Help from the Genealogical Proof Standard

Genealogical Proof Standard

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The purpose of the Genealogical Proof Standard is to show what the minimums are that a genealogist must do for his or her work to be credible.

There are five elements to the Genealogical Proof Standard:
1. Reasonably exhaustive research has been conducted.
2. Each statement of fact has a complete and accurate source citation.
3. The evidence is reliable and has been skillfully correlated and interpreted.
4. Any contradictory evidence has been resolved.
5. The conclusion has been soundly reasoned and coherently written.

Any proof statement is subject to re-evaluation when new evidence arises.
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Genealogical_Proof_Standard


I spent yesterday reviewing my great grandchildren's Sharp ancestry. I looked for additional historical records to use as sources.

As I searched for the family of John Joseph Sharp and Augusta Margaret Brett, I found a John and Margaret Sharp family in the 1921 Canada census with two children with the right names and some additional children, who I added to the family. But point 4 of the Genealogical Proof Standard saved the day. The family I found in the census lived in Moosejaw, Saskatchwan, and my family lived in British Columbia. and there were other inconsistencies. 

I had to add the correct parents to the Moosejaw family and move the children that belonged to that family out of my family. Now they are shown correctly in the FamilySearch Family Tree as different families. .

As I followed the Sharp line back, things looked good until I came to another inconsistency. Isiah Caleb Sharp born about 1799 in the USA was shown as a son of Morris Sharp who was roughly the same age. As I researched this family in the 1851-1881 censuses, I found Isiah Sharp and Caleb Sharp and their families were living next door to each other in 1861.  I could also add children shown in these documents. I was able to determine that Isiah, Caleb, and Morris were among the children of Anthony Sharp UEL 1750–1814  • 28WC-8PT​​ and Susannah Swayze 1760–1858 • L4HX-MZS​​. 

(The UEL designation indicates Americans who remained loyal to Britain during the American Revolution. These United Empire Loyalists became the foundation for English-speaking Canada.)

Anthony's father is shown as Johann Peter Scharfenstein, which explains why their ethnicity is shown as German in the census records.

The principles of The Genealogical Proof Standard helped with my research. 

Pandemic times

From mid-March 2020, COVID-19 coronavirus was officially declared a pandemic by the world Health Organization. "Non-essential" businesses and most gatherings of people were shut down. (schools, churches, sports, etc.) So we have been having church by ourselves at home.

Some stores were kept open but the number of customers was limited and customers were asked to maintain a distance of at least 2 metres apart. This has resulted in long lines of people waiting to get into stores such as Superstore, Canadian Tire and the Big Greenhouse. We have generally tried to use stores that did not have line-ups outside. But we get our prescriptions at Superstore.

On Tuesday we were able to get into Superstore without a wait, and bought our groceries. While I was picking up the last few items, Judy went to pick up her prescription. I soon realized that the line-up waiting for a cashier stretched from the middle of the dairy products area, to the far back of the store by the lobster tanks, then down the frozen foods aisle to the front of the store. I quickly joined the end of the line. and estimated that with maybe 37 people ahead of me that I could expect a long wait. I had my phone with me and used the opportunity to get caught up on some reading. I forgot to check how long it took to advance to the front of the line, but I would estimate about 30 minutes. In the meantime, Judy had picked up her prescription, gotten tired of waiting for me, checked the car, gone back into the store, waited, returned to the car, returned to the store, and had me paged on the public address system. and finally I appeared at a cashier. Then were were back together comparing our experiences.

We had never seen interior line-ups like this one, and the line was in the west end of the store, not visible from other parts of the store. And the pharmacy is in the east end of the store. So Judy could not see the line-up.

Early-on there was a run on toilet paper, which ceased to be available for a week or two, then available in limited quantities. Other items such as some baking supplies, powdered milk and canned pineapple ceased to be available. It was a strange time to go grocery shopping. We were fortunate that we bought two bags of our favorite seed potatoes in April, because by early May, there were none available. And we do enjoy our garden,

In a few months this will be fading from my memory, but I think it is worth recording. I suggest that you record your own experiences for future generations.

