{"id":119,"date":"2007-12-15T19:01:02","date_gmt":"2007-12-16T02:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/2007\/12\/15\/digital-images-and-your-genealogy\/"},"modified":"2007-12-15T19:02:22","modified_gmt":"2007-12-16T02:02:22","slug":"digital-images-and-your-genealogy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/2007\/12\/15\/digital-images-and-your-genealogy\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Images and your Genealogy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photography brought the capacity to edit a scene\u00a0and unless the editor tells us about the change(s), we usually accept the photograph as reality.\u00a0 Digital imagery\u00a0expands that capacity into areas we may never dream could be exploited.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Frequently, my own client research leads to comparative analysis:<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. <\/span>of records based upon reading the original documents, <\/font><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. official transcripts made at or near the time of the original, <\/font><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. typed transcripts\u00a0as preparation for printing the record–often many years later,– <\/font><\/span><\/li>\n
  4. <\/span>multiple\u00a0versions\u00a0typed or scanned for online delivery,<\/font><\/span><\/li>\n
  5. index entries that have been substituted for a lost original, and<\/font><\/span><\/li>\n
  6. indexes created for English records, many years after the fact, by non-English speaking typists.<\/font><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0In each case, I hope that the originals are available to be examined,–not just a copy, not just a transcript.\u00a0\u00a0 So the announcement by the LDS Church that preservation of records on microfilm will be phased out–and records will be digitized at the courthouse and at the archives–made me shiver.\u00a0 With excitement, to be sure.\u00a0 With alarm,<\/em> of course.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

    Will the images be untouched?\u00a0 Will they be adjusted for light so that the edges of the documents can be read as well as the center?\u00a0Can the images be manipulated by the reader–without leaving a trail?\u00a0 In short, can we trust the digital images to represent the records–blotches, frayed edges, and all?\u00a0 And will indexes created for non-indexed sources be compiled by trained native readers?<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

    Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest\u00a0sites\u00a0include census images for Virginia, 1810.\u00a0 I searched for John Farnsworth.\u00a0 I already knew that he was in Loudon County in 1810–from the AIS 1810 Index (p. 294)\u00a0and the Heritage Quest volume (p. 575)\u00a0printed by Precision Indexing.\u00a0 After many tries through the online indexes, I went to the images themselves and searched frame by frame <\/font><\/span>until I found the entry–spelled Jno Farnesworth.\u00a0 I had asked for this spelling in both databases.\u00a0 Got a “no-match” message from both.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

    Elizabeth Shown Mills has written an astounding new 885-page style guide for genealogists and historians so we can site our sources in a standard format.\u00a0\u00a0 Titled, Evidence Explained:\u00a0 Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 (2007.\u00a0 Genealogical Publishing Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Road,\u00a0Baltimore MD\u00a021211.\u00a0 This volume needs a special shelf at the right hand of your computer keyboard, so all you have to do\u00a0is open the pages to document your work.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

    Ms Mills’\u00a0introduction is a well organized chapter on evidence and the many considerations we must pay attention to.\u00a0 (She uses the verb “must” consistently throughout this chapter.)\u00a0\u00a0The second chapter describes “Fundamentals of Citation.”\u00a0 And while she addresses indexes as a source to be cited, she omits mention of the central place an index has in locating entries and interpreting their evidence.\u00a0 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

    An index in a genealogy source is more than a convenience.\u00a0 It is an essential tool that often determines whether you use that source in your research or not.\u00a0 Let’s face it, most searchers will not take the time to search the images one by one until the correct entry is found.\u00a0 (I consult with genealogists, many of whom are beginners,\u00a0several weeks out of the year. I have to decide if I take the time to find the entry for them or let them get by with a NIL search or\u00a0depend on\u00a0the index entry alone–which is always a bad idea.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

    How does visiting my kitchen\u00a0relate to\u00a0your genealogy?<\/strong><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

    My grandson Scott Jackson, removed the floor and substituted blue sky with scattered clouds.\u00a0 And although\u00a0the sky is a\u00a0much better looking floor, than the multi-colored patch work carpet, \u00a0the digital image has been changed from reality.\u00a0 As a source, it needs a footnote.<\/font><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Do you read the footnotes in the sources you consult?\u00a0 And do you add footnotes to your own work–describing the circumstances of the search and what you did with the evidence you plucked from the context of the record?<\/span><\/p>\n

    In my genealogy opinion, you must tell me when you change the record.\u00a0 And you must be clear about what you omit and what you add.\u00a0 And you must cite the location of the records you consulted, so that I can search it for myself.<\/span><\/p>\n

    This is the reason that the new Mills book is so important:\u00a0 citing the record, documenting the evidence, so\u00a0you can see for yourself what the\u00a0source said.\u00a0\u00a0And what it did not say!\u00a0 Your favorite\u00a0genealogist, Arlene Eakle http:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    PS\u00a0 I have learned a different method of analysis–non-judgmental so you can see the evidence\u00a0without coloring it your own color before you have a chance to consider all the shades present.\u00a0 Stay tuned–I’ll demonstrate it on my kitchen.<\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/span><\/span>PPS\u00a0 A new database of killer libraries online–“I just thought you and your readers at Arlene H Eakle might want to have a look at a collection of over 250 digital libraries and archives we recently compiled over here at OEDb — http:\/\/oedb.org\/library\/features\/250-plus-killer-digital-libraries-and-archives<\/a>. (There’s 270 to be exact!) Let me know what you think.” <\/font><\/span>Thanks, <\/font><\/span>Jimmy Atkinson, <\/font><\/span>OEDb: Online Education Database<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Photography brought the capacity to edit a scene\u00a0and unless the editor tells us about the change(s), we usually accept the photograph as reality.\u00a0 Digital imagery\u00a0expands that capacity into areas we may never dream could be exploited. Frequently, my own client … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}