“I put something in my tree if three sources agree.” I see that kind of statement on a regular basis–implying that “three” is somehow a magic number. Analysis of information is not quite that simple. Might does not make right. Three sources can easily agree if the information was provided by the same person, regardless of whether they were correct or not. John Trautvetter’s church record of his marriage says his wife’s maiden name was Franciska Haase. The county courthouse record of the marriage indicates his wife’s maiden name was Franciska Haase. And his wife is living the the Haase family shortly before her marriage as their child.
Problem is that Franciska was not the child of Mr. Haase. He was her step-father.
There is no “magic” number of sources to make something “right.”
2 Responses
This is a good point – if two sources rely on incorrect information in the first, then they’re all in agreement, but not correct. Better to find as many sources as possible, analyse them and then decide which information appears to be the most reliable, based on the preponderance of evidence. Make notes explaining why you chose what you did.
But in this case the preponderance of evidence would not be the most reliable as Michael showed.