Advice before adding of this pre-1700 Littlejohn profile?

Question

I can add a to the profile of Patrick Littlejohn. This is who I can add:

• Patrick
• George

These are the sources I am using:

• 1696 Aberdeenshire Poll Book
• Aberdeenshire Probate Records

Should I contact one of the pre-1700 projects or know about any style guidelines before proceeding? Thank you!

Answer 1

Thank you for asking. I have added the Scotland tag as this is a Scottish profile. Those look like reliable sources to me.

For information, the Scotland Project has guidance on reliable sources here and general guidance on profile standards here.

Answer 2

Hi John

Your sources need to be adequately cited so that any other genealogist can locate the relevant information.

I'm presuming that the poll book you wish to cite is: Aberdeenshire, Scotland, William Hay, and John Stuart. List of Pollable Persons Within the Shire of Aberdeen: 1696. ... Aberdeen: Printed by W. Bennett, 1844. vol. 1 p. 328 which lists Patrick Litlejohn (sic) and his wife in Old Meldrum in the Paroch of Bethelvie https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015024016043&view=1up&seq=358 there is another Littlejohn, George in Gownor on p. 326.

Similarly the will of Patrick Litlejohn needs to be fully cited so that anyone can find (retrieve) it. I presume that it is the Testament dative and inventory for Patrick Litlejohn, feuar in Old Meldrum dated 21 Jul 1726 Aberdeen Commissary Court ref CC1/6/7 image available in ScotlandsPeople.

You will need to demonstrate that the persons whom you want to connect to this profile are in fact actually related. This may be very difficult if not impossible. In the period 1650 to 1699 there were 29 individuals with the surname Litlejohn (and it's variants Litlejohn Litlejohn Litlejhon Litlejohne etc) who were baptized in various parishes across all of the county of Aberdeen,  principally Old Machar, Rayne, Fyvie. There are none recorded for the parish of Bethelvie.

If you believe that you have direct relatives (siblings, parents, children, spouses) of the profile which you are editing, you will need to provide a full and complete citation to the source which provides the evidence of the relationship (not just a shared surname and or location). Failing that you should not create new profiles or connect profiles to your main profile. Instead you should make a Research Note summarizing your findings.

The Scotland Project has help pages on adequately citing sources https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Scotland_-_Sourcing_Help

Kind regards, Neil