Category Archives: Daily Journal

The United States Decennial Census has been conducted on different days throughout its history, and the information contained in the census might be interpreted in different ways, depending on whether the information was accurate as of the official day of … Continue reading →

The information contained within a source, whether the source is original or derivative, may be Primary Information or Secondary Information. PRIMARY INFORMATION:  details originally recorded at the time or close to the time of an event by a participant, eyewitness, or … Continue reading →

The definitions for Original Source and Derivative Source provided in the literature sometimes don’t seem to fit the needs of genealogists .  In particular, the literature places exact images such as photocopies and microfilm images in the category of Derivative Sources … Continue reading →

A few days ago, I wrote about using A Preponderance of Evidence to come to a conclusion in genealogical studies, and in that article I provided the definition of Original Source as published in The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual: “original source:  … Continue reading →

When evaluating the quality of genealogical information and the sources in which that information appears, genealogists are often confronted with conflicting data .  Thus, the concept of a preponderance of the evidence has been adopted from the legal profession and applied to … Continue reading →

In attempting to determine my Great Aunt Mary’s birthdate, I had to acquire a large number of documents and evaluate the birth information contained therein .  In U.S. civil courts, the idea of “preponderance of the evidence” is often used … Continue reading →

John Jwanauski served in the U.S. Army in World War I .  He was stationed in the Gérardmer Sector, Vosges, France and was deployed in the Meuse Argonne Offensive, the battle that led to Germany’s signing of the Armistice on November 11, … Continue reading →