High quality standards for the Delaware Families 1787-1800 publication series is of utmost importance. Nothing is more important than the quality of the sources of the information. We must strive to have each and every bit of information referenced, to maximize original record sources and to minimize secondary sources.
An original record is one that was made at the time of the event and is most often accurate, especially legal documents written by unprejudiced people. Original records made by someone who had a reason to lie (e.g. about one's age) or was indifferent (e.g. many census enumerators) would be less accurate.
Church records recorded at the time of the event are usually also high quality original records. Family bible records can be original records but usually are not, as often many of the entries appear to be written with the same pen in the same handwriting.
The original deed usually goes to the purchaser of the land, so what we usually see is the county deed books which are just copies of the original deed made for the county records. Will books are also copies, so it is important to also consult the original will in the probate case files [By the way, DPA has microfilmed the New Castle Co probate case files and is currently microfilming the Kent Co case files]. The same is true of other court records, such as Orphans court. Because some papers have been lost for some case files, consulting the copies in the books will often add to your information. Nonetheless, copied deed, will and other government books are usually very high quality secondary sources.
Quality secondary sources are those that fully document their sources, such as articles in the NGS Quarterly and a few family genealogies. Selected portions of the Joseph Brown Turner collection are also well sourced. However, most family genealogies do not fully document their sources and are thus poor quality secondary sources. Most late 19th century county histories (e.g. Runk) are notoriously inaccurate, especially for earlier generations not living in the year the history was published.
© Delaware Genealogical Society - February 6, 2003
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DELAWARE F
AMILIES
1787-1800