The heart of all our genealogical work is determining identities and relationships and proving them.
~ Judy Kellar Fox, Certified Genealogist.
I think I’ve cracked the case on my Mayflower connection. But, as I’ve said before, that doesn’t mean the society will accept my theories. In mid-July I sent revision 9 to the historian and I’m waiting anxiously for his thoughts on the supporting documents I’ve found.
In the meantime, I’ve been learning from professional genealogists about writing research conclusions. There are Genealogy Practice Standards (GPS) that need to be met to prove lineage. Learning this is going to assist me in writing up the conclusion to this project and any others I may work on with other branches of my tree.
I’ve learned that there are common types of conclusions to support a theory.
1. Proof Statements – these are source-cited sentences that are used when at least two citations demonstrate that a conclusion’s accuracy requires no explanation.
2. Proof Summaries - these are a little more complex and require direct evidence as with the proof statement. They can be lists or narratives that present documentations and if there are any conflicts, they are minor and can be easily explained.
3. Proof Arguments – these are more complex and address situations where the evidence conflicts or direct evidence is not available.
(What I have called “brick walls” or “roadblocks” I've been struggling with)
In each of them, the goal is to clearly state the question that requires an answer and supply the Who? What? Where? When? and Why? by looking at all the evidence gathered and presenting the best records that support my hypothesis. This includes conflicting evidence and how I resolved it.
Birth record, Arch Wood, son of George Wood and Elizabeth King
Courtesy Ancestry.ca
The conclusion will show that I am aimed for accuracy when identifying family members and relationships. Also, that I believe people are who I’ve said they are, and they really belonged to the families I’ve attached them to.
My current stumbling block is that along the way I should not only have cited where I found supporting evidence, but also where I found contradicting evidence.
Unfortunately, as an amateur, I made notes but didn’t cite where I found the conflicting records. So now I am revisiting my notes so I can find and cite the records for facts I could not easily explain with direct evidence. YIKES!
It has been a big project, so I guess it deserves the time and effort put into retracing my steps. Lesson learned.
