The illustration for this post is the last page of the 1933 “Class Will” from the BHS Junior Class in Basco, Hancock County, Illinois. My grandfather was the one who apparently wrote it. It serves to remind of several genealogical concepts and ideas. I do not have the original will. What I have is an apparent photocopy that was in my grandparents’ personal items that I acquired from my grandmother after her passing. Technically that makes what I have a derivative copy since it is not the original. My digital image is a derivative copy of my derivative copy–still making it a derivative copy. There’s not a special word for a derivative of a derivative. Copies and digital images usually represent the original accurately, but there’s always the […]
If you use the hints at various online genealogy sites, remember that they are hints. You should confirm that the person in the hint is actually your person of interest. Make certain you’ve read the original image to confirm the transcription made by the website. If the name is not the same, is the difference a reasonable one (perhaps due to a variant spelling, variant interpretation of the handwriting, translation of the name, or a diminutive)? Is the person in a place where you would expect them to be or where they could reasonably be given the time period and what you know about your person of interest? Is it possible there were two distinct people with similar names living in the same place and time period? Remember […]
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