There’s a published history of your family. It traces your family back to a lineage society qualifying ancestor. Can you use it for the application?
The short answer: maybe.
Here are the questions you need to answer:
- Is it a published source or a written report? Yes, families do pass down pedigree charts (ie. family trees). But those records are not usable for applications.
- Does it have citations? Does it indicate where the information came from? Many books list names and dates for parents and children without explaining where they found those names and dates. Someone reading the book has no way to tell how accurate it is. A book without citations is not usable unless the person writing it has primary knowledge of the events, such as a genealogist who discusses the names of their parents.
- Are those citations to original sources or reliable reference books? If a book cites a will, go ahead and use it. If it cites an uncited genealogy, you can’t.
Questions? Contact us.