One of the blessings of internet genealogy is the ability to instantly share data and locate other descendants. One of the curses is that it quickly spreads erroneous data that is self perpetuating. I fully understand the dilemma. I have shared my work and the work I have gathered from others only to have it resent to me years later as someone else's work with all my early mistakes which I have since corrected. We all need to try to put sources attached to the data when we can or to put "no sources to corroborate" when we have no sources. One bad thing about using the internet for genealogy I have found for myself is that I no longer make that time consuming trek to the libraries, court houses and archives as I used to before the internet. It is so much easier to search at home on the net. But what can happen is that mistakes are sent and resent. Once I put unproven but suspected maiden names in brackets on something I sent out. It showed up later without the brackets as facts and is now firmly embedded on World Connect. I only wanted to share research ideas and had no idea it would land there distorted from my ideas, but too late. Right now I hold a large database of my Rea family but I am unwillingly to let it loose on the net until I can do a better job of including sources. I was good at researching and collecting but the slow, tedious job of documenting wasn't my primary concern. Now I have to go back and do it all over again. Thank goodness the computer at least makes it easier. But that was my lesson learned the hard way. One of the great things about the Vestal family is that it is a unique family all related it seems in the USA. Gradually I began to collect a Vestal database to use for a process of elimination as I tried to connect my known Vestal ancestors to the larger NC family. I am constantly printing out data sent to this list and painstakingly going line by line to my database to add detail, etc. What I find is lots of differing dates and even place names, etc. What I do now is put both versions or eliminate ones that seem to be obvious mistakes or typos. There is a new and I think somewhat expensive genealogy site that is just opening which promotes a new concept. When you send in data to share, a sophisticated new program attempts to match it up and connect to a larger data base. It will then point out to the viewers discrepancies and variations in the data. A great idea. I am just leery of having to spend money for membership. BTW the site is: http://www.onegreatfamily.com/z/genealogybrowse Anyone with any experience with OneGreatFamily please share your pros and cons. I want to join, but hesitate to spend money on an unknown entity. I have paid membership to ancestry.com for more than a year now and it has been very useful and worth the fee. (Ancestry.com often offers free days to non-members and that is how I felt confident to join) The use of its on-line census indexes alone is a real boon to leads for further research. It searches counties and town with soundex for a surname. So much quicker that using countless books in a library and painfully standing in line to xerox the data or trying every variation you can dream up. I use ancestry.com with results well worth the low fees, but I have never used FamilyTree because the fees seem so high. Any comments from those who are members of Family Tree?? I don't know that there is correct and incorrect data in our Vestal genealogy but we have all noticed discrepancies. Those who are sticklers for sources have nugged us all to be aware of lack of sources. My efforts with the Vestal family indicate that a lot of the data originally came from LDS sources. It is well known that many of the early LDS submitters were amateurs and many mistakes are now in the LDS data and perpetuating the problem. LDS has since improved and most of us now realize we can only use undocumented data as a lead to do our own work. Most of the Vestal data we are circulating originally came from LDS data. You can go there on the net and find the sources, some of which is long ago and the submitters are long dead with their sources. LDS has vast and reliable marriage records which are very helpful on-line, but very often you can see discrepancies in children's birthdates that are not possible given the ages and dates of the parents, etc. So modern genealogy has tremendous aids and speed but one is also in a nest of sorting out errors. My hope is that the Vestal list can help us to compile a well documented database for the net. I think we are doing that with our discussions and sharing. People who are strict about sources have their place in good work, but I have also seen people who sat on their data for years until they could move an inch--waiting for a marriage record. Often one has to go on and jump a generation back and try to work back. If one is too linear you can be stymied too. So we all need each other. The right brainers to venture out and creatively look for leads and connections based on intuition and the left brainers documenting and demanding PROOF, PROOF, PROOF. It all works out if we stick together and do not get mad at each other. Patience and persistence pays off in genealogy. My thoughts on sources, Tom Rea looking to prove my connections to the Vestal family If you have a sophisticated genealogy program it is enlightening to go back on your pedigree and try to insert a source for every piece of data (in other ways how you know this or that state fact: family bible held by, marriage records, living memory, etc.) Luckily I kept paper files and often I open a file and insert my left out sources and type into the database paper notes. Then I can finally toss the accumulation of paper. getting notes onto the computer and tossing the debris is very worthwhile, but do backups the rest of your life!!

