The Great Genealogy Clean-up

I am stuck in a rut. I feel like I have so many options and people to research that I just don't know where to focus next. So, I'm deciding to not focus on any one person and instead focus on ... everyone!

Yes, I will be cleaning out my entire database. In preparation for "The Great Genealogy Clean-up" I've read various posts that have been helpful.

• James Tanner of Genealogy's Star posted Clean up your Genealogy Database where he talked about looking at place names to make sure there aren't duplicates. I will definitely be doing this, but probably towards the end of the process since I think the method I've come up with will solve most of the issues.
• Tina Lyons of Gen Wish List has a whole series of posts dedicated to Cleaning up My Genealogy Database. I started using her system, and even printed out 60 pages of names! But after about 10 minutes, I knew this wasn't the method for me. Her process, however, was informative.

So, I made a plan that I think will work for me. My process is more focused on "creation" rather than "deletion." Just as a reference, as of today here's what I'm starting with:

 The Plan:

1. Create a new database that is blank. To this database I will add people one at a time and work on updating them before moving on to the next person. RootsMagic makes this so easy because I can just drag and drop people into the new database.
2. Only people who currently have sources associated with them or with a fact will move to the new database. If I can quickly find something to support the fact/person I will do so. Otherwise, they get left behind.
3. To be "complete" and included in the new database all of the following must be true: A. Each fact associated with the person must have a source; B. Each source must have a complete citation, including a image of the source and transcription/translation; C. Relevant notes must be included with each citation or fact, as needed.
4. Additionally, I will also be updating all file/folder names as I go along and scanning/filing all originals following my "Family History Filing System" (a 4 page description of my system which I've included with my physical files). I have so many original photos and documents still to scan...I know those will flesh out a lot of the facts that are missing citations.

I am starting as any new genealogist should, with myself. I'll me, my husband and kids then move on to our parents and siblings working my way back.

I'm expecting when I'm done to have far fewer people in my database, but only "real" and verified information will be recorded. I will of course keep my "old" database as a guide when I continue research. Just because great-great-grandma's birth date is not verified (yet) doesn't mean I can't use the "alleged" date as a starting point in my research. As Reagan would say, "Trust, but verified!"

Victor Erastus and Etta Letitia Lund, 1889

 Victor Erastus Lund (1888-1965) and his sister Etta Letitia Lund (1887-1868)

They are the 4th and 5th children (there were 10) of Mathias Christian Funk Lund and Pauline Persson Swensson. Victor is Troy's great-grandfather.

I think Victor looks just like himself when he was older -

Victor E. Lund

I wanted to find out more about the photographer and discovered his photography collection is held at the Utah State University Library. (Initial Citation: USU_P0466; Heber H. Thomas Photograph Collection; Photograph Collections Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.) Here is their biographical note: (http://uda-db.orbiscascade.org/findaid/ark:/80444/xv46704)

     Heber H. Thomas was born on November 17, 1862 in Wales and at the age of 14 immigrated to Ogden, Utah. He held various public office duties including that of superintendent of the state industrial school and a member of the Ogden school board.     Around 1911 he moved from Ogden to Salt Lake City where he opened the Thomas Studio. He resided in Salt Lake City until his death on October 8, 1926 at the age of 63. He was survived by his wife Nellie Dane Thomas and three children: Mrs. G. Earl Stoddard of LaGrande, Oregon; Mrs. C. B. Turner of Salt Lake City, and J. D. Thomas of Ogden and four grandchildren. (Source: Salt Lake Tribune October 10, 1926)

So then I searched the page for "Lund" or "Taylor" thinking he may have taken more photos of the family. Here's what I found:

8x10 Glass Plate Negatives, undated [Box 23]
     23:21: Lund. Family portrait with four children

5x7 Unlabeled Glass plates, undated [Box 40]
     40:07: Exterior shot of the Lund home
     40:07a: Group of boys in front of the Lund home


5x7 Glass Plate Negative, undated [Box 7]
     7:55: Taylor. Portrait of a man [cracked and held together by tape]

5x7 Glass Plate Negative, undated [Box 12]
     12:41a: Taylor. Portrait of a man wearing a military uniform and hat
     12:41b: Taylor. Portrait of a man wearing a military uniform without the hat

8x10 Glass Plate Negatives, undated [Box 17]
     17:15: Taylor. Portrait of a man

5x7 Glass plates, 1919 [Box 21]
     21:19: Taylor. A girl sitting on a bench and holding flowers
     21:51: Taylor. Woman wearing a corduroy jacket

5x7 Glass Negatives, undated [Box 24]
     24:47: Taylor. Woman sitting on a bench

I have to get up there and take a look! How exciting!