Stats from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Coronavirus Cases:  5,252,204

Deaths:                        336,495

Recovered:               2,120,228

To Absent Friends

This traditional toast to fallen comrades came to mind as I continued going through the table-top sized Tucker family genealogy charts I received from Jane Varkaris several years ago.

As I was following the Konold family line, I discovered the death of one of my "genealogy buddies", Mary Louise Konold Lott, a family history researcher who cooperated with two generations of researcher in my wife's Simpson branch of the family, As I was reviewing the Konold line in the FamilySearch Family Tree, the most common contributor was "LottMaryLouiseKonold", and there were portraits lovingly attached to most of the records by Mary. I found a nice obituary that talked about Mary's many talents and interests. Guess what, genealogy was not one of the things listed! Thank you Mary, for so many jobs well done!!!

This morning I decided to see if my genealogy buddy Jane Varkaris was still living, (I believe she gave me the Tucker charts as a gift, but maybe they were just a loan. I decided that I should check with her,) I discovered that Jane and her husband Gus have both passed away. Her obituary was mostly about her passion for the history of clocks and clock-making, including references to 5 books and numerous articles she had published on historical Canadian clocks and clockmakers. She is referred to as "Canada's foremost researcher and author of books and articles on Canadian Clocks and Clockmakers." She also served a term as Director of the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors. I found it curious that her lengthy obituary made no mention of genealogy. But somehow she managed to fit a lot of it into her busy life, Good work Jane!!!

As family history researchers we are in contact with many people, and most of them are very helpful. These two people have been among my best genealogy buddies..

Farewell to absent friends!



Obituaries: Mary Lott  Jane Varkaris

Family Tradition Versus Family History

I have spent the past few days researching James Tucker, of Somerset England.
Family tradition has him as the son of Henry Tucker and Hannah Dudden, married to Ruth Pringle. He and Ruth and their family came to Canada, She died while at sea in 1849, and James settled in Grey county Ontario, The christening of James Tucker, son of Henry tucker and Hannah Dudden can be found in High Littleton, Somerset, England on 27 Jan 1805.

So what is the problem?

As I was researching James, I found that he married Ruth Priddle on 4 April 1813 in Martock, Somerset, England A bit of simple math shows that James would only be 8 years old at the time. Then there are the 1841 and 1851 censuses of James and Ruth and their family living at Tintinhull near Martock. In these censuses they are shown as born in 1791 or 1796. The 1791 date matches the 1813 marriage very nicely. And the 1851 census says that James was born in Cricket St Thomas, Somerset in 1791, not in High Littleton in 1805. And Ruth is still alive in the 1851 census, not dead at sea two years previously.

The family tradition is so strong that I considered that there were two different James Tuckers who married women named Ruth Priddle . Then I proceeded to try documenting both couples. There was no shortage of men named James Tucker born during 1790-1810 in Somerset. but women named Ruth Priddle were a different matter. The 1813 marriage was the only one I could find. I realize that
some records are missing so that "Absence of proof is not proof of absence."

But other than the 1805 christening in High Littleton, all of the evidence I was finding was for the James Tucker and Ruth Priddle who were born in 1791. I found their christenings, their marriage, their 1841 and 1851 census records and Ruth's death in the Tintinhull area in 1852. Then I came across a well-documented family tree on Ancestry that added missing pieces. There was James Tucker, as a widower, living in Grey country, Ontario in the 1861 and 1871 Canada censuses. He is shown as aged 70 in 1861 and 80 in 1871. For me the clincher was that in the 1871 census he was living with his daughter Ruth and her family. And last of all I found death records for James. He died on 13 January 1876 in Artemesia, Grey, Ontario, Canada and I even found a FindAGrave memorial, The Canadian records all agree that he was born in 1791, not 1805.

So, with a sense of relief I was finally able to merge the James Tucker and Ruth Priddle born about 1805 into the records of James Tucker and Ruth Priddle born in 1791.

What about the generations of Tucker researchers who had this couple connected with the James Tucker who was the son of Henry Tucker and Hannah Dudden? I decided to leave the 1805 christening and the connection to Henry and Hannah as an additional set of parents. Otherwise, Ruth Priddle and her descendants would be considered as missing family members and would be added by other Tucker researchers.

Who died on a ship in 1849 and was buried at sea? I don't have an answer to that question, but it was nor Ruth Priddle Tucker.