Carol, After reading my post, I don't believe I was clear enough. If birth, marriage and death records are available from record offices for the years and geographic areas you are dealing with, then you will need to obtain them. Only when these records are not available (i.e., if vital statistics were not recorded until a certain date), will other types of records be accepted. If you have any other questions regarding documentation for Mayflower membership, please feel free to email me privately. (I believe we are "off topic" :) Susan (roser@iprimus.ca) www.friendsofthepilgrims.com www.rootsweb.com/~canms/canada.html -----Original Message----- From: mayflower-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:mayflower-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Susan E. Roser Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 4:28 PM To: mayflower@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [MFLR] Use of Tombstone Photos to Prove Ancestry? Carol, If death records are not available, then gravestone photos are accepted. If a birth record cannot be located, and the date of birth is on the gravestone, then this can be used to prove the date of birth. However, note that in the case of the line carrier, a gravestone does not prove parentage, therefore other records (father's will, census, etc.) will be needed which name parents. Susan E. Roser Historian Canadian Mayflower Society www.friendsofthepilgrims.com www.rootsweb.com/~canms/canada.html -----Original Message----- From: mayflower-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:mayflower-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Scrapcat2@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 4:18 PM To: mayflower@rootsweb.com Subject: [MFLR] Use of Tombstone Photos to Prove Ancestry? Does the Mayflower Society Historians permit the use of tombstone photos to show birth/death dates of Mayflower descendants in the application form? Or are birth certificates the only acceptable form of "proof". Thank you, Carol from Arizona

While gravestones often confirm suspected birth/death dates, and occasionally confirm marriages when they mention spouses, they don't often confirm parentage (except in the case of infant deaths) and as such are not of much use in genealogy. Confirmation that a particular individual existed does not imply relationships. Other documentary evidence of lineage, such as birth records and/or wills/land records are necessary and logical. It ain't rocket science. - Stuart Perkins stuartperkins@usa.net On Tue, 2008-06-24 at 17:37 -0400, Susan E. Roser wrote: > Carol, > > After reading my post, I don't believe I was clear enough. If birth, > marriage and death records are available from record offices for the years > and geographic areas you are dealing with, then you will need to obtain > them. Only when these records are not available (i.e., if vital statistics > were not recorded until a certain date), will other types of records be > accepted. > > If you have any other questions regarding documentation for Mayflower > membership, please feel free to email me privately. (I believe we are "off > topic" :) > > Susan (roser@iprimus.ca) > > www.friendsofthepilgrims.com > > www.rootsweb.com/~canms/canada.html > > > -----Original Message----- > From: mayflower-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:mayflower-bounces@rootsweb.com] > On Behalf Of Susan E. Roser > Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 4:28 PM > To: mayflower@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [MFLR] Use of Tombstone Photos to Prove Ancestry? > > Carol, > > If death records are not available, then gravestone photos are accepted. If > a birth record cannot be located, and the date of birth is on the > gravestone, then this can be used to prove the date of birth. However, note > that in the case of the line carrier, a gravestone does not prove parentage, > therefore other records (father's will, census, etc.) will be needed which > name parents. > > Susan E. Roser > Historian > Canadian Mayflower Society > > www.friendsofthepilgrims.com > > www.rootsweb.com/~canms/canada.html > > -----Original Message----- > From: mayflower-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:mayflower-bounces@rootsweb.com] > On Behalf Of Scrapcat2@aol.com > Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 4:18 PM > To: mayflower@rootsweb.com > Subject: [MFLR] Use of Tombstone Photos to Prove Ancestry? > > Does the Mayflower Society Historians permit the use of tombstone photos to > > show birth/death dates of Mayflower descendants in the application form? Or > are birth certificates the only acceptable form of "proof". > > Thank you, > Carol from Arizona > > > > Frequently-asked questions may often be answered by visiting the FAQ page for this list at: http://www.craigrich.net/mayfaq.htm > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MAYFLOWER-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >