Every record and document has limitations. When using a source or any piece of genealogical information, it can be easy to get caught up in what it tells us, how it helps us, and what we can do next with the information we have just obtained. But it is to our advantage to not just focus on our immediate next steps. We should think about the “cons” of that material as well.
- How can it be wrong?
- Could it provide biased information?
- Could it be incomplete?
- And so on.
Being aware of the “cons” does not mean that we ignore the “pros.”
But if we are only aware of the ways a record can be right or can help us we may get “kicked in the genealogical rear end” by the negatives we are not considering.
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