Years ago after a presentation, a gentleman came up and told me that I should not suggest people rely on census records or other “secondary records” (his phrasing) for information. I should suggest better sources.
That’s just not the way it works. We do not always have the sources that we would like to have.
While census records can be incorrect and information that’s secondary can be suspect, sometimes it is all that we have. My ancestor, Ellen Butler was born in Missouri in the 1850s. Her family moved frequently, did not attend any church that kept records, there is no family bible that I can find, and she died before there was vital registration of deaths as well. While I keep looking for a “better source” of information, there’s probably never going to be anything other than a few of census enumerations to estimate her year of birth.
Of course census records can be off and parental information listed in death certificates can be woefully off-base. But when it’s all there is, it’s all there is. We cite everything we’ve located and see what conclusions can be reached. It doesn’t mean we quit looking or quit learning about new sources. But not every time place and location is the same.
What is available depends greatly upon the time period, the location, and the family. Documenting someone in Illinois in 1930 is different from Missouri in 1850 is different from Virginia in 1750 and and different from Massachusetts in 1700.
And…as astute readers will know, information is primary or secondary and sources are original or derivative.
4 Responses
Thank you for your direct and very clear messages…..they really matter!
Some of my ancestors show up in court records frequently; others, not at all, even for a marriage license when they were “required.” Family History would be easy to do if everyone had birth certificates, marriage licenses, death certificates & all those lovely other records. The search wouldn’t be as much fun though, would it?
Well said! And besides the times when a census is all we have (as you stated), a census can be extremely valuable. I have found additional children in families because of a census., a ‘missing’ widowed woman living with one of her adult children in a census, occupations of male ancestors in a census, and have discovered that a first wife died because of a second wife popping up in a census. If I had only ONE record to use as a launch pad for research on a family, I would pick a census report. It may have some wrong information, but it still gives a great start with names, dates and places.
Without census records, as imperfect as they may be, I would not even know of various branches of my family. I agree with those who have commented above. Census records can be the main source of information for many of those who came before us.