Kathie -- I know of no requirement to "exhaust all sources." Genealogy standards do require a "thorough" or "reasonably exhaustive" search, and in particular they require that we not overlook anything that might be inconvenient to our hypothesis. Obviously this does include the entire host of books and articles that tend to confirm the hypothesis. But the first step is to determine (as far as possible) whether these sources are independent of one another or whether they are simply repeating each other. Where does the information in each originate? Are there really eleven sources confirming the story, or only one or two? A couple of other thoughts, although you didn't ask ;-) I have never seen a will like that, and to me it has the flavor of a dubious family story. Obviously the first step would be to locate the alleged will; if the person thought to have written the will died intestate, or wrote a will that does not fit the story, then the family story is literally false. But often such stories still point to some (less melodramatic) facts. It makes sense to treat the family story as a hypothesis that might be true. It usually is not a good idea to try to work downstream from a supposed ancestor, but perhaps that is necessary in this case given the pattern of what is known and not known. Searching probate records, including "loose papers" or "estate packets," and property records, as well as wills, should help in trying to establish descent. Good luck! Harold Harold Henderson, CG midwestroots.net *Finding Ancestors in Fort Wayne: The Genealogist's Unofficial One-Stop Guide to the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center * http://www.midwestroots.net/ <http://www.midwestroots.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ACPLGC-April-2013.pdf> Certified Genealogist (SM) No. 1029 Certified Genealogist and CG are proprietary service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists® used by the Board to identify its program of genealogical competency evaluation and used under license by the Board’s associates. On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 9:56 AM, Kathie Fortner via < [email protected]> wrote: > I am working on a proof report that will likely end up being all > circumstantial evidence. I have a situation where a will that may or may > not have ever existed is believed by the family to have left a fortune to > the 5th generation. The belief is that the father being mad at the > daughter left it to the 5th generation after her. My reason to address > this is to look at the people with a belief that they meet the criteria. > That they were all descended from her being a priority. > > One of the sons of the woman mentioned in the first will, in turns leaves a > will that leaves out the son I am trying to prove was his. Here is the > question. There are at least three county histories and at least eight > newspaper reports on this supposed fortune that mention some heirs. In > order to exhaust all sources, would I have to address each of these sources > separately and analyze all of them? > > Thanks for any input. All the sources have slight variances but mainly say > the same things. However not all mention exactly the same would be heirs. > > * > Kathie Fortner* > * <[email protected]>* > > *www.fortner.50megs.com <http://www.fortner.50megs.com>* > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
Here is another thought. Take a class. Determining Kinship Reliably with the Genealogical Proof Standard http://www.gripitt.org/?page_id=1141 Jeffrey L. Vaillant President, Sonoma County Genealogical Societyhttp://scgsonline.org/ Genealogist, Clan Mackintosh of North Americahttps://www.facebook.com/groups/116939115013189/ Director, California Genealogical Society and Library2201 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612 www.californiaancestors.org Counselor, Gen. Alfred Pleasonton Camp No. 24 Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) http://www.suvpac.org/camp24.html Director, Friends of Civil War Alcatraz http://friendsofcivilwaralcatraz.org/ > Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2015 10:25:16 -0600 > To: [email protected] > CC: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [TGF] Proof Report > From: [email protected] > > Kathie -- > > I know of no requirement to "exhaust all sources." Genealogy standards do > require a "thorough" or "reasonably exhaustive" search, and in particular > they require that we not overlook anything that might be inconvenient to > our hypothesis. Obviously this does include the entire host of books and > articles that tend to confirm the hypothesis. > > But the first step is to determine (as far as possible) whether these > sources are independent of one another or whether they are simply repeating > each other. Where does the information in each originate? Are there really > eleven sources confirming the story, or only one or two? > > A couple of other thoughts, although you didn't ask ;-) I have never seen > a will like that, and to me it has the flavor of a dubious family story. > Obviously the first step would be to locate the alleged will; if the person > thought to have written the will died intestate, or wrote a will that does > not fit the story, then the family story is literally false. But often such > stories still point to some (less melodramatic) facts. > > It makes sense to treat the family story as a hypothesis that might be > true. It usually is not a good idea to try to work downstream from a > supposed ancestor, but perhaps that is necessary in this case given the > pattern of what is known and not known. Searching probate records, > including "loose papers" or "estate packets," and property records, as well > as wills, should help in trying to establish descent. Good luck! > > Harold > > > Harold Henderson, CG midwestroots.net > > *Finding Ancestors in Fort Wayne: The Genealogist's Unofficial One-Stop > Guide to the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center * > http://www.midwestroots.net/ > <http://www.midwestroots.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ACPLGC-April-2013.pdf> > > Certified Genealogist (SM) No. 1029 > Certified Genealogist and CG are proprietary service marks > of the Board for Certification of Genealogists® used by the > Board to identify its program of genealogical competency evaluation > and used under license by the Board’s associates. > > > > On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 9:56 AM, Kathie Fortner via < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > I am working on a proof report that will likely end up being all > > circumstantial evidence. I have a situation where a will that may or may > > not have ever existed is believed by the family to have left a fortune to > > the 5th generation. The belief is that the father being mad at the > > daughter left it to the 5th generation after her. My reason to address > > this is to look at the people with a belief that they meet the criteria. > > That they were all descended from her being a priority. > > > > One of the sons of the woman mentioned in the first will, in turns leaves a > > will that leaves out the son I am trying to prove was his. Here is the > > question. There are at least three county histories and at least eight > > newspaper reports on this supposed fortune that mention some heirs. In > > order to exhaust all sources, would I have to address each of these sources > > separately and analyze all of them? > > > > Thanks for any input. All the sources have slight variances but mainly say > > the same things. However not all mention exactly the same would be heirs. > > > > * > > Kathie Fortner* > > * <[email protected]>* > > > > *www.fortner.50megs.com <http://www.fortner.50megs.com>* > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > [email protected] 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 [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
As a forensic genealogist who has been asked to work on "cases" similar to this, my first question would be why is the client having this work done. If the purpose is to prove he/she is an heir, then the approach needs to be totally different than relying on the sources mentioned. IMHO, "...at least three county histories and at least eight newspaper reports on this supposed fortune that mention some heirs" - would not be *sources* at all in an effort to determine heirs or just satisfy a client's curiosity. They are what they are - stories. I am not understanding why these stories would be a foundation for a proof report. They are, however, the triggers for your independent research to determine the facts using real sources. Harold's suggestions to start with the decedent to follow the evidence and lines of descent and distribution would be a better choice. "...a will that may or may not have ever existed..." is the starting point. Find out what was filed, what is recorded and investigate from there. An alleged will that was never produced and filed is just a story. best regards, Dee -- Dee Dee King, Certified Genealogist (sm), Certificate 903 Forensic Genealogy Services LLC and Contract Genealogist, US Navy Casualty, POW/MIA Branch Mail address - PO Box 1085, Manvel TX 77578 Telephone/fax 281-595-3090 www.forensicgenealogyservices.com www.facebook.com/forensicgenealogist Certified Genealogist (CG) is a service mark (sm) of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, conferred to associates who consistently meet ethical and competency standards in accord with peer-reviewed evaluations every five years, and the board name is registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.