Mistakes in copying are further diminished by placing a card or sheet of paper above the line which we are transcribing,—a device which saves the eyes the strain of finding the place on the page every time we look up from the notebook. Never fail to accompany each extract copied into the notebook with the authority from which it is taken. If from a book, give author, title, date of publication, volume and page. If from a public record or document, give volume and page, with the office or society, the town or city where the original is deposited. Along with extracts from books, it is well to note the library where they were consulted. We may wish to refer to the books again, and are likely to forget in which of the libraries we found them. After making an extract, compare it with the original, to guard against errors in copying.
The true method of genealogical investigation is to follow as far as possible the methods of the lawyer. Not, indeed, that genealogical research has anything to do with the learned quibbles of a legal dry-bones! Far from it. But the genealogist may well proceed as would a lawyer whose case could only be won for his client by demonstrating a line of descent. The value of the legal method lies in the fact that it proceeds, step by step, toward the accumulation of positive proofs. If the demonstration of an ancestral link depends upon recorded wills, the lawyer will obtain certified copies of such wills, to be presented in court as evidence. If the proof lies in a deed, which perhaps demonstrates the relationship of husband and wife, or father and son, a certified copy of the deed is secured. If the family record be found in a Bible, and the book itself cannot be obtained for presentation in court, the record is copied and certified, and the history of the ownership of the book established by personal testimony or affidavits. In the same way extracts from church registers and tombstones are authenticated before a notary public or justice of the peace, and personal testimony is collected in the form of affidavits. Then, even if the originals should be destroyed, the copies are just as valuable as legal proofs.
Every link of the chain is thus established. The lawyer knows that in the attempt to break down his case no cunning in cross-examination will be spared, no expedient of rebuttal left untried. He gathers the testimony of his witnesses, and also collects evidence of the credibility of these witnesses. Judge and jury will not only hear the testimony, but will form a judgment of the reliability of those who give it.
To all who can afford the extra expense, we recommend the literal application of the legal method. To apply it to collateral lines would be difficult and expensive. But it is the true method of demonstrating our direct ancestral lines, and it is especially desirable for the line from which we have inherited our surname. Strictly legal proofs of descent, competent to establish the genealogy in any court of law and to justify its entry as "proved" upon the records in any European college of heraldry, constitute most valuable and interesting family heirlooms.
While the expense of the legal method may deter some from using it, the historical method is within the reach of all. It is the legal method minus the single feature of official certification. In other words, the genealogist's good pen does all the copying, and in lieu of official certification, he gives the place, volume and page where his evidence is to be found in its original form.
A good many people will have the time to investigate personally under either of the methods mentioned here. Many others must have the work of research done for them; and the Genealogical and Biographical Department of The Grafton Press will place the best skill and experience in genealogical work at the service of any one desiring it. Investigation will be taken up from the beginning, or at any stage, and will be carried to the first American ancestor of a line, or continued with a view to establishing the European connections. When the service of this department is desired, all facts of one's ancestry, so far back as known, should be communicated in full.
In the second place, amateurs and others are often in need of practical counsel and a reference to authorities based upon a wider knowledge and experience than they command. Many beginners, having ascertained the information which relatives can give concerning their ancestors, are at a loss as to the next step. A mere general statement of the kind of authorities usually available, such as we have given above, does not meet their need. They desire to be in communication with some one to whom they may feel that they have a right to apply, and to whom they can say, "Such and such is the case: what shall I do next? what and where are the authorities which will help me? how shall I get at them? must I go in person, or is there some other way? and what would you advise in such and such a case?" At any stage in the investigation perplexing difficulties may arise which call for expert counsel, or direction to the proper resources. We have given much thought to devising a thoroughly practical arrangement which will not be burdensome to either party and will afford full liberty of consultation throughout the progress of investigation. Let the difficulties be stated by letter. Correspondence is always preferable to personal consultation. It gives us time to make an investigation, if necessary, in the interest of the inquirer, while our reply is also in written form, which is more convenient for the worker.[1]
Our third form of practical assistance in research work is designed to make known the resources of the New York libraries to those who cannot reach them, or who have not the time to become familiar with their contents. Taking the sum of its library facilities, New York City undoubtedly offers the genealogist the best opportunity on this continent to consult American sources, and is unrivalled in the possession of works on the genealogy and heraldry of mediæval and modern Europe. We refer especially to the genealogical collections of unusual merit in the custody of the New York Public Library (Astor and Lenox Branches), Columbia University, the New York Historical Society, the New York Society Library, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the Holland Society and the Long Island Historical Society.
Our plan for placing these resources at the service of inquirers involves, in the first place, a search for all the references to a given family, the object being to cover everything recognized as bearing upon the line of descent in which the applicant is interested. References, not extracts, will be given; they will show the character of the data found and give the author, title, date, volume and page of the book containing it and the library. When these references have been sent to the applicant, he can consult the authorities for himself, or may arrange for the copying of any items desired, their translation, if they are in a foreign language, or for the making of abstracts.[2]