Even the birth date of the draft card is considered primary for the simple fact that the person filled it out their self and they should know their own birthday and place. Secondly, on each draft card, it says I affirm that I have verified above answers and that they are true, followed by their signature. In this case I agree to disagree lol. btw, even in birth records which is primary, there can be errors, just like the draft cards. The main purpose of primary and secondary sources is so you know how reliable the info. is. Jeremy ________________________________ From: "RB5522@aol.com" <RB5522@aol.com> To: jeremy2feathers@yahoo.com Cc: rb5522@aol.com Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2012 5:26 PM Subject: Re: [GFO] World War I Registration card Sorry Jeremy but I disagree. While some of the information on a Draft Registration may be primary, such as the registrants address, occupation and other current information, birth information is not. It's not the document itself, but the information it contains that is considered.   From the BCG website at http://www.bcgcertification.org/skillbuilders/skbld085.html "A piece of information is primary when it is recorded by a knowledgeable eyewitness or participant in that event, or by an official whose duties require him or her to make an accurate record of the event when it occurs. Secondary information is supplied by someone who was not at the event and may include errors caused by memory loss or influenced by other parties who may have a bias or be under emotional stress. It is not at all unusual for documents to contain a combination of primary and secondary information. Examples include death records, tombstones, pension records, marriage applications, etc. ..." Judi Scott "Puzzles of the Past" http://puzzlesofthepast.blogspot.com/   In a message dated 7/29/2012 3:19:40 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, jeremy2feathers@yahoo.com writes: These cards are considered primary source >evidence because they were filled out by the individual himself. A secondary source is death, funeral, cemetery records, etc. because the info. was given by others and not the individual that it concerns. > > > >Jeremy > > > >________________________________ >From: Roy Katschke <RKatschke@comcast.net> >To: 'Jeremy Millard' <jeremy2feathers@yahoo.com>; 'II Keller' <kelleri00@hotmail.com>; orforum@rootsweb.com >Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2012 3:40 PM >Subject: RE: [GFO] World War I  Registration card > >I always thought of a "Primary Source" as a source that was created at the time of the event by a witness to the event. While the person filling out the draft card was most likely present at the time of his birth I'm not sure I'd consider him a credible "witness". And, the draft card is not being filled out at the time of his birth. Relative to the birth information I would not consider a draft card a "primary source". > >There is other information on draft cards, such as his address, with whom he is living, place of work, etc., that could be considered primary source information. > >Roy > >-----Original Message----- >From: orforum-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:orforum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Jeremy Millard >Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2012 1:35 PM >To: II Keller; orforum@rootsweb.com >Subject: Re: [GFO] World War I Registration card > >Should be very accurate, since whoever the draft card is for, was the person filling it out. It is considered a primary source. > > >Jeremy > > > >________________________________ >From: II Keller <kelleri00@hotmail.com> >To: orforum@rootsweb.com >Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2012 2:20 PM >Subject: [GFO] World War I  Registration card > > > > > > > >How >accurate are World War I draft registration cards?    Can it be a valid source for a man’s >birthdate and birthplace? > > >Thank you. >Irene >                          > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ORFORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ORFORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ORFORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Judi, You are correct in that it is the information that is primary (first-hand) or secondary (second-hand). As an explanation of what I mean, Historians use the terms primary source and secondary source to describe their sources, and a primary source is the original compilation. The thought is that the original will be the most accurate because no one has meddled with it. Genealogists know that things don't work that way. A tombstone can be an original source, but the information is likely to contain gross errors. Thus, the genealogical world has shifted to looking at who provided the information, whether they had possession of the facts, whether they had a reason to tell the truth or not, whether they were sane, etc. Those informants provide first hand (primary) and second hand) secondary information. Every document (source) that genealogists use contains information, and almost every document contains a mixture of first hand (primary) and second hand (secondary) information. Sometimes we can't determine who provided the information, and we can't assign the terms, primary or secondary. Then the information is undetermined. As an example, except for the 1940 census, we can't tell who provided census