I’m glad that others want to share Genealogy Tip of the Day with others. However, I do request that you share in such a way that credits Michael John Neill as the author and Genealogy Tip of the Day as the site of publication. We don’t require payment to reprint or re-use tips. Our suggested citation is actually pretty simple. This tip appeared in Genealogy Tip of the Day (www.genealogytipoftheday.com) by Michael John Neill on 25 September 2016 (or whatever date it was). That’s all. I’ve seen newsletters fill entire pages with our tips–which is fine–except there was no author name, date, or original source of publication. That’s not so fine. The tips are distributed freely (and I’m happy to do so), but they do help drive traffic on our site to things […]
Genealogists try to be specific when stating relationships between individuals. Your relative from Omaha might not be as specific when discussing family members. Grandma may have written “Cousin Myrtle” on the back of a photograph. If the person referring to their cousin is still alive, try and get them to be more specific about the relationship, if possible. Don’t suggest what the relationship is. Sometimes “cousins” were were actually cousins (just further down the line than you thought), were related by marriage, or were just neighbors with whom the family was close.
Always transcribe documents as written, making comments about accuracy outside the transcription. This 1921 court document indicated that a brother-in-law of the deceased was a sister of the deceased. It should be transcribed as “…brothers, and Minka Hobben[sic], Heipke Schone, …” The record should not be corrected when the transcription is made. After the transcription is complete a notation that “‘Minka Hobben’ is likely meant to refer to Tjode Habben, who was Mrs. Mimka Habben–oldest sister…” Avoid the temptation to correct the document when making your transcription.
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