Von: carlah@earthlink.net (Carla)
  Datum: 12.12.98, 21:52:32
Betreff: Reliable information in American records?

Dear Dan and Baden-Wuerttemberg List Friends,

For those of you who are working with information found in *United States* death
records (whether certificates of death, or listings supplied by a historical
society or similar organization), be a little cautious: the information you find
in these can be misleading, and is sometimes unreliable.  It's not so much an
error in recording, as you might think, but in the *source* of the information.

One reason is that, with a death record, the deceased was obviously NOT the
person supplying the information which appears, but someone else---usually a
spouse or family member.  Often, that person was not necessarily well-acquainted
with the deceased's history.  Even *spouses* of the deceased sometimes lacked or
forgot precise details about their partner's birthdate, birthplace, parents'
names, etc.  Aside from emotional strain caused by bereavement, a simple lack of
knowledge or memory contributed to errors and omissions.  Historical and other
societies which publish death data may also lack complete or correct
information, for a variety of reasons.

I have worked with many such records in my own research, and I suggest that
fellow researchers in the United States use these as a *guideline,* rather than
conclusive evidence, in trying to establish an ancestor's specific birthplace,
age, parents' names, etc.  (Please note that I am referring exclusively here to
*American* documents concerning immigrant ancestors---not to records originating
in Germany.)

As an example, when my German great-grandmother died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
in 1934, her adult son supplied the information about his mother (a widow) to
the authorities.  The death certificate shows her to have been born in Bavaria,
Germany in the year 1876, and gives her maiden name as "SIEBERT."  In reality,
my great-grandmother was born in *Baden,* Germany in the year 1863, and her
maiden name was "SILBER!"  This is a 13-year difference in her age and a
completely different area of origin shown, let alone the discrepancy of the
surname.  Her son just didn't have the correct information.

It's wise to view information of record that was supplied *directly* by the
ancestor as the most reliable.  Persons applying for naturalization
(citizenship), for example, usually furnished their information personally,
either during an interview or on a written form, whereas death records are, at
best, a secondary source.

American death records can be an important tool in your research efforts, but
are often less than perfect. Especially if you have conflicting information in
U.S. documents, tread carefully with this data until supporting and verifying
information can be found, to avoid getting misled in your research.

Best of luck in your family research,
Carla HELLER
Los Angeles
==============================

Dan Bravard wrote:

> My emigrant ancestor, Casper Schneider, has his death record here in
> Cincinnati, Ohio listing him as having been born in France.   I traced him
> clearly to a little village named Urloffen in Baden which is fairly close to
> the Rhine where he was born in 1830.   I have always considered that death
> record as being a "recorder's error" until Gwen's message.
>
> Dan Bravard