepared for anything. > Don't get nervous, or worried, this is a fun hobby, we can't make it a > science, it is an art, and it won't all fit into a nice neat box. There > will always be rough jaggedy edges we need to smooth down. > > Best regards, > Lilly Martin > > > > > ============================== > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for > ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx >

another birth certificate story - my husband's grandmother was born in Jan of 1900 - but the doc wrote Jan 1899 - he was experiencing what most of us do - forgetting that the year had just changed. ----- Original Message ----- From: "sandmot" <sandmot@comcast.net> To: <CAMPBELL-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 8:25 AM Subject: Re: [CAMPBELL] To all persons Questioning Facts > lilly, > you said ( So I would always believe a Birth certificate before I ever > believed any death certificate.)i have a birth certificate that is born > example 7/11 and it was suppose to be 9/11..a 7 can me taken for a 9 very > easy,but to correct it was quite a lot of other documents of which i could > not find..they should have done it as july versus september..so caution to > alot of documents.sandy > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Lilly Martin" <malik@scs-net.org> > To: <CAMPBELL-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 4:38 AM > Subject: [CAMPBELL] To all persons Questioning Facts > > > > To all others researching, > > > > I have only been doing research fro 4 yrs, so I have not learned alot, but > > a few basic things I learned the old fashioned hard way. > > > > 1. Never believe that a Will will name all children. A Will will name > > only those kids or persons that the writer of the Will would LIKE to give > > something to, or to remember in the Will. > > > > A rich son might not be mentioned, but his dead brother's kids might. > > Why? The rich son is already set up for life, why give him more, when he > > doesn't need it? I can show you many Wills of men with large families, > > and only a few kids are mentioned in the Will, so the names in a Will do > > not necessarily equate to the number of children a man/woman has. > > > > I can show you a death bed Will of a young father, who forgot to name one > > 4 yr old son. Why? He was in pain, sick, half dead at the time, his wife > > was also sick, and pregnant. I think the neighbor men came to take down > > the Will and get it recorded, and they wrote down the kids names as fast > > as possible, the best they could, but with both parents laying at death's > > door, one little boy got forgotten. He still grew up with the other > > brothers, and when he died his kids were partially raised by his brother, > > but he was never named in the Will. > > > > 2. Never put faith in the term Sr. or Jr. You could find a document for > > Joel Campbell, and signed by Joel Campbell and witnessed by Joel Campbell, > > Jr. and 'naturally' jump to the conclusion that they were father and son. > > Not so at all, untrue! They were grandfather, and grandson, and the > > father of Joel Campbell, Jr was not named Joel at all. > > > > So why do people use these term Jr. if not to mean their father was named > > the same? They are also used as an identifier of AGE. Let's say I have a > > community and there are several men, and in the same area named George > > Campbell. Some are brothers, some cousins, some unrelated, some Uncles. > > Along comes the census taker, and I tell him my name is George Campbell, > > Jr. Was my Dad George also? No, he wasn't, but I want the census taker > > to record that I am the YOUNGER man of the area named George Campbell, not > > to be confused with my Old Man Uncle of the same name, or my OLDER > > cousins, also of the same name. The same could be said of Sr., that might > > mean that this man was the OLDEST man in his area name George Campbell, > > out of a whole crowd similarly named. > > > > Don't ever believe the terms of Jr or Sr, unless you first determine > > through other mans that you really do know who this person is. In fact, > > at first you should doubt those terms, and then proceed to rersearch to > > learn the true identity of that person. > > > > I come from a James Thompson , III yet he always said he was James > > Thompson, Jr. Why, because his father was James Thompson, so he thought > > he was Jr, but in reality he was #3, he just didn't rmember his > > grandfather. > > > > 3. Never believe a death certificate. The DEAD person did know their own > > name, and birth date and birth place and Parents names, etc. But the > > problem is, the DEAD person was not filling out the DEATH certificate. It > > was some daughter in law, or the cousin, or the old folks home, or the son > > in law, and those people may, or may not know anything about that person. > > I have many a death certificate filled out even by the deceased own > > children, in which all the facts were distorted, convoluted and incorrect. > > It is sad, shocking, and frustrating to look at an official document, and > > know that it is incorrect. > > > > How do you verify it was wrong? You find the Birth certificate and then > > you know the details of the death certificate were wrong. The parents are > > giving the birth record of their child, they know when he was born and > > where. If it says Iowa, then you know the death certificate which states > > Maryland is wrong. I spent 6 months looking for a family in Maryland, and > > I kept wondering why that name was so very uncommon in Maryland, it was > > because the family was never in Maryland, nor even near to Maryland, but > > the son who gave his mother's death info to the county officials thought > > she was born in Maryland. To his mind, anything EAST of California, was > > called Maryland! > > > > So I would always believe a Birth certificate before I ever believed any > > death certificate. > > > > And marriage certificates can be wrong also. It is only as good as the > > clerks handwriting. You may remember Nancy Campbell on her marriage > > certificate? She was not Nancy Campbell, her name was Nancy Coffey. She > > had no Campbell blood in her, she was simply getting married to a > > Campbell. That mix up took me 3 -4 months to fathom, other researchers > > kept trying to explain it to me, and I would go round and round, still > > stupified. Finally I got to grasp the truth of the situation, based on > > the parents, and their Wills, etc. > > > > 4. Never believe a History book which gives the Biography of local > > persons, and states who their parents are and where they came from. These > > books were written by writers who would come around and say they would > > interview folks, and for a fee, they would write up your family story in a > > Book which would be specific to your county location. > > > > My relative knew his mother was Lucinda, but she died when he was a baby, > > and he was raised by his loving step-mother Nancy. So in the county book > > he never mentioned his real Mom, only talked about his father and Nancy. > > Now Nancy was born in NC, his real mom was born in IN, in all the many > > lifetime of census records for him, he always states his mother's birth > > place was IN. This means he was truthfully well aware he was not the son > > of Nancy b. NC, but yet the book says that. So you can never believe a > > book, even thought the family was interviewed for the book. People lie, > > people forget, people change facts, etc. > > > > In conclusion, don't believe anything until you have studied it this way > > and that, and have understood the family, and confered with others, and > > feel comfortable with the facts of the case. Be prepared to find out that > > there are birth, marriage, and death certificates which are wrong, or > > partially wrong. Be prepared to find Wills which won't name your > > relative, yet you know they should be named. Be prepared for anything. > > Don't get nervous, or worried, this is a fun hobby, we can't make it a > > science, it is an art, and it won't all fit into a nice neat box. There > > will always be rough jaggedy edges we need to smooth down. > > > > Best regards, > > Lilly Martin > > > > > > > > > > ============================== > > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for > > ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: > > http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx > > >