Citing Sources with your Research

Citing Sources with your Research 

It is vital to learn to cite your source as you are working at your researching.  It will save you time and replication and 

you will be happy you have done it.

Way back in 1953-4 when I was helping Mom, we had many personal letters, family stories and events written on paper,

Those items were always intended to come to me. Alas, that did not happen. Worse all the first hand stories Grandad gave us, they are saved but not in his hand. 

My advise to you all is this simply put:

1. write down every story you were told, true or not to be determined later if possible, do not loose the story or thought.

2. contact living kin and start verifying any part of the story that you can.

3. when going to a library or repository, take a log for the names, author and publisher of book you looked at.

4. If no one in it log you found nothing

5. If something in it log what you found, what page and remember to log the where and when of event.

Something like this:

Carlsbad Library, Jan 14, 2012,  Bates Book of History, author Bates, call number,  no information name researching was Bates.

Carlsbad Library, Jan 27, 2012  Hampshire County, Virginia Deeds, call no. whom published, information found

seven members of the Huffman family, 3 of Fry, 2 of Sellers, pages data found on

With the right information you can go back and look for more information on later found family names, by knowing which book you found information in.

6. Pictures use log also. where taken, subjects in picture, when taken, whom took picture.

7. Retain all letters in a file folder for reference back you have received from others. this can be cataloged also for referencing in a genealogy program

8. Wills, Deeds and Probate records need recorded the same way.

9. If inherited old letters, documents or obits, funeral notices or newspaper clippings these all need done also.

10. Catalog and document this information, start now for having to go back means hours of work that later will slow down your research.

Yes I have  years of information to completely differently now document. I used PAF for MAC long ago, then Reunion, then FTM, then Reunion and sometimes I think in story format it is easier done. ha ha ha ha.

Document and Cite the Sources please.