What kind of source do I have?

Question

I found a printed and bound Genealogy and I'm working on entering the data from it here. When I go to create a new profile, I've been checking the first box, the one that says something like "unsourced family tree". I thought that was more appropriate since I'm not confirming the data in the genealogy with any official records.

I was wondering if that was the correct way to handle it. The family historian that put this together seems to have been very thorough, but he doesn't explicitly give his sources.

I suppose it's a minor question, but if I should be doing it differently, I should know now before I do too many more of these entries.

Comments

The book you are using is valid as a source, because it is where YOU found the information.

You could cite the published book, following guidelines, but also add a note that the information contained therein may itself be unverified by any actual sources.

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I don't think it was actually published. There's no publication info provided on the title page.

But, when I did my introduce myself post last night, I put in the full title. Someone found that the LDS has it on microfilm, so I think I can use that link as my source.

I'm thinking about making a page here to upload scans of pages with my grandma's hand written notes.

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Well, if it was printed, that is a form of publication - even if it's privately done.

My point was - it is valid as a source because that is where YOU found the information.  That doesn't mean you should not continue to look for other, presumably better, sources to back up the facts stated.

Answer 1

Thank you for raising this question. Unsourced family tree does seem a bit pointless as each profile should have at least one proper source. I suggest you take the info the book provides and look at familysearch.org (free site) to see if you can find a match. Then you can copy/paste It to the profile you are making.

If you get stuck come back and ask for help. Giving as much info as possible helps us to help you.

Answer 2

I found a similar, unpublished, document that I used as a source. An unsourced family tree is okay for one or two people, but it is really no source at all. This is how the citation was written for the similar booklet:

• Charles S. Hutzler, "Family Tree of the Hutzler Family," Richmond, Virginia: January 1980. Photoprint of typewritten text, 16 p. since 1809, also letter Charles S. Hutzler, Richmond, Aug. 1, 1980 1p and corrections 6p. Mostly about family in USA. About Hutzler family in Germany under Hitler, pg. 1. Cit. Date: 19 March 2017.

This is how I entered it (to include the link):

Charles S. Hutzler, [https://archive.org/stream/hutzlerfamilycol1412unse#page/n1/mode/2up/search/feist/ "Family Tree of the Hutzler Family],"  Richmond, Virginia:  January 1980.  Photoprint of typewritten text, 16 p. since 1809, also letter Charles S. Hutzler, Richmond, Aug. 1, 1980 1p and corrections 6p.  Mostly about family in USA.  About Hutzler family in Germany under Hitler, pg. 1.  Cit. Date: 19 March 2017.