>From: RAHart3@aol.com >Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2002 13:07:22 EST > >Martha, >I read the article Using others Work, in Rootsweb Digest and again in your >Lenoir Digest. While I agree in principle, I don't agree in practice. Most people use other people's information at one time or another - I do; however, I do try to give credit as to where it came from. Other than Ima's database, for the most part, I have not put anything on my database that is not backed up or at least circumstantial evidence. Even with her information, have tried, when possible, to find something to back it up. Like most people, I use abstracts heavily but that is also dangerous because 4 people doing an abstract of the same instrument will come up with 4 different abstracts. I have certainly made many errors in abstracting the Collections. Like you, I don't have time or access to the originals. >What I do instead is to give credit in my notes to the person who shared >their data with me. To me, that is extremely important. >In my opinion the single most important purpose in our Genealogical research >is to get it right. Amen, easier said that done especially in burned counties. When I first started this passion, Ima sat me down with a few jewels of wisdom. What she did NOT do was tell me how to go about finding primary information - said I would learn more by trial and error. Maybe, but it cost me about two years. What she DID hammer into my head was - NEVER trust someone else's information - abstracts, conclusions etc. I make it a habit of telling people to backtrack on me - they might find something I missed or drew the wrong conclusion on. I think the biggest problem is so many new people take what they find, especially on the internet as the truth and never backtrack on it. That is how bad information gets spread around so much. You have been at this long enough to be cautious but a lot of new people haven't. Now, when you find my Hart line, let me know. Going from Nansemond to Hertford to Greene does not give much hope. Martha The only way we can do that is to take conflicting >information from many sources, then try to discover which is most accurate. >The second most important objective is to give credit to the persons who have >done the work and been willing to share it with us. We are a large community >of dedicated researchers who have been more than gracious in sharing the hard >work we do. No one individual has the time or the energy to do the work >necessary to trace a family line back through the hundreds of clues they left >in the file cabinets of history. It is a group effort. > >Roger > >