Indecision may or may not be my problem

Right now I'm at the point where I have a lot of documents and files. But, I know that as I continue researching I'm only going to collect more. I had one organizational system, then read about another I liked better, then another. For now, I'm happy with my naming conventions and more recently decided not to include the "de" or "da" in my Brazilian surnames...otherwise most would be under D. (Plus, there is the problem of those two last names which are really one, such as da Silva vs. da Silva Lima.)

Where the real indecision comes in is in the process. I can no longer remember every search I performed for every person, or every resource I used whether with positive or negative results. So the question I'm now faced with is - How do I organize the process of research?

Obviously, a research log is ideal. But which version? I really like having it in my database (RootsMagic) but feel like I might need more. Randy Seaver shared his Research Summary recently and I think it may work for me.

Another question I keep asking myself is - What should be the "standard" order of procedures?

For example, when I find a birth certificate how do I proceed. Here's what I think I may do:

1. Save using the standard naming convention in the appropriate folder.
2. Add entry in research log. (This step will have to happen even if I don't find anything.)
3. Transcribe/translate and save that file in the same folder. (Should I set up tables to make it look just like the original or just list all the information.)
4. Create a source citation for the document using RootsMagic and add to both the word document and in the metadata of the image.
5. Link the image into the database and add the transcription/translation to the detail notes section.
6. Using this same citation, copy it onto all events which it supports - in the example of the birth certificate I may use it for the birth date, parents names, parents ages, place of residence, etc.
7. Create a blog post to share my discovery.

Here's the big question - Can, or should, I "move on" with my research even though I have piles of "stuff" to scan and analyze?

Since I have so much stuff to go through is it better to scan it all before proceeding? I don't want to redo what I already have, but just don't know about. This is the part of the "research" that isn't my favorite...the housekeeping. In the end I know it will help but for now, I just don't want to deal with it.

Using Timelines

In my decendency research of the Lund family, I am currently focusing on Didrich and Karen's oldest daughter, Christine, and her family. I have collected a lot of documents and know a lot more now than I did before. But, I still have a few questions I need to answer before I can keep going.

• What do I know so far?
• Where are there holes in the timeline?
• Are there records available to fill in the holes?
• Where can I go from here?

I think that making a timeline will help me answer these questions. So, using my Roots Magic software, I selected Peder Jensen and his wife Christine Funk Lund and their children to create a timeline report and saved it as a word document. This document includes the citations, so I can refer to them as needed.


Below I've added my timeline so far. I've also added ideas for further research.

