Why Not Add Everything?

A few years ago, my mother found some websites dedicated to the KEENER surname.  There are a lot of KEENERs up in our family tree, so it wasn't unusual that my mother was searching.  She copied out the information into three Word documents.  She said she did not have time to go through them and verify anything and emailed copies of them to me.

I looked them over at the time and found a KEENER that was familiar.  "Great!," I thought, "I can add this now."

Then I remembered something I learned at the Boone County Genealogical Society meetings when I first got interested in family history.

NEVER add to your tree if you can't document the fact for yourself.  It doesn't matter if you are handed a chart or file with tons of sources.  Someone, somewhere could have made a mistake, been in a hurry, made a typo, or in some cases even made up facts so the person "fit" into their tree.

I want my genealogical charts and research to be very well documented.  Not only because it helps prove I am related to the people I say I'm related to, but also, to leave behind a clear trail for other researchers and (hopefully) my children.

Be especially wary of "family tree files" you find at some sites on the web.  Most I have seen are not documented and have no sources for you to check the facts they are presenting.  While this may be good for opening up a new line of your own research, it is not good to just cut and paste it into your tree.

Some trees I have seen online show parents having children after they (the parents) have been dead many years.  Does that make sense to you?  I didn't think so.

Back to the KEENER documents my mother gave me.  I did not have a chance to really look them over thoroughly until this past week.  I don't think that two of them pertain directly to the KEENER line I am following.  The third looks to be a goldmine.  I may, once I have verified it, be able to take my branch of the KEENERs back three (yes, 3) generations.  And the best thing is the document has an extensive list of sources at the end -- a map to the goldmine.

When I add this information to my tree, you better bet my mother and the person who put up the web page will be getting credit in my documentation and source listings.

In the words of a former President: "Trust, but verify."