Should You Trust Information in Books or on Websites?

What to Believe?

Creating a family tree is an enjoyable hobby, but fun turns to frustration when the tree is missing ancestors or information. 

There's an old saying that if something is in print, it must be true.  But how does this work in creating our family's history?

Older books are often thought to be more accurate because they were written closer to when the  ancestors lived, but not all authors documented their work. Even books containing transcriptions of records, court actions, military muster rolls, census reports, tax records or church records can contain errors.  These can be "honest errors" due to misreading of the information from the original documents, poor handwriting, original transcription errors by a clerk, or deterioration of the original records, making them difficult to read.

Contacting family members might yield old photos, family records, or even family stories. Visits to court houses or cemeteries can provide additional information. Some might seek answers through DNA testing, while others try to complete their family tree through information shared by strangers on the internet or through publications. The challenge comes in determining the validity of the information gathered.

Most people would like their family history to include exciting events, historical figures or even royalty. Reporting that one's ancestor was born a certain place, married, had children, was a farmer, then died, does not make for an exciting story. Family histories may be embellished or simply repeat what a person has been told by relatives.But if books or websites contain only family history with no sources, then one must find facts to back up the stories-  or always be in doubt.

At times. companies have offered paid subscriptions to family history books, with the purchasers able to create their own family histories with no editing and with varying degrees of accuracy.  This is called "vanity publishing", and no one wants to write about the "black sheep" in the family, particularly if they are paying to publish the family history.

If you plan to pass on your family's history to future generations, find sources to backup and document what you have found online, in books, in records or from your family's storytellers.  Be the accurate keeper your family's story.