Page 9 - index

8 About Genealogical Standards of Evidence
judgments about the evidence of identifications and
relationships.
The good news is that help is always out there for all of
us, at any stage of the process. The standards of evidence
discussed in this book are used by all responsible
genealogists, whether they work at family history as a
pleasant pastime, as part-time volunteers for record centres
or societies or as paid researchers.
We, "the converted," are already plugged into, or
becoming aware of, the available support systems. The only
bad news is that we do not always reach the isolated family
historian - the self-taught genealogist who works in a
vacuum, re-inventing the wheel, blissfully unaware of a great
international network. Unfortunately, the wheels might fall
off or turn out to be square. Splendid solitude may enhance
the work of a creative artist, but a family historian needs
solid empirical skills and ongoing contact with current news.
We should all be encouraging such people to join us.
Whatever we have uncovered about our own family has
interest for someone else somewhere - maybe a grandchild
or a niece, someone in a distant society or community where
our ancestors lived or someone in a collateral line. What
begins as a very personal study of genealogy grows to
emphasize our kinship with genealogists and family
historians across borders and through time. Although we
work in the past, we know the future holds descendants
willing to carry on and supplement the infinite progression.
Genealogy is no longer a poor sister to other scholarly
fields of study or professions. Demographers, historians of
all persuasions, social anthropologists, genetic counsellors,
estate lawyers and many others are seeing the results of
high genealogical standards. It is up to each and all of us to
do our best to reach and maintain those standards.