Standards and Ethics in Genealogy

"Genealogical Standards: Obsolete Model T or Space-Age Air Car?" by the remarkable Helen F. M. Leary was an entertaining and thought-provoking NGS discussion about the ethics and standards by which genealogical research should be conducted and documented. Ms. Leary provided frequent and entertaining examples from her own experiences to highlight the various aspects of performing research.

This was more than just a "document your sources" discussion though. The need for, and the value of, judgment and interpretation in the analysis of records was discussed at length, as was the importance of taking personal responsibility for the conclusions reached as a genealogist. Copying information (and references) from somebody elses family tree without verifying the information yourself is not ethical, and it opens you to the risk of being associated with shoddy work.

She emphasized the need to judge the value of information obtained from records based on several important factors. These include who recorded it, how soon after the event it was recorded (sooner is generally better than later) and the source of the recorders information. For example, a death certificate is a highly reliable source for information related to the death (where, when). However, in spite of the fact that a death record is frequently an official document we are at the mercy of the informants memory for information regarding the decedents birth.

The need to be creative and dogged in establishing the truth was humorously but effectively demonstrated by example. She discussed claims of slave descendants of Thomas Jefferson by discussing DNA testing and the use of a time-line showing that Thomas Jefferson was in the same physical location of the woman in question at the time of inception for all of her children.

Another theme presented that has been resonating with me in several of the sessions is the importance of understanding the background, surroundings and chronology of the documented event. Who were the neighbors or relatives? Where did the event occur? What was happening in the area at the time: a drought? a war? an epidemic? What societal or religious rules were in vogue at the time? All of these can (and do) color or filter our interpretation of records, either distorting them (because we are not aware of them) or enhancing our understanding because we do.