Well said! Documentation is a real pain in the ---, but without it we are wasting everybody's time. Vanessa Tom Rea wrote: > > One of the blessings of internet genealogy is the ability to > instantly share data and locate other descendants. One of the curses > is that it quickly spreads erroneous data that is self perpetuating. > I fully understand the dilemma. I have shared my work and the work I > have gathered from others only to have it resent to me years later as > someone else's work with all my early mistakes which I have since > corrected. We all need to try to put sources attached to the data > when we can or to put "no sources to corroborate" when we have no > sources. > > One bad thing about using the internet for genealogy I have found for > myself is that I no longer make that time consuming trek to the > libraries, court houses and archives as I used to before the > internet. It is so much easier to search at home on the net. But > what can happen is that mistakes are sent and resent. Once I put > unproven but suspected maiden names in brackets on something I sent > out. It showed up later without the brackets as facts and is now > firmly embedded on World Connect. I only wanted to share research > ideas and had no idea it would land there distorted from my ideas, > but too late. Right now I hold a large database of my Rea family but > I am unwillingly to let it loose on the net until I can do a better > job of including sources. I was good at researching and collecting > but the slow, tedious job of documenting wasn't my primary concern. > Now I have to go back and do it all over again. Thank goodness the > computer at least makes it easier. But that was my lesson learned > the hard way. > > One of the great things about the Vestal family is that it is a > unique family all related it seems in the USA. Gradually I began to > collect a Vestal database to use for a process of elimination as I > tried to connect my known Vestal ancestors to the larger NC family. > I am constantly printing out data sent to this list and painstakingly > going line by line to my database to add detail, etc. What I find is > lots of differing dates and even place names, etc. What I do now is > put both versions or eliminate ones that seem to be obvious mistakes > or typos. > > There is a new and I think somewhat expensive genealogy site that is > just opening which promotes a new concept. When you send in data to > share, a sophisticated new program attempts to match it up and > connect to a larger data base. It will then point out to the viewers > discrepancies and variations in the data. A great idea. I am just > leery of having to spend money for membership. BTW the site is: > > http://www.onegreatfamily.com/z/genealogybrowse > > Anyone with any experience with OneGreatFamily please share your pros > and cons. I want to join, but hesitate to spend money on an unknown > entity. I have paid membership to ancestry.com for more than a year > now and it has been very useful and worth the fee. (Ancestry.com > often offers free days to non-members and that is how I felt > confident to join) The use of its on-line census indexes alone is a > real boon to leads for further research. It searches counties and > town with soundex for a surname. So much quicker that using > countless books in a library and painfully standing in line to xerox > the data or trying every variation you can dream up. I use > ancestry.com with results well worth the low fees, but I have never > used FamilyTree because the fees seem so high. Any comments from > those who are members of Family Tree?? > > I don't know that there is correct and incorrect data in our Vestal > genealogy but we have all noticed discrepancies. Those who are > sticklers for sources have nugged us all to be aware of lack of > sources. My efforts with the Vestal family indicate that a lot of > the data originally came from LDS sources. It is well known that > many of the early LDS submitters were amateurs and many mistakes are > now in the LDS data and perpetuating the problem. LDS has since > improved and most of us now realize we can only use undocumented data > as a lead to do our own work. Most of the Vestal data we are > circulating originally came from LDS data. You can go there on the > net and find the sources, some of which is long ago and the > submitters are long dead with their sources. LDS has vast and > reliable marriage records which are very helpful on-line, but very > often you can see discrepancies in children's birthdates that are not > possible given the ages and dates of the parents, etc. > > So modern genealogy has tremendous aids and speed but one is also in > a nest of sorting out errors. My hope is that the Vestal list can > help us to compile a well documented database for the net. I think > we are doing that with our discussions and sharing. People who are > strict about sources have their place in good work, but I have also > seen people who sat on their data for years until they could move an > inch--waiting for a marriage record. Often one has to go on and jump > a generation back and try to work back. If one is too linear you can > be stymied too. So we all need each other. The right brainers to > venture out and creatively look for leads and connections based on > intuition and the left brainers documenting and demanding PROOF, > PROOF, PROOF. It all works out if we stick together and do not get > mad at each other. Patience and persistence pays off in genealogy. > > My thoughts on sources, > Tom Rea looking to prove my connections to the Vestal family > > If you have a sophisticated genealogy program it is enlightening to > go back on your pedigree and try to insert a source for every piece > of data (in other ways how you know this or that state fact: family > bible held by, marriage records, living memory, etc.) Luckily I kept > paper files and often I open a file and insert my left out sources > and type into the database paper notes. Then I can finally toss the > accumulation of paper. getting notes onto the computer and tossing > the debris is very worthwhile, but do backups the rest of your life!! > > ==== VESTAL Mailing List ==== > Please Help Support Rootsweb! By becoming a member, your donation will continue to have this great surname e-mail list, and the new surname boards on a website at Rootsweb! 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