This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: Dale_H_Cook Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.massachusetts.counties.barnstable/1105.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: You have noted the variable completeness of documentation in these pamphlets. Many of them are undated, and most of the dated ones were published either before World War I or between the wars. The practice of thorough documentation did not begin to gain traction until the '20s and '30s, and did not become the norm until after World War II. Since the pamphlets were written by a number of authors, one would need to be familiar with the body of work of a given author in order to judge the reliability of his pamphlet(s). My major standard for judging the reliability of an author is based on what portion of his undocumented assertions have been disproved. Amos Otis, author (or original author, revised by the editor) of pamphlets 18, 27, 45, 46, 47, and 54 (the correspondence in 60, 61 and 62 was to Otis, not by him) was a thorough researcher whose work is generally reliable. Joseph Paine, author of pamphlets 32, 33, 35, 52, 55, 63 and 93, was for many years Harwich Town Clerk and town historian. His work is also generally reliable. Although there are undocumented and unproved assertions in his work, I am not aware of any disproved assertions in his work. If you have questions about particular authors or particular assertions, feel free to ask here, as there may be those reading this board (or subbing the gatewayed mailing list as I do) who can answer your questions. Dale H. Cook, Member, NEHGS and MA Society of Mayflower Descendants; Plymouth Co. MA Coordinator for the USGenWeb Project http://members.cox.net/plymouthcolony/index.shtml Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.