Sometimes it is necessary to enter in an approximate year of an event for an ancestor.
Always include in your notes your reason for that approximate year. If there is a source which you used to make the approximation, that should be indicated. Frequently a source will suggest an approximate year for some other event.
Don’t just enter in an approximate year or a guess without indicating how you got it.
And if you don’t have any reason at all for the approximate year of the event, reconsider entering it in your database in the first place.
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3 Responses
Good Afternoon Michael
First I will say that I enjoy reading your Genealogy Tips. However, as a Genealogist who does a great deal of Lineage work for DAR, Civil War, War 1812, UEL and other organizations I have to work with Facts and documentation before I even consider adding any information to my work (I follow that same format in doing all of my personal Genealogy). Sometimes even getting 3 separate backups to reach a date. The last thing I would consider would be to use an Approximate Date for any B, M or D (including Baptismal) or an Approximate Location showing where a Ancestor lived, traveled or was Buried. It is never safe to use undocumented or undated material found on the Internet or any other place? Not unless you verify it first with proper sources. Some of it may be right but how much faith can you really put in rehashed, regurgitated, uncited data from an unknown source.? It would be far better to mark your work “unknown” until you actually have your work completed. I see many of these examples on Ancestry.com Private or Public Trees and I feel it can only lead one to adding incorrect Ancestors to their family tree (I have also seen many of these). Probably due to most of the people never actually doing any real intensive on hands research off the Internet such as going to an Archive, Court House, Library or other resource to gather or obtain complete documentation (which is a must to be accurate). The Internet has developed a new group of family searchers. Unfortunately, the experienced genealogist is in the minority. There is new group of people now who know how to use a computer and also want to locate others who can give them the information about their families. Notice I did not call these people genealogists because they are lacking in the
Genealogical skills of doing productive research. Before Internet this person would have been the beginner genealogist sitting across the table from you in a library. I have been doing Genealogy and Historical research for over 60+ years and if one has not gotten the correct information I believe it should be omitted from your work until you have found it. These is no approximate nor assumption used in good Genealogical Research.
Thanks for your comment. I am glad to hear that you enjoy the tips. I think we’re actually in general agreement here. I was not suggesting that approximate dates of events be used without sources–in fact that’s mentioned specifically in the tip that the source should be included. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I would not use an online “tree” of any sort for a date, approximate or otherwise and I’m not suggesting that here.
However…
I have numerous ancestors born in locations and time periods where I am never going to get any type of precise date. This is especially true with my Virginia ancestors born before 1750. All I will ever be able to get is an approximate date of some events, usually based upon date of marriage, date of first land acquisition, appearing on a jury, etc. These people did not attend any sort of church that kept any records of vital events. In some locations, there may not be marriage records either. I would never suggest estimating a birth date without some reason or rationale, and usually it is extrapolated from a variety of local records that are suggestive of a date. Those local record sources and a discussion of what age they suggest an ancestor at least was are an integral part of my notes.
I have a German born ancestor for whom I only have four documents that suggest age: his marriage (sans any permission), his declaration of intention, his October 1850 purchase of real property, and his 1855 Illinois state census enumeration. I may never find his actual birth record in Germany at the rate I am going as there are no records providing any specificity for his place of birth. His death was in 1855 before any type of death record at all and his probate only provides a narrow time frame for his death. Those four documents together are consistently suggestive of an approximate year of birth.
I will occasionally put in an estimated date, using ca. or abt.and in my notes I will indicate why I have used that date.
Patricia, I wholeheartedly agree with your comments about people researching the Internet only. They just don’t know what they’re missing! Lugging around heavy deed or will books, going to some wonderful facilities and being helped by dedicated persons – what a joy! I have found things in an obscure facility that probably are not available anywhere else. I definitely would not have found these on the internet.