Molly -- That's what I would do under those constraints. If I wasn't sure that the client understood the difference between an index and an original record, then in the report I would lean pretty hard on the fact that the relationship is not proved and the original documents may provide additional evidence -- or might blow the whole thing out of the water. -- Harold On Fri, Dec 21, 2012 at 9:27 PM, M KC <mkcindc@yahoo.com> wrote: > So I know that indexes can be full of errors and that they are merely > guides to the original sources. My question is this - if you have other > sources that partially corroborate the information, and the time allotted > by the client doesn't allow for acquisition of the original (or perhaps > even locating it) what are your thoughts on using it as a source of > information? What kind of caveats would be appropriate for the information > contained in it? > > An example: > I presume the couple was married about xxxx based on the births of their > children, and have an index giving me the actual date as well as the county > in which they were married. I find this information with only about 1 hour > left in total for the final report preparation and research write-up > (having been writing as I went along). > > Would it be acceptable to write something like this: > Abel Brooks and Barbie Cordan were married DD MMM YYYY <index citation>, > which date is supported by the birth of their first child 15 months later > <birth citation>. Because they both lived in Some County only two years > prior when the federal census was taken <census citations>, it seems > reasonable they were also married in Some County, as one source indicates > <index citation>. > > I would include acquisition of the original documentation as part of the > future recommended research. > > Thanks for your thoughts! > > ~Molly KC Reid~ > Deeper Roots > www.finddeeperroots.com > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive > environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to > professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- Harold Henderson midwestroots.net Research, Writing, and Brickwall Dismantling from Northwest Indiana Regularly Researching at the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center 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.