Chapter
II, "Concepts Fundamental to the GPS", covers some basic concepts and terms relating to the Genealogical Proof
Standard; terms which seem to confuse when we get lost in the terminology
instead of the meaning. Before discussing the categories of sources,
information, and evidence, and their relationship to each other Dr. Jones
emphasizes the importance of the research question. Research projects begin
with specific questions, generally concerning identity, relationship or
activity. The questions should be precise enough to
prevent too many answers. For example, Who are the parents of Robert Eastham, who died in
Halifax County Virginia in 1803?", offers a better path than “Who are the parents
of Robert Eastham of Virginia?” (There were several.) On the other hand, “Prove
that Ann Thweatt was the wife of Robert Eastham who died in Halifax County,
Virginia in 1803” rather than “who was
the wife of Robert Eastham who died in Halifax County Virginia in 1803, limits
the possibilities of identifying the wife.
There
were five of us for this GenProof group discussion. We met on the evening of July
third; the holiday probably prohibited some people from attending. For the most
part, everyone seemed comfortable with the content of the chapter and the terms
involved. At the end of each chapter there are exercises to reinforce the
concepts. Members of our group
approached the questions in various way but we all used them. There are also two
case studies in the book that are used with the study questions.
What
did evoke conversation was determining whether information gathered from some
sources should be considered primary or secondary. One example was Bible
records. Tom Jones used a family Bible record from the Pritchett article
(Appendix A) which
he categorized as primary.[1] Some
of the group felt that Bible records should be secondary, since the “informant”
may not be known. For this particular record Tom Jones identified the person,
so it seems he was comfortable that she was the person who recorded the
information in the Bible.
Debbie
Hooper, our group facilitator, brought up the ongoing discussion about
classifying evidence as either direct or indirect. A common example is whether
a census age is direct evidence of the birth date. There seem to be two camps
on this question. Recent posts on the “Transitional Genealogist forum ” list at Rootsweb.com address
this issue. Tom Jones and Elizabeth Shown Mills both emphasized the importance
of how we use, or don’t use, evidence that we find, rather than the label.
. . . all your research products, should demonstrate that you readily recognize indirect evidence, understand it fully, and use it skillfully to achieve valid conclusions. . . . --- Tom[2]
. . . success with genealogical problem solving--doesn't hinge upon learning textbook definitions or knowing what label to apply to something. What makes us successful is (a) the ability to recognize evidence that doesn't jump off the page and slap us in the face; and (b) the ability to use that unobvious information to solve a problem. Elizabeth [3]
It
is important to acknowledge why we use these categories and definitions: they
help determine the value of what we find and they let us know we may need to dig deeper, to find the most reliable sources available.
[1] “Logic
Reveals the Parents of Philip Pritchett of Virginia and Kentucky”; Mastering Genealogical Proof, Appendix
A, 103. National Genealogical Society Quarterly 97, March 2009: 29-38
[2] Tom Jones post,
3 July 2013, 9:35 AM; Transitional Genealogist Forum, Rootsweb.com (www.transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com
: accessed 3 July 2013).
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