Jensen Family Timeline

Date	Event	Person	Place
27 Aug 1839	Birth1–4	Peder JENSEN	Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
27 Aug 1839	Chr3	Peder JENSEN	Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
6 Oct 1839	Church3	Peder JENSEN	brought to church; Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
18 May 1840	Birth1,4–8	Christine Funk LUND	Akirkeby, Bornholm, Denmark
2 Aug 1840	Chr7,9	Christine Funk LUND	Akirkeby, Bornholm, Denmark
14 Jul 1842	Vacc1	Peder JENSEN	by Zahrtmann
14 Jul 1842	Vacc1	Christine Funk LUND	by Zahrtmann
Bef 1 Feb 1855	LDS Bapt10	Christine Funk LUND	Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
30 Jun 1858	LDS Bapt	Christine Funk LUND
Confirmation – I should be able to find a confirmation record for Peder, and possibly for Christine. They would have been confirmed in their teens, prior to their 19th birthday.
Abt 1861	Marriage9	Peder JENSEN and Christine Funk LUND	Akirkeby, Bornholm, Denmark
28 Apr 1865	Occupation	Christine Funk LUND	servant; Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
28 Apr 1865	Occupation1	Peder JENSEN	farm hand; Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
28 Apr 1865	Marriage1,11–15	Peder JENSEN and Christine Funk LUND	Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
3 Mar 1866	Birth4,16–18	Annine Margrethe Christine JENSEN	Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
20 Apr 1866	Chr17	Annine Margrethe Christine JENSEN	Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
20 Apr 1866	Occupation17	Peder JENSEN	laborer; Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
27 Jun 1866	Vacc17	Annine Margrethe Christine JENSEN	by Zahrtmann; Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
16 Feb 1868	Birth4,19–20	Laurits Peter JENSEN	Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
29 Mar 1868	Chr20	Laurits Peter JENSEN	Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
29 Mar 1868	Occupation20	Peder JENSEN	Fisherman; Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
22 Jun 1869	Vacc20	Laurits Peter JENSEN	by Zahrtmann; Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
1 Feb 1870	Religion21	Peder JENSEN	Lutheran; Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
1 Feb 1870	Occupation21	Peder JENSEN	Fisherman; Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
1 Feb 1870	Census21	Peder JENSEN	Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
6 Feb 1873	Birth15,22–23	Sanna Caroline Dorthea JENSEN	Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
6 Feb 1873	Occupation15,23	Peder JENSEN	Fisherman; Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
10 Apr 1873	Chr15	Sanna Caroline Dorthea JENSEN	Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
27 Dec 1878	Birth24–25	Jacob Peter JENSEN	Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
27 Jan 1879	Death26–27	Sanna Caroline Dorthea JENSEN	Pneumonia; Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
Probate Certificate – listed on Sanna’s death record. Need to pull this up on mircofilm at FHL.
2 Feb 1879	Burial26	Sanna Caroline Dorthea JENSEN	Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
Confirmation – the Jensen children may also have been christened. I should look for these records in the Nylarsker Parish records.
2 Feb 1879	Occupation26	Peder JENSEN	Fisherman; Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
1 Feb 1880	Occupation4	Peder JENSEN	day laborer in agriculture; Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
1 Feb 1880	Religion4	Peder JENSEN	Lutheran; Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
1 Feb 1880	Census4	Peder JENSEN	Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
9 Mar 1888	Death18	Annine Margrethe Christine JENSEN	chest disease; Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
Probate Certificate – listed on Annine’s death record. Need to pull this up on mircofilm at FHL.
16 Mar 1888	Burial18	Annine Margrethe Christine JENSEN	Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
16 Mar 1888	Occupation	Peder JENSEN	Fisherman; Arnager, Nylarsker, Bornholm, Denmark
1 Jan 1889	LDS Conf9	Christine Funk LUND
29 Jun 1892	LDS SealPar9	Christine Funk LUND	LOGAN - Logan Utah
11 Feb 1900	Death9	Christine Funk LUND
5 Mar 1914	LDS Endow9	Christine Funk LUND	SLAKE - Salt Lake
5 Mar 1914	LDS Init9	Christine Funk LUND	SLAKE - Salt Lake
18 Jan 1960	LDS Bapt9	Christine Funk LUND
30 Jan 1996	LDS SealSp9	Peder JENSEN and Christine Funk LUND	JRIVE - Jordan River Utah

• Christine's LDS baptism/confirmation -- I have four different dates for Christine's baptism. I need to see if I can find her in the Bornholm Branch records. Also, I'll need to take a look at what Family Search has. It would not be surprising to find that she was baptized while alive and then had the work done for her as well.
• All the "blue" facts come from the FamilySearch Family Group Record sheet for Didrich, Christine's father.
• 1888 is the last time I have real, verified information for the Jensen family.

Where can I go from here?
Besides looking up the records listed above in purple, I have some other ideas.

1. 1890 Danish Census - Where are the Jensen's? Are they still in Denmark or have they immigrated?
2. Nylarsker Parish records - I will continue my search for future years to see if I can find death records for Peder and Christine as well as possible marriage records for their two sons.
3. I know from Jacob Peter's christening record that he immigrated to America ... perhaps I could find a passenger list for him? Or, maybe find him in a US Census.

Obviously, I'd like to find children for Laurits and Jacob. But, I need to know more! Onward!

---

Endnotes:

1. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images, Statens Arkivers Arkivalieronline (www.sa.dk/ao/ : downloaded 22 November 2011), marriage record for Peder Jensen and Christine Funch, 28 Apr 1865; Nylarsker Parish.

        2. 1870 Danish Census, Arnager, Bornholm, Denmark, population, Arnager, Bornholm, p. 123, line 15-18, Poder Jensen Family; digitial images, Statens Arkiver (www.sa.dk/ao : downloaded 8 November 2011); Danish National Archives. Gives Peter's age as 30 as of 1 Feb 1870 and his birth place as Nylars.

