The Importance of Sources in Family History
As people are added to FamilySearch, and as details are entered for people of your family in FamilySearch, it is important to document these details and personal events using original sources. Many sources are available, especially in Denmark. This document will give some ideas and methods for providing these source details.
Using FamilySearch Sources Directly
When you look at the details of a person in FamilySearch, often you see suggestions of records contained in the vast FamilySearch system of record images.
As you click on “Show All” you see the individual suggestions with more detail:
When you click on “Review & Attach, you see the details, side-by-side (not shown entirely here, but you get the idea):
If these look OK, click the “Attach” button and the source will be added to the sources collection for that individual.
When these hints are provided, they are based on transcriptions (from indexing) of those records. It is important to review these carefully, for several reasons. First, since names in Denmark are used often and many are very common, some suggestions make sense when really they are for different people with similar names and family situations. Sometimes they are listed as “weak,” but even it not, they should be examined well before proceeding. Also, there are sometimes errors in the records or transcriptions. I see these errors most often in census records.
Sometimes the hints are suggestions for merging your family member with person(s) who are also in FamilySearch who have similarities. These, also, should be approved with caution, but are important and may help connect families.
The Source List for People in FamilySearch, and Adding Sources
As you look at a person’s details, one of the views shows sources already attached for that person in FamilySearch. In that view, you also have the option to add sources yourself.
In this view, you can see the sources added from FamilySearch hints. Those are the ones with the FamilySearch tree symbol on the left side. Other sources are shown with the globe image on the left. Those are usually added from a person’s own research. If you add sources (as I will demonstrate here), those will be listed with that symbol.
If you click on “+ ADD SOURCE,” you will be presented with three options:
As you add your own sources in the FamilySearch system, they are usually included in your own Source Box (that is a choice given to you ). Here is an example of a source box:
You can see this list if you click on “Attach from Source Box,” and you can add a particular source to additional persons, clicking on “attach.”
Following is an example of taking details from a new record you have found and adding it as a source for someone in your family in FamilySearch.
Marius Bernhard Olsen - Entered into FamilySearch, with Detailed Sources
Marius was born in 1893. The FamilySearch indexed records of parish volumes for Denmark ended in about 1891, so the source hints for Marius’ birth are not available. However, there are several of the census records that do extend into the 1900s, up to the 1930 census. (Lately, though, the 1916 and later census records have been restricted, so those later ones do not come up any more.) Because the parish volumes have not been transcribed for us in FamilySearch, other sources are helpful. Ancestry.com does have a lot of those later volumes transcribed and are available. Still, I have found that I need to review the actual parish records, searching from page to page, to fill in families.
Here is the example of the christening record for Marius and how I made the source record for that for him.
First, a note about research methods. It is good to keep a research log of some sort. I usually keep a text file on my computer where I place what I find in various records, mainly to help me see the big picture as I proceed. From these entries in the research log, I can then build the source entry for the particular records for that person. Here is an excerpt of my research log for the Niels Peder Olsen family (Marius’s father):
Niels Peder Olsen family
Maribo, Musse, Taars, Killerup, 0, 92, FT-1901, D8406
Navn: Alder: Status: Stilling i familien: Erhverv: Fødested:
Niels Peter Olsen 18621226 G Husfader Teglværksarbejder Saxkøbing Landsogn
Karen Marie Olsen født Jørgensen 18640615 G Husmoder Saxkøbing Landsogn
Laurits Peder Olsen 18880908 U Barn Saxkøbing Landsogn
Otto Peder Olsen 18900722 U Barn Taars Sogn Maribo Amt
Marius Bernhardt Olsen 18930514 U Barn Taars Sogn Maribo Amt
Julius Valdemar Olsen 18970715 U Barn Taars Sogn Maribo Amt
Otto Martin Olsen 19000418 U Barn Taars Sogn Maribo Amt
Maribo, Musse, Sakskøbing Landdistrikt, Rørbæk, , 6, FT-1916, C7472
Navn: Alder: Status: Stilling i familien: Erhverv: Fødested:
Niels Peder Olsen 26-11-1862 Gift husfader husmand
Karen Marie Olsen 15-5-1864 Gift husmoder
Mary Olsen 16-4-1913 Gift barn [an error, her birth year is really 1903]
https://arkivalieronline.rigsarkivet.dk/da/billedviser?bsid=353312#353312,70311166
