Can I count this book as a source

Question

I came across this book only problem I can;t get holdof the book becasue it is in West Virginia.

The western waters : early settlers of eastern Barbour County, West Virginia by Violet Gadd Cootz

975.45903 C775w2

This person writes in Family Search 

Am I allowed to use this as a reference? !Letter: copy of letter taken from library of congress -- an application for a Rev War pension ...He was born in Rosenfelt, Germany on the 25th Feb 1760. Emigrat gaed to America with his father when an infant first settled in Philadelphia Co PA then moved to Hampshire VA where he was living when he first entered the service in 1777. In 1787 lived in Randolph Co VA. !Letter: from Emma Genevieve McGilberry gives family history with Andrew MILLER as father to Elizabeth Miller who marries Johnathon YEAGER. !BOOK: "The Western Waters", by Violet Gadd Coonts !Tradition:   Had Elizabeth MILLER's father as a John Miller. John Miller was a stowaway on a ship from Ireland. He was sold for passage fare. He ran away & traveled at nights & during the days he was hiding.While hidingin an old mill in the hopper he saw a young couple to be married. There was acelebration & he peeped at the food. He found a stocking filled with gold & with he got his start in ot in old Virginia. He had 90 slaves before the Civil War. !1850 CENSUS: VA Barbour Co, Philippi, 30 Aug 1850, dist #5, dwelling 738 pg 58 , Head of household John MILLER, age 84, farmer;Belana 74;Belana 12

Thanks

Answer 1

You can use the source. Personally, I would put a note that you have not verified the information. I think FamilySearch has the book, but it is not viewable online due to copyright restrictions. It is also available from Amazon, but pretty expensive. So, if you provide the information, someone else could possibly know to get the book to verify the information.

Comments

If I understood correctly, even if you use some info that may not look reliable, can you just note that the info is not verified? I don't have a lot of experience in writing something like this and taking various publications as sources. I study at a university, and when I write something, I need to use only trusted and checked resources and correct citations so as not to be accused of plagiarism. I also read some information before writing to do everything correctly. When I was working on my last paper, this page https://papersowl.com/blog/guidelines-for-the-structure-of-a-research-paper provided me with all the info I needed about the structure of the research paper, and I think it was the first time I wrote everything without any imperfection. So that's why I prefer to know all the info before, not fix everything after.

Answer 2

It looks like some of the sources other than the book itself are available elsewhere.  The 1850 census is available at Ancestry and Family Search "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M88P-DBY : 23 December 2020), John Miller, Barbour, Virginia, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). 

and Revolutionary War pensions are on Ancestry and Fold3.  Andrew Miller's pension application begins at https://www.fold3.com/image/24784375

The "John Miller" story sounds like a work of fiction.

If you search on WorldCat you'll find the book in a number of libraries although they still might not be near you.  The western waters : early settlers of Eastern Barbour County, West Virginia | WorldCat.org

Edit: fixed bad link

Comments

It looks like there was a mix up with the citation to the pension application... Here is a citation to it:

Pension application of Andrew Miller, R.7176. M > Means, George - Miller, Lewis > Miller, Aaron - Miller, Cyrus, [https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1995/images/MIUSA1775D_136304-00467 images 465-80]. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (NARA microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls). Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.; consulted as Ancestry.com. ''U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900'' [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

It was rejected, because he died in Summer 1834 before a decision was made. It does mention his immigration with his father.and initial settlement in Philadelphia Co., Pennsylvania, but nothing about stealing from a wedding party.

Answer 3

I just wanted to thank every one for there help so far. It looks like I will be going down another rabbit hole on the miller family. It also looks like I need to write a biography up. Guess what grade I got in Grammar Refresher? If you guessed  "F" you can go to the head of the class. Oh well I will do my best. Thank goodness for spell checker.

Comments

Chris:

You have already been given good feedback from others.  I would only add that even where there is erroneous, anomalous or other contrary, but relevant, information in a published source, citing that source and commenting upon the information therein can be helpful both for your own reference, as well as useful to others.

It is better to be kind in such commentary, but sometimes important to be firm or emphatic.

Generally, the family history adventure ought to be treated as a quest for truth.  But some have been careless along the way and others have taken great license in creating fictional accounts of family members.  It can often be challenging to distinguish fact from fiction and well thought out notes and commentary that assist others in assessing the information is useful even when the reference is to the anomalous or fantastic rather than the factual.

William A. Roper, Jr.