        3. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images Peder Jensen Christening Record.

        4. 1880 Danish Census, Arnager, Bornholm, Denmark, population, Nylarsker Parish, p. 320, lines 45-49, Peder Jensen Family; digitial images, Statens Arkiver (www.sa.dk/ao : downloaded 29 March 2012); Danish National Archives.

        5. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS], "New FamilySearch," database, Family Search (new.familysearch.org : accessed 17 May), Diderich Funk (PID: KWJF-P6R) Family Group Record. Lists the incorrect date.

        6. 1850 Danish Census, Arnager, Bornholm, Denmark, population, Arnager, Bornholm, p. 54, 130, Didrik Jacobsen Funk Family; digitial images, Statens Arkiver (www.sa.dk/ao : downloaded 8 November 2011); Danish National Archives. lists birth place as Aakirkeby.

        7. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images Christine Funk, Christening Record, 1840.

        8. 1870 Danish Census, Arnager, Bornholm, Denmark, population, Arnager, Bornholm, p. 123, line 15-18, Poder Jensen Family. Gives Christine's age as 29 on 1 Feb 1870 and her birth place as Aaker.

        9. LDS, "New FamilySearch," database, Family Search, Diderich Funk (PID: KWJF-P6R) Family Group Record.

        10. 1855 Danish Census, Arnager, Bornholm, Denmark, population, Arnager, Bornholm, p. 200, 119, Didrik Jacobsen Funck Family; digitial images, Statens Arkiver (www.sa.dk/ao : downloaded 8 November 2011); Danish National Archives.

        11. 1870 Danish Census, Arnager, Bornholm, Denmark, population, Arnager, Bornholm, p. 123, line 15-18, Poder Jensen Family. Peter and Christine are listed as Married in the 1870 Census.

        12. 1880 Danish Census, Arnager, Bornholm, Denmark, population, Nylarsker Parish, p. 320, lines 45-49, Peder Jensen Family. Peder and Christine listed as "married.".

        13. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images Sanne Caroline Dorthea Jensen Death Record. Claudine Christine listed as Peder's wife.

        14. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images Sanna Jensen christening record, to be moved to 1873. Claudine Christina listed as Peder's wife in their daughter, Sanna's, christening record.

        15. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images Sanna Caroline Dorthea Jensen christening record.

        16. 1870 Danish Census, Arnager, Bornholm, Denmark, population, Arnager, Bornholm, p. 123, line 15-18, Poder Jensen Family. Gives Anine's age as 3 on 1 Feb 1870.

        17. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images Annine Margrethe Christine Jensen Christening Record.

        18. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images Annine Margrethe Kristine Jensen death record.

        19. 1870 Danish Census, Arnager, Bornholm, Denmark, population, Arnager, Bornholm, p. 123, line 15-18, Poder Jensen Family. Gives Lauritz' age as 1, as of 1 Feb 1870.

        20. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images Laurits Peter Jensen Christening Record.

        21. 1870 Danish Census, Arnager, Bornholm, Denmark, population, Arnager, Bornholm, p. 123, line 15-18, Poder Jensen Family.

        22. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images Sanne Caroline Dorthea Jensen Death Record. Gives Sanna's age at death as 5 years old. Supports her birth date.

        23. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images Sanna Jensen christening record, to be moved to 1873.

        24. 1880 Danish Census, Arnager, Bornholm, Denmark, population, Nylarsker Parish, p. 320, lines 45-49, Peder Jensen Family. Gives Jacob Peter Jensen's age as 1 year old on 1 Feb 1880.

        25. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images Jacob Peter Jensen christening record.

        26. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images Sanne Caroline Dorthea Jensen Death Record.

        27. Danish State Archives, "Kirkebøger," digital images Sanna Caroline Dorthea Jensen christening record. Priest marked "dead" on her christening record.

1870 Census - Poder Jensen and Christine Funk/Lund

Christine Funch Lund

I don't have a photograph for Peter Jensen - another good reason for decendancy research.

Since I already had Peter and Christine's marriage record from 1865 in Nylarsker parish I thought I might try to find them in the 1870 Census. I guessed they may have stayed in Nylarsker, but since I didn't know where Peter was from I wasn't sure. Instead of looking through the 49 pages of census records for the parish--which I would have been willing to do--I decided to use the online index first to see if they were even in that parish. Using the Dansk Demografisk Database I looked for "Peder Jensen" in "Bornholm" in the "1870" Census. I further restricted his age to "30-39." The first entry looked promising, so I selected "Show Household":

I had seen Christine's name listed as "Claudine Christine" in various online databases so I was okay with the name variation, particularly since her birth place matched what I had. So here we see two children born into the family.

