Sources are incredibly important in the genealogical process for documenting and discovering your family history. They have numerous benefits such as verifying accuracy of information, helping to evaluate conflicting information, making it easier for multiple users to work together, and acknowledging the work of others.

I’m a stickler for only adding information into my tree if it based on original sources that I have evaluated myself. While platforms like Ancestry are wonderful for expanding connections and building on the well-researched work of others, it’s imperative to exercise caution. Unfortunately, many people copy details into their own tree without verifying sources, which can lead to a lot of incorrect information being shared online.

As much as I would love to reference all of the information on my site, it simply isn’t feasible for me to do so. However, I do my best by providing a list of references for each person in each family group, which is automatically generated from my family tree software.