Genealogy overoad... brain smoldering....

[Cawdorian]

The information posted on the Ancestry and Rootsweb site is posted by individual researchers, some have the correct information, some don't. Some people have inserted deliberate errors into the information they have posted in a effort to determine who is copying their information. The truth is once it is posted on the internet it is public property and will be copied over and over again with or without the errors.

The sources of the information can increase your comfort level with the correctness of the posted information. Many of the sources are noted on these websites, the census is a reasonably accurate source. The early census takers were people who could read and write, they weren't the best spellers in the world. Many of our ancestors were not able to read or write, many names were spelled phonetically or as another member of the family thought it was spelled. Most of the old documents signed by our ancestors were signed with their mark such as an X or V. Many were smart people, owned land, served in the military, they just couldn't read or write. Many spellings of family names change from generation to generation within a family group. The census is accurate from the standpoint that it provides the names in a family group and their ages. You have to be aware that many names are spelled phonetically.

The court records such as pension affidavits, deeds, marriage certificates, birth certificates provide information such as parents names, dates and other information that can confirm the other sources. Use the internet as a guide, but try to find out where the information came from originally. In the world today we will never see all of the original sources or source documents. There are copies and transcriptions of some of these documents on the internet.