Using Family Genealogy books from 100 years ago as sources

Question

I have been using Genealogy books, such as: Loring Genealogy, by Charles Pope, 1917 (to add names to Wikitree)

that I downloaded as a pdf from the New York Public Library, as sources.  The genealogy books seem to be quite genuine about the accuracy of the birth and other dates they record, to the day, to the month, to the year, or not at all.  Should I be certain about their "to the day" birthdates, such as Feb. 20, 1723?  Should I trust the names?

I live in western Canada, far from New England archives, and rely on the internet.

Frank Hastings

Answer 1

I have been working from similar old family histories for my 18th C. American families and found them accurate where I have been able to check dates and names against church and cemetery records.

Personally, I'd rather see a year entered against a name with a note below repeating the wording of the source with appropriate attributions. Better something to work on than nothing at all.

Where several "Genealogies" have been published by different authors, perhaps giving varying details, I use those details I think most accurate and include alternative versions as notes below. This alows the next person to test what they have against what has been chosen previously, and hopefully, encourages development towards a definitive version.