Feeling good about this entry I decided to go ahead and pull up the original image:

Source: 1870 Danish Census, Arnager, Bornholm, Denmark, population, Arnager, Bornholm, p. 123, line 15-18, Poder Jensen Family; digitial images, Statens Arkiver (www.sa.dk/ao : downloaded 8 November 2011); Danish National Archives.


Transcription / Translation:
Byernes eller Stedernes Navne med Anførsel af Gaarde, Huse, o.s.v.

The towns’ or the Places’ Names with Information off Farms, Houses, etc.
Arnager
Huus House

Familiernes Antal
Number of the Families 
1

Personernes Løbenummer
The Persons’ Sequence Number
[see next column]

Samtlige Personers fulde Navn
(Udøbte Børn anføres as ”Udøbt Drengebarn” eller ”Udøbt Pigebarn”)
All the Persons full Names
(not Christianed Chrildren are to be listed as “not christianed boy child” or “not christianed girl child”) 
15) Poder Jensen
16) Claûdina Christine Jensen
17) Anine Margrete Jensen

18) Laûritz Peter Jensen

Kjøn
Mandkjøn (M.) eller Kvindekjøn (K.)
Gender
Male Gender (M.) or Female gender (K.)
15) M Male
16) K Female
17) K Female
18) M Male

Alder
Alderen anføres med det f y l d t e Aar, men for Børn, der ikke have fyldt 1 Aar, anføres ”Under 1 Aar”
Age
The age is to be listed with the filled year, but for childrem who are not 1 full year are to be listed as “under 1 Year”
15) 30
16) 29
17) 3
18) 1

Ægteskabelig Stilling
Ugift (U.), Gift (G.), Fraskilt (F.) Enkemand eller Enke (E.)
Marital Status
Unmarried (U.), Married (G.),Divorced (F.), Widower or Widow (E.)
15) G Married
16) G Married
17) U Unmarried
18) U Unmarried

Trosbekendelsen
Confession
15) Lutheran
16) do. Same
17) do. Same
18) do. Same

Fødested, nemlig Kiøbstadens eller Sognets og Amtets Navn,
og for de i Bilandene og kolonierne Fødte samt for Udlændinge Landet, hvor de ere fødte
Place of Birth, namely the city’s or the name of the parish and County and for those born in the colonies*) as well as for foreigners the country, where they are born.
15) Nylars
16) Aaker
17) Nylars
18) do. Same

*) Bilandene and Colonierne are two words for the same thing: Colonies

Stilling i Familien
Huusfader, Huusmoder, Børn, Slægtning, Tjenesteydende, Logerende o.s.v.
Position in the Family
Housfather, Housemother, Children, Relation, employees, Lodging etc.
15) Huusfader Housefather
16) Huusmoder Housemother
17) Dater Daughter
18) Søn Son

Titel, Embede, Forretning, Næringsvei eller af hvilket Erhverv de leve af
(som Hoverperson eller som Medhjælper (Forvalter, Svend eller Dreng o.s.v.)
eller om de forsørges af Fattighuset
Title, Office,Business,Livelihood of of which occupation they live from
(as Main Person [self-employed] or as Employee (Manager, Employee or Lad etc.)
or if they are supported by the Poor House
15) Fisker Fisher
16) [blank]
17) [blank]
18) [blank]

Hvorvidt vedkommende er:
Whether he or she is:
Døvstum| Døv (Hørelsen aldeles berøvet)| Blind (Synet aldeles berøvet
Deaf and Dumb | Deaf (Hearing completely deprived) | Blind (sight completely deprived)
[blank]

Hvorvidt vedkommende er [column continuer]
Forstanden Berøvet
fra Fødselen| fra et senere Tidspunkt
Deprived of Sanity
from birth | from a later time 
[blank]

Anmærkninger
Remarks

[blank]

---

Interesting:

• They are listed as "Lutheran" while I know that by this point Christine's family have all joined the LDS Church and are listed in the same census--in fact on the very next page--as "Mormon". I'll have to take another look at the Bornholm LDS Branch records and see if I can find any information about Christine or Peter's baptism.
• If Peter and Christine were still Lutheran then their children would have been christened and should be found in the parish records. Both are listed as being born in Nylarsker.
• Peter's occupation is "Fisher" and so is his father-in-law Didrich's. Do they work together?
• I now know that Peter was born in the Nylarsker parish so I can search for his christening record. He would have been born about 1840.

