Thursday, November 4, 2010

Is It Unverified Data and Will It Always be Unverified?

I subscribe to Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter via RSS but I usually don't comment on his posts as they are about things I read about elsewhere or relate to US affairs.

This morning I read an opinion piece "Is It Unverified Data and Will It Always be Unverified?" by Dick that made a lot of common sense. I encourage you to read it.


In the world of genealogy there are a number of snobs around who appear to look down their noses at those of us whom they think are not professional in our approach to research. I have undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Information Science and Education but choose not to apply rigorous academic standards to my hobby of genealogy. I do it for fun and my interest but choose to share it via my website in the hope that others may gain clues to their ancestry.

In September in my post "I am a name collector" I outlined my thoughts on adding unreferenced or dodgily referenced data to my family tree. I had been a little annoyed by a few articles I had read comparing name collectors with "real genealogists".

I congratulate Dick Eastman, one of the foremost genealogy writers in the US, for his article, "Is It Unverified Data and Will It Always be Unverified?".

And I say Bah Humbug to the "real genealogists" who discount the many  "name collectors" who help other by providing unreferenced clues that may help them knock down their genealogy brick walls.

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