Sakskøbing Landsogn, Musse, Maribo Kontraministerialbog new scans 1884-1891 male births
page 20 image 25 entry 15 for 1888 male christenings
b. 8 September 1888
Peter Laurits Olsen
chr. 7 October 1888
parents unmarried Karen Marie Jørgensen (age 24). child's father Niels Peter Olsen,Rodsnæs
https://arkivalieronline.rigsarkivet.dk/da/billedviser?bsid=158038#158038,26535965
Tårs, Musse, Maribo Kontraministerialbog 1892 FKVD - 1910 FKVD parish records
page 4 image 7 entry 6 for 1893 male christenings
b. 1893 14 May
Marius Bernhard Olsen
parents Niels Peder Olsen and wife Karen Marie, Jørgensen age 29 married Sakskøbing church 8/6/90
chr. 1893 9 July
https://arkivalieronline.rigsarkivet.dk/da/billedviser?bsid=158038#158038,26535979
Tårs, Musse, Maribo Kontraministerialbog 1892 FKVD - 1910 FKVD parish records
page 18 image 21 entry 12 for 1897 male christenings
b. 1897 15 July
Julius Valdemar Olsen
parents Niels Peder Olsen and wife Karen Marie, b. Jørgensen age 33 married Sakskøbing church 8/6/90
chr. 1897 7 November
https://arkivalieronline.rigsarkivet.dk/da/billedviser?bsid=158038#158038,26536042
Tårs, Musse, Maribo Kontraministerialbog 1892 FKVD - 1910 FKVD parish records
page 85 image 84 entry 2 for 1903 female christenings
b. 1903 16 April
Mary Christine Olsen
parents Niels Peder Olsen and wife Karen Marie, b. Jørgensen
chr. 1903 5 July
https://arkivalieronline.rigsarkivet.dk/da/billedviser?bsid=158038#158038,26535985
Tårs, Musse, Maribo Kontraministerialbog 1892 FKVD - 1910 FKVD parish records
page 24 image 27 entry 1 for 1900 male christenings
b. 1900 18 March
Otto Martin Olsen
parents Niels Peder Olsen and wife Karen Marie, b. Jørgensen age 35 married Sakskøbing church 8/6/90
chr. 1900 11 May
As you can see, I started with a search of the census records, using the DDD census records search service provided by the Danish State Archives (described in an earlier document). I found the family in 1901 and again in 1916 (with the error noted). Based on these, I started searching the actual parish records for the individual births (also noted in the research log). In this example, I follow the searching I did for Marius.
As you can see from the log, I found his christening record in Taars (or Tårs) parish in the 1892-1910 volume of births, confirmations, marriages and deaths (FKVD), on page 4 (image 7) entry 6 for 1893 male christenings. This information was entered in to his record in FamilySearch and then I created the source entry.
Creating the Source Entry
In the Sources page, I selected “Add New Source:”
and filled in the next entry form:
This shows my own particular method of entering a source. You do not have to do it my way, but I hope that my method gives sufficient detail to make it most useful. As mentioned already, I save those particular details in my research log so it is easy to fill in the form.
The “Event Date” should be obvious. In this case the event being described is the christening, not the birth, but there are cases with infants who die without being christened, that it is the birth date. In this case I entered 9 July 1893.
I title the source with enough detail to make it easy to see at first glance exactly what it is, in this case: Location, year, event: Tårs, Maribo, 1893 christening of Marius Bernhard Olsen
This source type is from an actual web page, so that is indicated.
Next is the web address URL:
https://arkivalieronline.rigsarkivet.dk/da/billedviser?bsid=158038#158038,26535965
In this case, to get this (on my computer system), I click on the address and it selects the full address and then I copy, and paste it into my research log.
Giving the URL in the source makes it possible for anyone looking at the source to be able to go right to the source and examine it for further details, if desired.
For Citation, I give an much detail as I can. In this case, I know that it is from the Kontraministerialbog (counter ministerial book) for the parish years of 1892-1910 for FKVD records (see above for the meaning of this). It is also useful to add the specifics of the location, so, in this case, I enter:
Tårs, Musse, Maribo Kontraministerialbog 1892 FKVD - 1910 FKVD parish records
page 4 image 7 entry 6 for 1893 male christenings
In the Notes section, I put in the rest of the detail I extracted from the record:
b. 1893 14 May
Marius Bernhard Olsen
parents Niels Peder Olsen and wife Karen Marie, Jørgensen age 29 married Sakskøbing church 8/6/90
chr. 1893 9 July
In looking at the actual record, you can see that there are really a lot more details. In this case, I chose what I considered the most useful:
Often, I will also include the birth place, but I did not in this case.
Now I also click on the buttons on the bottom to indicate Name Sex Birth Christening, so those are added to those detail items for Marius as sources attached.
Now, as people see the source, it shows:
Conclusion
As you add details and important information for a person, sources should be added to verify what you have included. Hopefully, this document had helped give some ideas about how to accomplish this.
- Joseph F. Buchanan
