My cousin and I used The Scientific Method to answer our initial question: Where is Bertha Danko buried? Our first hypothesis was that Bertha Danko is buried in an unmarked grave in Hope Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts . Our second hypothesis was that Bertha’s death record includes her place of burial . Our third hypothesis was that the location of Bertha’s grave is mentioned in the records of her undertaker, Lucian Karolkiewicz . Our fourth hypothesis was that Bronislawa was buried at Notre Dame Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts . We could not find evidence to support any of these hypotheses, although we could disprove only the second hypotheses . One or more of the other three hypotheses could still be correct.
The fifth hypothesis was proposed and tested by the staff at Notre Dame Cemetery.
5-2. Gather information and resources:Â The information in the Notre Dame Cemetery database for the 1910-1915 time period was manually recorded in ledgers . Subsequently, the information was transcribed into an electronic database.
5-3. Form new hypothesis:Â Bronislawa / Bertha Danko’s name is misspelled in the Notre Dame Cemetery database.
5-4. Perform experiment and collect data:Â The staff at Notre Dame Cemetery searched the database for similar and misspelled names.
5-5. Analyze the data:Â A record for Bronislawa Danka (surname misspelled) was found in the Notre Dame Cemetery database.
5-5. Interpret data and draw conclusions:Â Bronislawa Danko was buried 15 Jan 1913 in Notre Dame Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts in Sec-3 Lot-1464 Grv-1B . She was 1 year old at the time of burial . The information on this child matches that of Bronislawa’s death record, so this is the correct child.
5-7. Publish results:Â The location of Bronislawa’s grave was communicated to family members and a monument was erected by the family on the grave site . The information was also published on my blog and was also published on Find A Grave.
To summarize, my cousin and I had a question and we gathered the available information . We formed a hypothesis and tested the hypothesis . We analyzed the data and drew conclusions . We developed new hypotheses and repeated the stages of The Scientific Method until we were successful in answering the initial question . The process disproved the initial hypothesis that Bertha Danko is buried in an unmarked grave in Hope Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts.
It is possible that our final conclusion that Bronislawa / Bertha Danko is buried in Notre Dame Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts in Sec-3 Lot-1464 Grv-1B is incorrect . If any evidence surfaces that the child in this grave is not the correct child, or that the correct child is buried elsewhere, we will generate and test a new hypothesis.
This discussion provides an example of how The Scientific Method can provide a logical, stepwise process to answer a genealogical question, and is very similar to the way that genealogists work, anyway.
In Part 7, I will discuss how The Scientific Method can help satisfy the requirements of The Genealogical Proof Standard.
For other posts in this series, please see:
- Applying the Scientific Method to Genealogical Research (Part 1)
- Applying the Scientific Method to Genealogical Research (Part 2)
- Applying the Scientific Method to Genealogical Research (Part 3)
- Applying the Scientific Method to Genealogical Research (Part 4)
- Applying the Scientific Method to Genealogical Research (Part 5)
- Applying the Scientific Method to Genealogical Research (Part 6)
- Applying the Scientific Method to Genealogical Research (Part 7)
- Applying the Scientific Method to Genealogical Research (Part 8)
Copyright © 2010 by Stephen J. Danko
