Genealogy Standards & Guidelines

Genealogy: Online Ethics and Etiquette

From the novice to the veteran family historian we can all agree that the vast amount of information available online for genealogy research is a great blessing. Therefore, it is more important than ever to become familiar with the ethical practices and etiquette involved in information sharing when it comes to our family trees.

On sites such as Ancestry.com and Find a Grave, a great deal of the information is made available through the contributions of fellow researchers. Thus, it is becoming easier for genealogy beginners to discover documents and photos at the touch of a few keys.

Family Tree Ethics and Etiquette
Published genealogies can be a truly wonderful resource, they aid us in our own research and quite often lead to the discovery of cousins we never knew we had. The down side of this is that through innocent error and sometimes intent, the genealogical community experiences a degree of unethical behavior and bad manners.

It is very exciting to find published information about your ancestors online however, before you snag that birth, marriage, death record or photo of G.G. Grandma:

1. Ask Permission
This is a common scenario on sites like Ancestry.com where photos and records are often public. This is because Ancestry.com is meant to be a collaborative site and although it states in their Community Guidelines that “Any information you post in our community is public and can be copied, modified and distributed by others” you should still ask permission of the original poster.

2. Give Credit
When using published documents or photos always thank the original contributor A little blurb that reads – Photo Courtesy of Ms. Nice Genealogist – is just good manners.

To learn more about this subject check out Genealogy Beginner’s lesson # 1. Genealogy Standards and Guidelines: You Need to Know This First, available with your 30-day free trial membership.

How to Cite Family Tree Information Sources

As a family tree enthusiast, you are probably aware that your genealogical information comes from multiple places such as government agencies, Old Parish Records, monumental inscriptions, online genealogy sites, books and newspapers. No matter where you found the information about your ancestors it is simply good practice to cite your sources. The basics of citing a source are simple.

 

 

Citing a Genealogy Source Consists of Naming:

• Who created the source (publisher, historical society, government agency)
• What the source was titled (John O’ Groat’s Journal)
• When the information was created (copyright or year of publication)
• Where the information was created (State, County, and/or name of publisher)
• How you found it (name of repository or archive)
• Why it is a good source (primary, secondary or tertiary source)

Citing sources is particularly important if you plan to publish your family tree to the internet and it helps all of us involved in family tree research to sort out the reliable information from assumptions and guesswork.

Citing Sources for the Genealogy Beginner Citing sources can also be time consuming and confusing if you are not familiar with how to cite properly a source of genealogical information. For starters, here are some general helps and guidelines to citing a source.

Genealogy Citation Guidelines:

• <angle brackets> are for internet addresses <https://www.genealogybeginner.com/>
• [brackets] are for descriptive information
• Information about publishers should be in
• (parentheses)

Always cite exactly what you have found along with where you found it If you have doubts either leave it out or note is as a supposition.

For example in the case of a Monumental Inscription:

PETER SINCLAIR, CATHERINE CALDER  Erected By Peter Sinclair In Memory Of His Wife Catherine Calder Who Died At Greentoft, 21st March 1905, Aged 72 Years. Also Peter Sinclair, Born At Cleat, Sanday, 12th June 1830, Died At Greentoft, Eday, 3rd January 1917

Citation:

Orkney Family History Society , “Orkney Graveyard Search for: Sinclair in Eday & Pharay, Old Kirkyard, St Marys, Eday Orkney” (Orkney Family History Society ) [Ray Millar ] <http://www.orkneyfhs.co.uk/mis/minscriptions.php?opt=gyard&gref=151&surname=Sinclair> Report date: 04/03/12

note: Eday, Orkney, Scotland:  Eday Old Kirkyard, Orkney, Scotland Plot: 329

It also helps to become familiar with the abbreviations used in citing your family tree information sources along with the standard formats used. Standard

Abbreviations for Genealogical Citations

Standard Format for Online Genealogical Citations

Citing your sources will give you the confidence to publish your family tree knowing that all of your hard work is beyond reproach. You can learn more about the importance of citing your family tree research and genealogy best practices in Genealogy Beginner’s Lesson 1: The Big Five Genealogy standards and guidelines: what you need to know first

Image Credit: Ramona Hartley

Genealogy Standards: You Need to Know Now

You have found some intriguing information on an ancestor that has you very excited.

It is a significant event

Gives dates and places

May even promise to break through a brick wall

 

What it does not have is a proper source citation. Do you believe it or not?

I share the following story with you to demonstrate why learning to use and strictly follow the Genealogy Standards and Guidelines may be the most important lesson you learn.

Here is why Genealogybeginner.com’s Lesson 1 – The Big Five Genealogy standards and guidelines is so important!

Genealogy Believe it or Not

While working on collecting documented evidence to use in a biography for an ancestor. I ran across a web page that claimed to place my ancestor in North America 15 years earlier than previously thought. It also connected him with a notable historic person.

There are two reasons why this information is both extremely exciting and misleadingly dangerous.

Family Tree Excitement

• The source had the BDM information correct
• Another tie to this notable person and my ancestor has been well documented in government sources.

Ancestors in Danger

These two facts make the information I found plausible. However, I have not run across this particular event in any known primary or secondary source.

So, although excited to find this reference, the first thing I did was look for a source citation for the event. Sadly there was none listed, in fact there were no source citations listed for anything. Far too often this is the case and far too often misleading information is assumed to be fact by trusting, inexperienced ancestor hunters.

A Caution for the Genealogy Beginner

1. Indexes, databases and published family trees

Indexes, databases and published genealogical works are wonderful research helps when used correctly. They are not EVER to be considered sources under any circumstances. Indexed information, although associated with a primary source record, is not the record itself.

2. If you can not document the source it is simply genealogy fiction

When recording your information provide a complete and full citation of your sources. Without this information all the work you have done is simply fiction.

Everything you need to know about genealogy standards and guidelines is available to you right here at genealogybeginner.com.

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