Like a duck on a June bug, I jumped on Dave's footnotes. I asked Dave Van Doren if I could use his footnotes as a lesson topic. I also asked him, "Where do you live and what's a June bug?" Being the good sport that he is, Dave said "Go ahead (sob) and use me as a horrible example." Not to worry, Dave. We're all family here. Then, he added: "P.S. Me and the June bugs live in OH (or is it June bugs and I?) Last year we had 17-year locusts instead of June bugs." Dave must be a political candidate. I really liked his answer, but I still don't know why ducks jump on June bugs. Which reminds me of footnotes. I'm not too concerned about the format of footnotes; I'm interested in the content. I also prefer the visual imagery of "Me and the June bugs..." to the "June bugs and I" construction. As we struggle to sort Fulton facts from fiction, footnotes are sometimes more important than the statements they support. However, footnotes are really under-appreciated, like mothers of teenagers. I hear comments like, "I enjoy gathering the information but I'm not that concerned about the sources", or "footnotes are too much trouble", or "I really hate reading through all those footnotes." Not me! That's my favorite part. * * * * * Here are my questions to Dave: Sources 1. “U.S. Census,” Loudoun Co, VA. [Which one?] 2. Abstracts of Loudoun Co, VA Wills from court house records, Leesburg. [Which Will, which Will Book, page, etc.?] 3. Hopkins, Margaret Lail, Index to the Tithables of Loudoun Co, VA 1758-1786. 4. Schreiner-Yantis, Netti, and Florence Love, The Personal Property tax Lists for 1787, Loudoun Co, VA, Genealogical Books in Print, Springfield, VA, 1986. 5. International Genealogical Index, Church of Jesus Christ of the Later Day Saints, Salt Lake City, UT. 1992. [Way too vague -- really need the source number code. There's a real difference between a Family Group Sheet someone submitted and an actual Court Document.] 6. King, J. Estelle Stewart, Abstracts of Wills, Inventories, and Administration Accounts of Loudoun Co, VA 1757-1800, Genealogical Pub. Co, Baltimore, 1984. 7. Data from the Charles Blair Tavenner Collection, in Thomas Balch public library, Leesburg, VA. [We need to figure out how to reference this man's work.] 8. Wertz, Mary Alice, Marriages of Loudoun Co, VA 1757-1853, Baltimore. 1985, in Thomas Balch public library, Leesburg, VA. 9. Champaign Co, OH Cemetery Records, Daughters of the American Revolution, in Urbana, OH public library. [Which Cemetery?] 10. “U.S. Census,” Champaign Co, OH. [Again, which one? Page Number or Township reference?] 11. Shenandoah Co, VA Marriages to 1850, Historic Series. [This is intriguing. I see that Shenandoah County was organized in 1771 from Frederick County.] Before my message hit the airwaves, Dave sent: "A revised list of sources... 1. “U.S. Census,” Loudoun Co, VA, 1810 p.279, 1820 p.133A, 1830 p.54. 2. Loudoun Co, VA Wills from court house records, Leesburg. Book Z,pp.414-416. 3. Hopkins, Margaret Lail, Index to the Tithables of Loudoun Co, VA, 1758-1786. 4. Schreiner-Yantis, Netti, and Florence Love, The Personal Property tax Lists for 1787, Loudoun Co, VA, Genealogical Books in Print, Springfield, VA, 1986, pp.27, 70. 5. “U.S. Census,” Loudoun Co, VA, 1840 p.226. 6. International Genealogical Index, Church of Jesus Christ of the Later Day Saints, Salt Lake City, UT. 1992. 8482505-0007. 7. King, J. Estelle Stewart, Abstracts of Wills, Inventories, and Administration Accounts of Loudoun Co, VA 1757-1800, Genealogical Pub. Co, Baltimore, 1984. 8. Abstracts of Loudoun Co, VA Wills from court house records, Leesburg. pp.190-191, 1793-1797. 9. Data from the Charles Blair Tavenner Collection, in Thomas Balch public library, Leesburg, VA. 10. Wertz, Mary Alice, Marriages of Loudoun Co, VA 1757-1853, Baltimore. 1985, in Thomas Balch public library, Leesburg, VA. 11. Champaign Co, OH Cemetery Records, Daughters of the American Revolution, in Urbana, OH public library. 12. “U.S. Census,” Champaign Co, OH, 1850, 1860. 13. Shenandoah Co, VA Marriages to 1850, Historic Series." * * * * * Thanks, Dave. I needed that. By the way, the International Genealogical Index (IGI) source number is very important. See Dave's revised Footnote #6: "8482505-0007". This source code reveals that the information came from a Family Group Sheet submitted in 1984, batch 82505, sheet 7. The online version of the IGI includes the name of the submitter. For 25 cents, you can order a copy of the submitted group sheet. How reliable is the IGI? Only as reliable as the person who submitted the information. Last summer, Dr. Nolen Fulton and I exchanged information regarding his family. He believed that he was a descendant of Alexander Fulton of Cecil County, Maryland, and I did not. I wrote a detailed summary of why he could not possibly be a descendant of this Fulton. "But that's what it says in the IGI" he told me. So I checked the IGI and found that a Terry Fulton submitted the information in 1993. I asked Dr. Fulton, "Do you know a Terry Fulton?" "Why yes," he replied, "that's my nephew." I explained that Terry submitted the information to the LDS church. "But I gave the information to Terry," said the good doctor. My point, exactly. * * * * * Well, I have a long list of Fultons to look up when I go to the Denver Public Library this Saturday. How about you? Dave closed his revised footnotes with the message "these should let anyone from Lonesome Pine CO find the material faster." Lonesome Pine? (It was Double Tree before that Delorean fell out of the sky and knocked one down.) Patrice (Fulton) Stark Lone Tree, Colorado