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18 About Genealogical Standards of Evidence
we are viewing. Is this an original record, or is it a transcription,
a memorial, a copybook entry or an abstract, extract or index?

Case: If Robert Kent's father registered Robert's birth with
civil authorities, this would be the earliest and first record
of the birth and the relationship - an original source. If
you discover Robert Kent's date of birth in a newspaper
obituary about him after his death, or in a family history
compiled by someone else, these are derivative sources.
Tempting as it may be to take them at face value, the dhgent
researcher perseveres to locate the possibility of more
reliable original sources.

You will find a checkst of potentially useful sources, of
both types, following this chapter.
Information
We are making a distinction between a source and the
information it contains. Sometimes a source will give you
several pieces of information or data. VCTe refer to primary
and secondary informarion to distinguish a degree of qual~ty
or credibility. It may be helpful to think of "informant"
when sorting out your information.

Primary information is provided by someone with first-
hand knowledge of an event. An example is the medical
attendant or relative who was present at a death and then
registered it. There is little doubt that he knew the name
of the deceased and the date and place of death. But many
death records contain all sorts of other information.
Secondary information is stated by someone who was
not a participant or witness to a particular event. The
same informant for the death registration may have been
required to provide the decedent's date and place of birth,
and the names of his parents. In many cases, this is not