Bruce, I agree with you statements below, lot of folks have copied and posted my information on Rootsweb without giving their source and while making errors in entering the data to boot. But modern computer technology as been a great advantage for Genealogists even though it has been sometimes misused. A tool is only as good as its users ability and skill. You can make errors and propagate them faster with a computer, but you also have the advantage of low cost and effective ways to update and send information from place to place almost instantly. Below is an example of one family that I have been working on for years, note my sources are credited and listed and we have back up documentation on hard copy and often on our computer. Rebekah Parker b. 1803 in NC D. aft 1880 M. 8/6/1822, dt. William Parker and Elizabeth Lydia Bryant in Surry Co. NC Jesse Adams b. 1801 D. C1878 son John Adams and Elizabeth Fleming in Surry Co. NC Sarah Adams b. 1823 D. bef 1857 M. 2/8/1848 Winston Brown Mary Adams b. 1825 Elizabeth Adams b. 1828 D. Unk M. 3/6/1845 John Henry Dinkins, moved to Ohio after 1850 then to Ind by 1880 Elizabeth was on the 1880 and 1900 Henry Co. Ind Census Reports George M. Adams b. 1829 D. Unk M. 4/11/1852 Mary Melissa Hutchens He donated the land for the Union Grove Baptist Church, Boonville, NC Rebecca Adams b. 1832 D. aft 1900 M. a Canday was on the 1900 Henry Co. Ind Census with Elizabeth Dinkins Abigail Adams b. 1833 D. M. 2/20/1850 Jackson Caudle, son William Caudle and Nancy Brown Lousiana Adams b. 1835 D. M. 6/11/1861 Jonathan Brown went to New Castle Indiana Jesse Adams Jr. b. 1838 D. M. 3/17/1858 Sarah J. Adams Stephen H. Adams b. 1840 D. 4/23/1917 Henry Co Ind M. 1/22/1869 Lydia Dickerson b. 5/25/1852 D. 5/25/1925 Franklin Adams b. 1842 in Surry Co. NC D. unk M. unk Elam Jesse Adams b. 2/14/1844 in Grayson Co. Va D. 3/17/1921 M. 1st 3/3/1867 Sabra Reece, 2nd 11/10/1875 Lucy Reece both dts of Wiley Reece and Amenda Hinshaw Reece He died in Rogers, Arkansas in 1921. Was a Baptist Minister. Sarah Adams b. 1848, in Surry Co. NC D. unk. M. Unk. Sources: Harrell G. Miller "Harrell G. Miller" Harrell.Jan.Miller@Worldnet.att.net Elem Jesse Adams descendant, Alvin Caudle b. 1921 G-Grandson of Rebekah Parker and Jesse Adams descendant through Abigail Adams and Jackson Caudle. Various Census Reports & Marriage Bonds, Adams Family History. Note: Rebekah Parker was named after her aunt Rebekah Bryant the daughter of John Bryant and Lydia Allen Bryant. Jesse and Rebekah Parker Adams went to New Castle, Ind. In the early 1870's, in September of 1874 George Parker sent them money to pay for their train tickets back to Greensboro, NC. This is based on a letter written by Jesse and Rebekah Parker Adams to Elam Jesse Adams kept by Noah Parker and son Sebon Parker. They returned to NC in October of 1874. Jesse Adams died before 1880, on the 1880 Yadkin County Census, Rebekah Parker is living with her Grandson Samuel S. Adams off of Rockett Road in the Fall Creek Township, Yadkin Co. NC.. Updates on Ellizabeth Adams Dinkins, Rebecca Adams Canady and Stephen H. Adams in Henry Co. Ind from Jennifer Stephenandjenni@aol.com Ray Parker HADLEY-L-request@ro otsweb.com To: HADLEY-L@rootsweb.com cc: 08/15/2002 08:22 PM Subject: Re: [HADLEY-L] Abigal Hadley in Surry Co NC in response to Please respond to Norma, Herbertand John Hadley "Bruce Roberts" Just to add my two cents, I have noticed more and more people citing web sites like Rootsweb, FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, etc. as their sources for data. These are hardly "reliable" sources; anyone out there can submit information/family names to these sites which is then published, and often subsequently perpetuated as "gospel". I have found completely erroneous & bogus information on nearly every one of my family lines at the various genealogy sites on the web. (Of course, if the material on the web site is documented with sources, that's another story. There are some very well documented personal genealogical sites out there) There are obviously varying degrees of "trustworthiness" in the records we are able to find: from original civil & church records, to transcribed copies of same, censuses, directories, family histories, genealogical histories of specific locations, etc., etc. Even the "originals" often have errors & omissions. Sometimes we can't find anything close to a primary source, but that doesn't mean we should resort to using data which has NO documentation. Too many people seem more interested in how many names they can add to the family tree than whether the data is accurate. Genealogical research is like detective work; it involves much more than copying an undocumented series of names from an anonymous source. We should always strive to locate & record (as many) sources "as close to the original event" as possible. Information without a source, whether it's from the web or a family history book, shouldn't be used for anything more than as a clue or potential path for further research. OK, I'm off my soapbox... -Bruce Roberts ----- Original Message ----- From: <Ray.Parker@slkp.com> To: <HADLEY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2002 7:27 AM Subject: Re: [HADLEY-L] Abigal Hadley in Surry Co NC in response to Norma, Herbertand John Hadley > Norma, Herbert and John > > I agree with John Hadley that it is not unusual to find conflicting information, > especially posted on Rootsweb, but you will find it almost everywhere, this is > not to find fault with Rootsweb. I know of no infallible source of > information, Cousin William Wade Hinshaw's researchers made errors in recording > extracts from the Monthly Meeting Records, and there were many errors and gaps > in the meeting records themselves. Sometimes we have to just do as a > philosopher once said about religion, "one must just take a flying leap of > faith not knowing where one will land" not all things can be proven. > > A wise cousin with which I share four lines once said "Genealogy is never ever > completely complete and almost never ever completely correct." She and her > mother and grandmother and I and others have spent over 100 lapsed years on one > of our lines and there are still many gaps and errors in our work. > > Such is the way with genealogy, all it takes is something as simple as a missed > or incorrect key on the keyboard to create a discrepancy. I find that after > editing my work multiple times and having others review it for accuracy, we > later find errors left from several years back. > > Ray Parker ==== HADLEY Mailing List ==== HADLEY Message Board: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=surnames.hadley HADLEY List Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/HADLEY/ ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237