I have been reading Dick Eastman’s Newsletter for as long as I’ve been researching my family.

This is the best time in history to be conducting genealogical research. Genealogy has accelerated at breakneck speed since we began using computers in the 1980s or before. The introduction of the Personal Ancestral File (PAF) genealogy database software and all the subsequent programs for the PC and Macintosh has provided us with computerization of our research. It’s simply a matter of acquiring a piece of evidence and then entering the data and source citation.

The Internet brought the establishment of websites, such as RootsWeb.com, Ancestry.com, and FamilySearch.com, that allowed the upload of GEDCOM files. This allowed us to share information with other researchers and encouraged contact and collaboration with others. Message boards and e-mail mailing lists extended our research range and provided even more places to acquire information, albeit secondary or derivative evidence.

Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter: (+) The Importance of the Family Group Sheet by George G. Morgan.

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What is a fact? Google the definition of “fact” and you’ll get a variety of answers. Most definitions hinge on the concept of truth; so, a common definition would be that a fact is something that can be proven to be true. Then how do you define “truth?” Well, one definition asserts that truth is a fact that has been verified. We’re back where we started.

Abraham Lincoln addressed the dilemma of truth by positing this question: “How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four — calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.” That’s the “aha” moment for genealogists; simply saying your ancestor was born on such and such a date in such and such a place doesn’t make it so. Unless you can travel back in time and witness your ancestor’s birth, you’ll never know the absolute truth about that happy event. Even eyewitnesses to events can mangle the facts; just ask any police detective investigating a crime.

24-7 Family History Circle » Truth or Goof: Where’s the Proof? by Mary Penner.