Documents are my world. And I LOVE it! When doing genealogy research we all run across so many documents. Yet there are people that are so focused on obtaining the basic information regarding their ancestors that they overlook other details held within those documents. Or better yet, they overlook a type of document. The hidden details are sometimes the key to a wealth of knowledge that can break down a brick wall. Documents take many forms. To name a few there are: written documents, letters, diaries, newspapers, paintings, monuments, maps, photographs, statistical tables, film or videos, and oral / written interviews and more. So what is a document? Anything from the past that can help us learn what, where, when, who and why, is a document. These are the steps that are taken here at Digging Up Deep Roots. By no means are your required to follow the exact same steps to get results. You may even have a few more ideas that a researcher could benefit from. Questions for an Analysis:
1) Who was the author and the intended audience? A) Author - Do you we know author and if so what do we know about the them? What motivated or inspired the author to create the document? Were there prejudices that may have slanted the final product? How informed is the author about the subject, issue or event at hand? Was the author a direct observer or was the knowledge received second-hand? If the author was a director observer, was there personal involvement? Does the author believe what they are portraying? B) Audience - Was the document targeting a particular person or group? Was the author part of a particular group addressing concerns or thoughts? 2) What type of document is it? Is this a memoir, biography, letter, Church document, or other type of document? Would the type of document impact the authenticity of the document? Is the language of the document original to the document or generated? Is the translation official? 3) When was the document generated? Was it current to the times or issues it describes? In what historical context did this occur / or was generated? How has it been passed down? Could it have been altered in any way? 4) Where was the document generated? Is the content influenced by the geographical location? Was it meant to be publicized or kept private? 5) Why was this document generated? Was there a discourse between parties? What relevant information was provided? What insight into the events, society or issues were described? Is there consistency or contradictions within the document? Does the author really believe what was generated? What can one read between the lines? Are there questionable references within the document that needs further explanation? Considering all that has been analyzed, how credible is the document? Is this document strengthened by other documentation? Does the author ignore certain facts? If facts were ignored, why? Is it sincere? How is sincerity portrayed in the document? Has anything been falsified? As a genealogist we are detectives seeking truth in the stories of our ancestors. Through document analysis hidden treasures can be found and brick walls can be broken. For further help in breaking brick walls check out Amy Johnson Crow's article called How a Professional Genealogist Approaches Brick Wall Problems.
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Penny Alvarez-KellerGraduated from Arkansas Tech University with a degree in Management / Marketing and a degree in Economics / Finance Archives
February 2023
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