Citing your work

I will be honest, when I first started doing genealogy, I did not cite any of my sources. Of course, I didn't know how or even to do so. Even if I would have known how to write a source citation, I don't know if I would have because I never thought about the importance of citing my work. I thought my knowledge was good enough.

death certificate of my uncle, Carl Bennett

Over the years of watching webinars, reading genealogy articles and such, I have learned the importance of citing your sources. There is a saying in the genealogy community, if it isn't sourced and cited, it is fiction. Now, I don't necessarily agree with my family history being fiction, but I do see the importance of having sources and citing where they were obtained. I have research from years ago in which I have no idea where I got the information because I didn't make a note of where I found it. I've even run across notes I've dashed off on other research, and, again, I don't know where I got the additional information. My frustration from not knowing where I got any of the information, and sometimes it was partial information, gave me my "aha" moment---I needed to write down my sources. Had I written down where or who I got it from would have made my life much easier.

After realizing the need for citations, I would gather my sources and put it aside to go back and cite it later. I still have records without citations awaiting my return. In fact, I have it on my "to do list" to search for records without source citations.

I have come to realize, of late, how much easier it is to search for the source and cite it while still in the record. It only takes a minute or so to cite a source. I have gotten pretty fast with citing my records. If I am using the same source for multiple entries (e.g., birth certificate for name verification, birth date and place, etc.), I copy the citation to Legacy clipboard, then paste it as many times as needed. This makes fast and easy work of it and I'm not constantly chasing my own tail trying to have a factual family tree.

Citations do not need to be long, drawn out or involved. A simple citation needs to show who created the document (government entity, etc.); name of the doc; date of document (if there is one) and date when accessed; how accessed---i.e., in person (Do you possess the copy or original?); online and if online, where you accessed it from (the URL); and locator information (page number, film number, frame number, etc.). That little bit of information provides a lot of invaluable help to all who you share your family tree with and yourself when the information is cold.

Until next time, keep digging in the past.