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We are enclosing this tip sheet in an effort to eliminate problems with your applications, so we do not have to return them for corrections or additional information.
We include an instruction sheet with each application set we distribute. The instructions have been "field tested" and we believe they are clear and complete. Reading the instructions is the most important step in submitting an application and Following the instructions is just as important.
Here are the tips that we hope will make the instructions crystal clear and the submission of an application easier:
Tips:
Complete the application form legibily and completely. Print or type. Complete both sides.
Enter dates in standard genealogical format, for example, 12 Feb 1901. Put the day first, then the month. Do not use numerals for the month, use three-letter abbreviations. Use all four digits for the year.
Each application form must have attached to it a Pedigree Chart. The starting individual for the Pedigree Chart must be the person to whom the certificate is to be issued as identified on the application. The chart should extend at least through the generation that includes the Pioneer/Early Settler/Century Ancestor (as identified on the application) from whom descent is claimed. Make the chart as complete as possible. Use continuation sheets if necessary.
The Pedigree Chart may be on any standard Pedigree (or Ancestral) Chart form, or it may be computer generated. A Pedigree Chart is also known as an Ancestral Chart. Do not submit other reports as substitutes.
Immediately after the Pedigree Chart attach your evidence to prove when and where the Pioneer/Early Settler/Century Ancestor settled in Marathon County, WI. Normally this will be one document; perhaps a cesus schedule or a marriage record, or a deed. Acceptable forms of proof are discussed in the instructions.
Next, attach the proof (evidence) for each link in the chain of descent. Start with the Pioneer/Early Settler/Century Ancestor and attach the document that shows that he or she was the parent of the next person in the chain. Do the same thing for each generation in the chain of descent. For example, if Johann Schmitt, the Pioneer Ancestor was the gr-gr-grandfather of Susan Ellen Jones, the person to whom the certificate is to be issued, you should provide something to link Johann to whichever son or daughter of his that was Susan's gr-grandparent, and then something to link that gr-grandparent to the grandparent, next to the parent and finally to Susan. Read the instructions to see what is acceptable proof.
When you have provided proof of date and place of settlement, and proof of each link in the chain of descent, stop there. Do not submit extraneous materials that only confuse the issue. Do not submit Family Group Sheets, they do not prove anything. Do not submit books, pamphlets, or genealogies compiled by you, a relative or a professional genealogist, regardless of how well documented they may be. We want to see the proof, not the pudding.
When you have direct evidence most of what you submit will consist of only one document for each fact or link of proof. When the proof (evidence) is indirect or inferred you must provide corroboration. For example, an 1870 Declaration of Intention from a Marathon County court stating that the declarer arrived at the port of New York in 1868 does not establish when he settled in Marathon County, only that he was present in Marathon County on the date of the Declaration. In this case, corroborating evidence should be submitted before inferred dates will be accepted.
Evaluate your entire submission before sending it in. Be as objective as possible. If you are not from Missouri, act as if you are. You should ask yourself "Would I believe this if some stranger tried to palm it off on me?"
Be sure that every document you submit is properly labeled as to what it is, where it came from and where the original can be found. In almost all cases you will be submitting copies. Be sure they are legible. Try to keep them to 8 1/2 x 11 inches in size. Do not send us things you want returned, as your application and supporting documentation will become part of a permanent genealogical file of the Marathon County Genealogical Society.
The last tip: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!
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