Lund Family - Descendancy Research

Regular family history research has you go back in time to find your ancestors. By doing this, you find your direct line family -- grandparents, great grandparents, great-great, and so on.

Decendancy Research on the other hand has you choose an ancestor a few generations back and work your way forward in time to find all their descendants. I've decided that will be one of the things I work on ... in this case for the Lund line, starting with Didrich and Karen Funk/Lund.

Didrich Funch Lund

Karen Kathrina Christine Hansdatter Funch Lund

Here's one question I got from my husband Troy - Why?
I have many reasons but one of the biggest is that I want to find out if family documents/artifacts ended up with other lines of the family. Also, I'd like to see if there are others out there doing research on this same family so we can collaborate. I even suggested we hold a "Lund Family Reunion" next summer (2013) and invite all the living descendants we could find. (Case in point - Those photos I have of Didrich and Karen came from a completed Family Group Record Sheet from my father-in-law's aunt. Who has the originals?)

So, now I'm focusing on Didrich and Karen's oldest child - Christine Funk Lund and her family. I started by using new.familysearch.org to see what was already out there.

I then created a separate database for all this un-sourced information and called it "Reunion_Lund". As I find sources I can add facts to my "real" database.

For more information about descendancy research check out this free course available from FamilySearch.

How I Add Sources into my Database

I've said this before, and I'll proably repeat it again in the future -- my side of the family is hard to research! Since I was born in Brazil, to Brazilian parents and Brazillian grandparents all our records are there, and Brazil is not the easiest place to do genealogy work. Not only do I struggle with the language (I can speak and read it mostly) but there just isn't as much available to me here at home (in Utah) as there would be for any other place in the US. I'm sure if I really took some time at the Family History Library I could do a lot, but I have two young boys and just don't have that kind of time...I'll just have to work slowly, but surely, I guess.

Anyway, all this is to say that I did find a record for my Maternal Grandparents' marriage in Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil. So, I thought I'd use this document to show my process for adding documents and citations to my database (which happens to be RootsMagic5).

Source: Family Search, "Brazil, Catholic Church Records," digital image, Family Search (familysearch.org : downloaded 14 March 2012), Joao de Sousa Lima and Lindalva Ferreira da Silva Marriage Record, 30 Sep 1950; Nossa Senhora do Rosario parish, page 35, entry 131.

Citation
Whenever I post an image of a document to the blog I like to cite the source so y'all know where it came from and that it is legit. I just enter in the information I know about it. I try to do this right when I find the source if I'm at home, but if I'm at the Family History Center or Library I take extensive notes so I can add it when I get home. I normally use the "footnote" version of the citation on the blog because it includes a lot more information.

File Naming and Organization
I've talked about the organization of my file structure before, so I won't go into that here. But, I will mention that I recently decided to change how I named the files themselves. I followed Calvin Knight's file naming conventions for the most part and am slowly renaming my files. So this particular file got the name:
          Lima_Joao_b1925_&Lindalva_19500930_MarriageRecord_01

Transcription / Translation
I like to transcribe most documents using Microsoft Word. This way I can easily add the text to my database program and to my blog...making it easier for people to search for the names, dates, places etc found in the document image. If the document is in a foreign language then I make sure to transcribe and translate it into English. I also copy and paste the source citation onto that document as well. So, for the above Marriage Record here's what I have:

131 - João de Sousa Lima e Lindalva Ferreira da Silva

Transcription:

Aos trinta dias do mês de Setembro de mil novecentos e cinqüenta, na Matriz do Rosario, perante as testemunhas justo Lacerda Ferreira e João Cabral Batista, o Revmo Frei Inocencio ofm. assistiu ao recebimento matrimonial de João de Sousa Lima e Lindalva Ferreira da Silva, o nubente con 25 anos de idade, filho legitimo de Manuel de Sousa Lima e Hosana Maria da Conceiçao, natural e batizado em Cajazeiras, a nubente con 17 anos de idade, filha legitima de Joaquim Pedro da Silva e Ernestina Ferreira da Silva, natural e batizada em João Pessoa, residentes nesta frequezia. E, para constar, mandei fazer este fermo que assino.
(signed) Frei Jorge [Bolchaus.?] ofm. Vigário

