Page 20 - index

Genealogical Research Standards 19
likely to be information of which the informant had
firsthand knowledge. A doctor or priest who ministered to a
deceased adult was probably not present at the time and
place of his birth; the same informant may never have been
acquainted with the parents of the person.
Case: If Robert Kent's father registered his birth, this is
primay information because it came from a parent who was
present when the event was occurring. If birth date and
place for Robert Kent appear on his death certificate or in
a newspaper obituary, the information is seconday because
his spouse or child - whoever supplied the data - had
only second-hand knowledge about his birth.
Family stories and hearsay that are passed down through
generations are an example of secondary information (from
derivative sources) because the information undergoes
"filtering." As the stories are repeated, the embroidering or
omission of details can grow. Confusing the identity or
relationship of the subject is not uncommon.
The categorization of information into primary and
secondary is a guide only, for your own ultimate evaluation.

Evidence
From information, we interpret and correlate our evidence.
The word evidence is also used on occasion as
interchangeable with the word proof. The word proof
implies an absolute level of certainty that is not possible in
genealogy, but we do use it to summarize our analysis and
correlation of the information we gathered.
Evidence is direct when it answers our question or
hypothesis unequivocally. It is indirect when it does not
explicitly relate to the relevant identity, relationship or event
are are trying to establish. W'ithout primary information or
direct evidence, or with conflicting results, a variety of