ACCEPTABLE SOURCES OF GENEALOGY INFORMATION
Primary Sources - Government or community records made when an event occurred by the
people involved. Following are widely accepted sources for proving relationships between
generations:
1. Official birth certificates, marriage certificates, and death certificates.
2. Census records from State, Province, or National census records.
3. Probate records from wills/estates, guardianships, name changes, & property
transfers.
4. Land records from Registers of Deeds.
5. Tax records from real estate tax payments.
6. Military records.
7. Church records of births, marriages, deaths, and funerals.
8. Cemetery records.
9. Mortuary records.
10. Burial and transport permits.
11. Court records from civil, divorce, naturalization, and criminal court actions.
Secondary Sources - Printed or written sources not from government records or not from
records made by the people involved in the event. (Following sources not always accepted
by some genealogists.)
1. Bible records. Identify current owner of Bible if known.
2. Obituaries. List date, name of newspaper, and location.
3. Newspaper clippings of anniversaries, biographies, awards, marriages, events. List
date, name of
newspaper, and location.
4. Published or unpublished family histories or genealogies. Identify writer.
5. County histories. Identify location and writer.
6. City/County directories.
7. Personal papers and manuscripts.
8. Tombstone inscriptions.
This page was last modified on November 2, 1997