06 September 2007

Is That Obituary Misleading?

Ancestry.com ran my "tip" on obituaries and the responses from readers have been interesting. Of course newspaper obituaries are good source of information, but they must be used with care. Obituaries are by their very nature a secondary source and since information may be given under a time of stress, details may not be remembered accurately either.

Never correct an obituary when typing it into your database, but clearly note known errors in the notes of your software program or in a commentary on the obituary itself.