An 1890 era family genealogy indicated an ancestor died after 10 April 1811. No source or reason for the date is given. Apparently one genealogist, also without giving a source, decided to use that as the death date. So now an unsourced "dead by date" has become an unsourced death date.
Indicate where you obtained material and make certain you don't indicate something says more than it does.
Or you could be correcting the error forever.
And sometimes there is a "died before" date. Maybe the date the will was read or other reference indicates the person has died. Could be the spouse has remarried. It's always confusing to see those "before" or "after" dates without knowing why.
ReplyDeleteAt Ancestry I now append on the appropriate profile entry something like "name found in daughter's obit" or "marriage date calculated by reckoning from birth of 1st child". I started this to remind myself about where a name, date, etc. came from. Absent this practice, it's easy to get lost in a sea of dates and facts you're not sure of any longer.
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