Genealogical Definitions/Types of Sources

This section provides a distinction between two broad categories of source material and documents: Primary Sources, and Secondary Sources. The distinction between primary and secondary sources is critical in genealogy. A conclusion based on primary sources is fundamentally more sound than a concusion based on secondary sources. The definitions given here are simplifications, and should be used with some caution.


 * Primary Sources---A primary source or record is an original document more or less contemporary with the events it refers to. A birth certificate, marriage record, gravestone, court record, contemporary letter would usually be considered to be a primary record. The key characteristic of a primary record is that it represents testimony of someone who had direct first hand knowledge of the events described.   What is not included in category of "primary sources" are documents compiled long after the events by persons who could not be considered eyewitnesses. Some elements of death certificates are marginal in this respect: if the only available relative of a deceased person was a nephew, he might give an incorrect answer to the question about the deceased's father's occupation.


 * A possible exception to this are compilations of original records, in the form of extracts, or in some cases verbatim transcripts. A compilation of court records, marriage records, and the like are inlcuded in this category.  Such documents are properly considered to be secondary sources as there is the possibility of information loss occurring in the transcription process. As a result, these sources are less reliable than true primary sources. Practically speaking, most genealogists can not (or do not) readily access the original source material on which such compilations are based, and so transcriptions of primary source material are often treated as if they were themselves primary sources.


 * Secondary Sources---For present purposes a secondary source or record is a document tht is not contemporary with the events that it describes. The author can not be described as being an eyewitnesss to the events.  This includes extracts and compilations based on primary documents.   Examples of a secondary sources would include:  County Histories, Family Genealogies, newspaper articles about events that occurred at some time in the relatively distant past, etc. The authors of such works may be exactly right about what they describe, but they do not have this information based on their direct experience with the events of concern.  The author's may be basing their interpretation on primary sources, but their presentation is ultimately an analysis.  That is, it may describe what they think occurred, but they do not know of their own personal knowledge that the events concerned are in fact correctly described.  A secondary source is fundamentally interpretative in nature, and interpretation can be in error.