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From: "John Abney" <>
Subject: RE: [APG] Cite Your Sources!?
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 08:20:50 -0600
In-Reply-To: <b66a4ad50602200547g36e223ffwe521c0d637a2c35f@mail.gmail.com>


OK, I will show ignorance too and try to answer Ken's challenge. Using the
circumstances given by Ken, I have to disagree with his conclusion that the
source is original. The son may have witnessed the death of his father, but
not his birth. Under those circumstances, the son's knowledge regarding the
father's death could be considered an original source, but as he was not
alive to witness his father's birth, the birth information that he has
obtained would have to be derivative.

Now, let me muddy the waters even further and let my own ignorance shine
through. Unless the person creating the grave marker has personal knowledge
of the birth and death of the individual, wouldn't the marker itself ALWAYS
be a derivative source? Here's my example. A child dies and one of the
parents goes to a stonecutter. The parent's knowledge of the birth and
death of the child constitute an original source. This information is
passed on to the stonecutter. That information as first passed to the
stonecutter would also be an original source (e.g., the order for the
maker). The marker itself is then at least one generation away from being
an original source, therefore it is derivative. So, as Ken said, "shoot me
full of holes".

John

-----Original Message-----
From: Kenneth Aitken [mailto:]
Sent: Monday, February 20, 2006 7:47 AM
To:
Subject: Re: [APG] Cite Your Sources!?

In my ignorance, I'm going to speak up on this issue and declare that the
gravestone is an riginal source.
Bear in mind that as you say, sources are original or derivative. And that
fact is independent of the information contained-- i'm a little shakey on
that point. So an original document can contain primary or secondary
information.

My thinking is this. A father goes into the county court and registers the
birth of his son. A clerk charged with this task writes down the
information. A son goes into the monument carver and gives him the
particulars on his father for the gravestone. The carver, responsible for
his work, writes it down. Both are original sources.

In both cases the informant could misinform the recorder. In both cases the
recorder could make mistakes. In neither does this factor change the fact
that a record is being created.

So, shoot me full of holes>

Ken




--
Kenneth G. Aitken
Family History Education Services
2426 Dewdney Avenue East
Regina, SK S4N 4V5 Canada

www.genealogy-education.com


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