Ancestry: Beware of Misleading Database Titles

This afternoon I had a few minutes to research, so headed to Ancestry. As I always do when I haven't been there for a few days, I checked out the "New Records" section to see if there is anything I need to look at. Today an entry for "Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1825-1960" caught my eye. My Nickerson and Robinson lines came from Nova Scotia to Maine in the early 1800's, so I decided to do a quick search for them. My 3rd-great-grandmother, Elvira Nickerson, was born in Maine in 1820, so I knew I wouldn't find her or her parents in the database, but I wanted to see if I could find any Nickerson or Robinson relatives. I put in search parameters of last name Nickerson, born in 1820 +/- 10 years (1810-1830 time span). I also ran the same search with the birth years of 1800 and 1780, which should covered all Nickerson's born between 1770-1830 crossing the U.S./Canadian border. Here's a screen shot of one of the searches:

To my surprise, not a single record was found:

At this point, I decided to look at what crossing points and year spans were included in the database.¹ (You can do this by clicking on the "Learn more about this database link" on the left side of the page.) Naturally, the vast majority of the records for Maine took place in the 20th Century, making it unlikely that I'm going to find my earlier Nickerson/Robinson clan in these records. BUT...a closer examination of the description shows that the earliest crossing in this record set, from any entry point, is from 1877, even though the database's title says 1825! If this recordset had an accurate title (e.g 1877-1960), I would not have spent my precious research time on a fruitless effort. Thanks, Ancestry.

So what did I learn from this? 

1. If I don't find what I expect to find in a search, check the database's description to see what was actually included in the record set and/or index. It may be that the records I'm looking for DO exist, just not where I'm looking for them.
2. Better yet, especially on days that I have just 10-15 minutes to do a quick search, maybe I should check the database description first, instead of relying on titles, to let me know if I might find what I'm looking for.

References

1. "U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1825-1960",  database,  Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed January 22, 2017), database description; citing National Archives and Records Administration,  Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Record Group 85.

GPS Study Group Week 3: When and where was Harvey Thomas born?

Genealogical Proof Standard Study Group

Homework

Chapter Three – Evaluating the Records

Marceline Beem

Reference:

Christine Rose, Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case, 4th Edition Revised. San Jose, California: CR Publications, 2014.

In Chapter 3 of our text book, the author examines various record types and provides evidence analysis for each record type and how to weigh it when resolving conflicting evidence. One of the record types Ms. Rose examines is death records, pointing out that most of the time the information in the record is mixed – some of it is primary information (the death event itself) while the other information is secondary (birth events, for example).

As the author of the text reminds us, we cannot accurately analyze and weigh the evidence in a document without considering WHO provided the information under consideration. This week’s research question is When and where was Chris Harvey Thomas born?

Chris Harvey Thomas is my Uncle Harvey, my mother’s older brother. He died of complications from polio in 1952, when he was just 13 years old.  One of the documents we can use to answer the research question is his death certificate:

Death Certificate of Chris Harvey Thomas¹

Partial Transcript:

Place of Death: Hamot Hospital, Erie, Erie, Pennsylvania

Name of Deceased: Chris Harvey Thomas

Date of Death: Aug. 1, 1952

Age: 13

Date of Birth: 3-1-39

Birthplace: Alabama

Father’s Name: Curtis Thomas

Mother’s Name: Marceline Jacobs

Informant’s Signature: (signed) Curtis Thomas

This death certificate is a high-quality, digital image of the original document, found at Ancestry.com. The death information was recorded at the time of Uncle Harvey’s death, making it primary information. But what about the research question under consideration – when and where was he born? In this particular case, it also primary information. Why? Notice the informant is Curtis Thomas, who is also named as the decedent’s father. As his father, Curtis Thomas would have had first-hand knowledge of Uncle Harvey’s birth, including both the date and location. The document provides direct evidence that Chris Harvey Thomas was born on March 1, 1939 in Alabama.

With this document, we have enough evidence to say conclusively that Chris Harvey Thomas was born on March 1, 1939 in Alabama, right? Um, no, not if we are trying to meet the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS). While this document does provide direct evidence from a primary informant, I have not met the first requirement of the GPS – conducting an exhaustive search. Maybe under the stress of losing a child, my grandfather mixed up Uncle Harvey’s birthdate. Other record types need to be searched. Considering the time and place of Uncle Harvey’s short life, I need to search for a birth certificate, obituary, family records, and the 1940 census. My grandparents and other relatives who might have first-hand knowledge of his birth are no longer living, so I cannot interview them, but I could interview my mother and aunt, who probably know his birthdate and location. After I complete the exhaustive search, I will continue the remaining steps of the GPS process - analyzing the documents, resolving any conflicts, and writing my conclusion.

References

1. Pennsylvania Death Certificates, 1906-1964,” database with images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 Jan 2017), entry for Chris Harvey Thomas (1952); citing Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Death Certificates, Record Group 11, Series 11.90