GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF MATERIAL

I want to accumulate a collection of quality information that will be useful to the researcher and a valuable addition to the site.

There are three classes of evidence, as outlined by Christine Rose and Elizabeth Shown Mills in their publications on the subject:

(1)   direct or indirect evidence

(2)   original or derivative source

(3)   primary or secondary information

Information obtained in genealogical research is universally judged on all three aspects.

It is obvious that, in all three aspects, the first choice is better than the second.  It is even more important, in burned counties, that we make the efforts to obtain records which are of the best quality available, given the relative scarcity of the material still surviving.

I ask that others try to submit high-quality material, and that they cite the source or sources for any information.  If there are issues with the source or the quality of the information, or the information is not of a type that I want to manage at present, I may suggest a message board or a mailing list as an appropriate place to post the material.

There are a number of publications available, from Elizabeth Shown Mills, Christine Rose, and others, which discuss this issue which is of great importance to anyone doing genealogical research.

There are also copyright laws which must be followed.  This is one of the reasons that I may require a citation to a source.