How can I use copies of official documents as sources?

Question

I collect copies in pdf or jpg format of official documents that support data in my records, and include those images directly in my own dataset, using AQ. Given that I have the actual pictures of the documents, I don't see any reason to point the reader to any secondary source from which I got the document, and in many cases I'm not sure where I got it. (These vary widely, from inherited to town vaults, to online.) How can I use and cite these documents as sources in Wikitree? EG, can I embed them in a person's record?

Answer 1

Hi Charles.  Here's the site's Help page description for citing sources:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Sources

I suspect Elizabeth Shown Mills, in "Evidence Explained ..." might have more advice.  The informal WikiTree advice has always been to include enough info to enable a reader to identify and find the original source on his own if possible.  If you include as much info as you know (e.g., title, author, date, etc.) but don't know where you got it, you can add a statement saying "Copy in the possession of Charles Hadlock."  You can include a copy of something as an image in a profile as long as there's no copyright or terms of service issue.

Answer 2

If you do upload an image of a document, make sure that you still include a source citation for the document in the Sources section of the profile. You can include a link to the image that you uploaded to WikiTree in the citation so people know they can view it.

In the citation, describe what the document is and where you obtained it (if you know). Include the record number or page number if there is one. If you did find the document online, you should still include a link to the online document.

If it is an image from Ancestry, it is against their terms of service to upload their document images to other sites. So just include a source citation and link to ancestry for those documents, and don’t upload the image.

Hope that helps!

Comments

Also, there are some US States where posting a copy of official BMD docs would be a violation so make sure to check that the documents don't carry such warnings. Not everyone pays attention to that but just wanted a reminder to go along with the Ancestry warning.

Answer 3

If you want to upload images and link to them from the source citations that's a nice (and often much appreciated) extra—but I wouldn't think of it as something to do instead of writing the best source citations that you can based on what you've got.

Suggesting that people just look at the document reminds me a bit of my 15-year-old self in high school geometry when I was asked to prove something was a triangle: "Um, just look at the picture?"

A good citation is a bit like showing your work in a geometry proof. The details demonstrate the reliability of your work.

For example, here's a good citation for a death certificate I got a copy of the old-fashioned way:

Certificate of Death for Lucius G. Heffron, 21 Jan 1913, Tacoma, Pierce, Washington, File no. 60, certified copy, author’s possession, Washington State Dept. of Health, Olympia, Washington.

Someone who wants to see a copy for themselves can use that information to search for an online copy or can send off for it as I did. They have all the information they need and know exactly what I was looking at.

On the other hand, here's a citation that I made in my very early days researching:

Last Will and Testament of Eli McDaniel, 1887 (probated), Orange County, North Carolina.

It doesn't tell me or anyone else where to find the record, such as the will book # and page or file box number, the exact date of it or where I might find a copy. Has the county retained the originals or films? Could someone write to them? Or are they at the North Carolina State Archive? Or maybe they've gone to a local or county genealogical or history society? Maybe it's a transcription or just an index I came across or someone told me it's there. I honestly don't remember. I now realize I know nothing about this source and don't trust it. You shouldn't either.

For now though, that's all I've got and that's how I would write the citation. 

In your situation, I would suggest writing the most comprehensive citations you can for each document you have. Lots of the information will be in the document itself; some information you won't have. Like my examples, some will be good, some not so good. We do what we can and luckily no one is going to make you repeat a semester of high school geometry because of the not-so-good ones.