Translation:

On the thirtieth day of the month of September of nineteen hundred and fifty, in the Mother of the Rosary, as witnessed by Lacerda Ferreira and João Cabral Batista, the Reverand Frei Inocencio [ofm.?] performed the marriage rite of João de Sousa Lima and Lindalva Ferreira da Silva, the groom with 25 years of age, legitimate son of Manuel de Sousa Lima and Hosana Maria da Conceiçao, born and baptized in Cajazeiras, the bride with 17 years of age, legitimate daughter of Joaquim Pedro da Silva e Ernestina Ferreira da Silva, born and baptized in João Pessoa, residents in this parish. And, for the record, I had this [fermo] sign.
(signed) Frei Jorge [Bolchaus.?] ofm. Vigário

I make sure to copy the transcription/translation into my RootsMagic "Detail Text" tab for this source and to add the image of the original document under the "Media" tab. (Hint: do this for the first citation you make for this document - in my case, for the marriage of Joao and Lindalva. Once I have added all the relevant transcriptions and media I can choose "Memorize" and add this exact citation to any other fact. If I want to add any comments specific to the fact, I'll go in and do that as well.)

Facts and More Facts
When adding information to my database found in the document I like to have the transcription/translation open next to my database so I can read it as I go, like in the image above. You could also print it out if you'd like. So for this particular document I was able to add this source citation to the following facts:

• Marriage - Joao de Souza Lima & Lindalva Ferreira Da Silva - date and location, as well as adding the names of the witnesses (they may come up later).
• Birth - Joao de Souza Lima - made a note that the marriage record gave the groom's age as 25 at the time of marriage which supports the birth date I have of 4 Jun 1925. It also lists the birth place.
• Relationship to parents - Joao / Manuel and Hosana. I added a note to this citation that they are listed as Joao's parent's in his marriage record. Because this "relationship" source shows up for any of the children, I wanted to specify that it only proves they are Joao's parents...not necessarily true for any of the other children. (this is an item I've requested RootsMagic look into as I'd like a better way to distinguish the relationships I'm citing)
• Birth - Lindalva Ferreira da Silva - I added a new birth fact because her marriage record states that she was 17 years old but the birth date I have from family recollection would mean she'd be 15 years old at the time of marriage. Either I have the wrong birth date or she lied on her marriage record (was there a certain age she needed to be?). Either way, I now have both facts listed in my database with their corresponding notes so as my research continues I know where these "facts" came from. (See yesterday's post about dealing with false information.)
• Relationship to parents - Lindalva / Joaquim and Ernestina.

Depending on the document you may have more or fewer facts associated with it. By citing everything you can get out of a document you can decide how true a fact is.

What to do with False Information

Our lives produce a lot of documents. This is helpful when researching our family history because we can use these documents to rebuild the facts of these people's lives. But what is really true?

A few weeks ago I discovered the Taylor Family Association website which includes an extensive family tree. As I was adding this data to my own database (I made sure to cite where it came from) I found a few errors.

If you'll remember, I really didn't have much information about the Taylor line so most of what I copied was new information. I did however already have some information for a John Ammon Taylor. Here's what was listed in the online database:

My own records showed his death date as 19 Feb 1921 and his burial date as 22 Feb 1921. So, I had to ask myself - Where did my information come from? Who was more correct, me or the online database?


The source for my data was John Ammon Taylor's own death certificate, which was made on the day of his death. I have no idea where the information on the online database came from, so guess what I did....

I still added the information to my database! Why? So I know that it's wrong! See how it's crossed out?

I use RootsMagic5 and I can enter multiple facts for the same event, in this case Death and Burial. I added the incorrect dates from the website database and cited that database as the source. I then changed the "Proof" field to "Proven False" so that it would cross out the event. I also added a note saying "No source for this INCORRECT DATE in the database. I believe the death certificate." Later, I went back and checked the "private" box so that I could choose if I wanted it to print on reports I may want to share with others.

This will be helpful for me in the future when I may run across information for a John Ammon Taylor stating his death date incorrectly. I can compare it to what I've already researched and know why I don't agree with that conclusion.