Effective interpretation and analysis of records requires the genealogist to know the limitations of the record being used. These limitations generally concentrate on who does not get listed in the record, how the information is given for inclusion in the records, how the records are organized (which impacts how they are searched), etc. For land records some limitations would be that only land owners are mentioned, some deeds were not recorded promptly, some land ownership happened without a deed being drawn up (eg. inheritance), etc. For obituaries some limitations would be cost of publishing in newspaper (if applicable as not all newspaper required payment), desire of family for others to know, ethnic and social class of deceased, need to search manually if papers are not digitally available, etc. […]
Keep in mind that some documents may have several dates, each of which serve a separate purpose. A land record may have a date of execution, when it was signed; a date of acknowledgement, where it was “acknowledged in front of an official;” and a date of recording, when it was filed for record. Those dates may all be the same–or they may be stretched out over several years. It just depends. But there is a difference between the dates.
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