Just as with regular genealogical research you require evidence to substantiate events in your One-Name study. Of course, if you are undertaking family reconstruction and have two people with the same name and same geographical area then you should have at least a working theory.
So what is evidence? We all, whether we are conducting a One-Name study or not, see a new data set has been released and insert our surnames of interest into the search box. If there is no search results I personally record that in my research log, but if there is a result then I need to do something with that information.
If there are hundred in the search results then I note that, along with the name of the data set and where it is located; perhaps that is one of the main genealogical providers, or perhaps it is with a genealogical group who has announced their work. I also record the date that I searched. A data set released on Ancestry in 2016 may not be available there in 2018.
If the data set has just a few results I record the date I searched, the name of the data set and the site where the information is found, along with the citation of the information. I also record the information, probably into a spreadsheet. Just recently I found three Orlando’s cited within the indexes of Jewish Gen of those that perished at Dachau Concentration Camp. These three individuals are currently sitting in a spreadsheet and will do so until I am able to research more at which point they will enter my database. If I work on just one of the individuals then I turn that line in the spreadsheet a different colour so I can come back to it later.
Evidence is a paper trail that links an individual to what we are claiming. For some it will be a certificate or other document and I have a fair few of those, for others evidence will be nothing more that directing others back to the source of the information, so in the case of the individuals who died in Dachau that will be Jewish Gen. Overtime, more research will be undertaken and perhaps that will provide additional evidence.
We will be covering citations later on in this series and we discuss core data for a One-Name study in more depth in the Pharos course for One-Name studies.
Inters OMG has hear of your approach Julie. I was reading abou the Genealogical Proof Sta card recently and while that is a very sound proac ice, I wonder how practical it is for a ONS . Any thoughts?
Karen
Heenan ONS
LikeLike
The genealogical proof standard has five elements to it –
a) Reasonably exhaustive research has been conducted.
b) Each statement of fact has a complete and accurate source citation.
c) The evidence is reliable and has been skill-fully correlated and interpreted.
d) Any contradictory evidence has been resolved.
e) The conclusion has been soundly reasoned and coherently written
It is much easier to follow this standard if undertaking reconstruction of families. I follow the same process as my personal genealogy, only enter material into my database when I am sure that the facts are pertaining to the specific individual.
I hand draw out trees, just on scrap paper or notebook it helps me think and I always date the tree and always note if this is because I have material to confirm the tree or if the tree is based upon a hypothetical basis.
I don’t know if I have answered your question sufficiently Karen, but promise that I will write a post in the coming weeks about the genealogical proof standard and ONS.
LikeLike
Look forward to seeing that post Julie. i’m getting paranoid about sourcing having had the miserable experience of finding that when I downloaded a Gedcom from Ancestry most of the citations got severely edited. So yes it says its from New York Passenger list but not the date or the detail…..Yuk
LikeLike