information. It could be the twelve-year-old child who was left at home to take care of the children while her parents were working in the fields. As an experiment, find a twelve-year-old and ask them where their parents were born and how old they were. The results may be scary. Conscientious genealogists look at the information and analyze it to see if it was possible that the informant had primary or secondary knowledge of the event. In the case of birth information, the only people who have primary knowledge are those who participate in the birth. Now, the child participates in the event, but the child isn't aware of the facts. Their knowledge comes from what someone tells them later. It's secondary information. What this means for genealogists is that we never depend upon only one source. As Tom Jones says, "All sources lie." We conduct an exhaustive search for all documents (sources) that were created around an event and analyze the information. I found five different birth dates for my grandfather, and all came from what a person would consider reliable sources. I found two different birth places for my grandmother, and the wrong one came from an official document. Connie Lenzen ________________________________ ________________________________ From: "RB5522@aol.com" <RB5522@aol.com> To: jeremy2feathers@yahoo.com Cc: rb5522@aol.com Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2012 5:26 PM Subject: Re: [GFO] World War I  Registration card Sorry Jeremy but I disagree. While some of the information on a Draft Registration may be primary, such as the registrants address, occupation and other current information, birth information is not. It's not the document itself, but the information it contains that is considered.   From the BCG website at http://www.bcgcertification.org/skillbuilders/skbld085.html "A piece of information is primary when it is recorded by a knowledgeable eyewitness or participant in that event, or by an official whose duties require him or her to make an accurate record of the event when it occurs. Secondary information is supplied by someone who was not at the event and may include errors caused by memory loss or influenced by other parties who may have a bias or be under emotional stress. It is not at all unusual for documents to contain a combination of primary and secondary information. Examples include death records, tombstones, pension records, marriage applications, etc. ..." Judi Scott "Puzzles of the Past" http://puzzlesofthepast.blogspot.com/   In a message dated 7/29/2012 3:19:40 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, jeremy2feathers@yahoo.com writes: These  cards are considered primary source >evidence because they were filled out   by the individual himself. A secondary source is death, funeral, cemetery   records, etc. because the info. was given by others and not the individual   that it   concerns. > > > >Jeremy > > > >________________________________ >From:   Roy Katschke <RKatschke@comcast.net> >To: 'Jeremy Millard'   <jeremy2feathers@yahoo.com>; 'II Keller' <kelleri00@hotmail.com>;   orforum@rootsweb.com >Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2012 3:40 PM >Subject: RE:   [GFO] World War I  Registration card > >I always thought of a   "Primary Source" as a source that was created at the time of the event by a   witness to the event. While the person filling out the draft card was most   likely present at the time of his birth I'm not sure I'd consider him a   credible "witness". And, the draft card is not being filled out at the time of   his birth. Relative to the birth information I would not consider a draft card   a "primary source". > >There is other information on draft cards, such as   his address, with whom he is living, place of work, etc., that could be   considered primary source information. > >Roy > >-----Original   Message----- >From: orforum-bounces@rootsweb.com   [mailto:orforum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Jeremy Millard >Sent:   Sunday, July 29, 2012 1:35 PM >To: II Keller;   orforum@rootsweb.com >Subject: Re: [GFO] World War I Registration   card > >Should be very accurate, since whoever the draft card is for, was   the person filling it out. It is considered a primary   source. > > >Jeremy > > > >________________________________ >From:   II Keller <kelleri00@hotmail.com> >To: orforum@rootsweb.com >Sent:   Sunday, July 29, 2012 2:20 PM >Subject: [GFO] World War I  Registration   card > > > > > > > >How >accurate are World War I draft   registration cards?    Can it be a valid source for a   man’s >birthdate and birthplace? > > >Thank you. >Irene >                              > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the   list, please send an email to ORFORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word   'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the   message > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the   list, please send an email to ORFORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word   'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the   message > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the   list, please send an email to ORFORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word   'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the   message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ORFORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message