[Excerpted from Elizabeth Shown Mills, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, 3d ed. rev. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2017), pp. 18–22, §1.4, 1.11.] Our latest excerpt from Elizabeth Shown Mills’ classic work, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, is one we would all do well to contemplate regularly as we conduct our research,[…]Read more
Genealogy audiences on three continents have dubbed Elizabeth Shown Mills “The SuperGenie,” “The Pied Piper of Family History,” “The Mother of Modern Genealogy,” and “the genealogist who has had the greatest impact on American genealogy in the post-ROOTS era.” For over 30 years, Mrs. Mills has pushed the cutting edge of research methodology, standards, and quality,[…]Read more
By Laura Murphy DeGrazia, CG Excerpted from Laura Murphy DeGrazia, “Problem Analyses & Research Plans,” Elizabeth Shown Mills, ed., Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2018), 295–316. Publisher’s Note: Last week we ran an excerpt from Laura Murphy DeGrazia’s chapter, “Problem Analyses & Research Plans,” published in Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice &[…]Read more
The following article was excerpted by Elizabeth Shown Mills, editor, from Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2018), pp. 265–92. Genealogists think about the information they find and what it might say or imply about the past. They assess both information and the sources that contain the information. These assessments usually[…]Read more
By Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG From time to time we have excerpted portions of the extraordinary book, Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards. Edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills, one of America’s most respected genealogy authorities, and written by eighteen leading experts on the substance of genealogical research, Progen PPS is a priceless[…]Read more
In the following excerpt from her acclaimed book, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. 3rd Edition Revised, Elizabeth Shown Mills explains that the terms proof, source, and evidence have different and distinct meanings. Moreover, a proof argument in genealogy must consist of a number of demonstrable components. Whether we are reading Ms.[…]Read more
By Laura Murphy DeGrazia, CG Excerpted from: Laura Murphy DeGrazia, “Problem Analyses & Research Plans,” Elizabeth Shown Mills, ed., Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards(Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2018), 295–316. “Effective problem analysis requires a thorough understanding of three key issues. First, we must know the available sources for that problem—their accessibility, arrangement, content, and varying[…]Read more
The following essay concerning the nature of genealogical proof was excerpted by Elizabeth Shown Mills from her book, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. 3rd ed. Rev. (2017), p. 17. In it, Mrs. Mills explains the difference between genealogical proof, theory, and hypothesis and offers a cautionary point lesson that any researcher[…]Read more
By Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG From time to time we have excerpted portions of the extraordinary book, Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards. Edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills, one of America’s most respected genealogy authorities, and written by eighteen leading experts on the substance of genealogical research, Progen PPS is a priceless[…]Read more
Excerpted from Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace,3d ed. rev. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2017), pp. 18–19, §1.5. “Modern family history (aka genealogy) draws heavily from law in its handling of evidence. However, family-history standards require a higher level of proof than does most litigation. The justice system demands that a date[…]Read more
The following essay was excerpted from Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, 3rd ed. Rev. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2017), p. 47, by the author, expressly for “Genealogy Pointers.” “The range of materials and media in use today defies standardization. When we examine a publication to define the elements that need recording,[…]Read more
Elizabeth Shown Mills, editor of the reference work, Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (Progen PPS), recently chose and edited a number of selections from Progen PPS for publication in “Genealogy Pointers.” We hasten to stress that while the author of each selection is a professional genealogist, each selection should interest anyone who is serious[…]Read more
