Citation and relevance of notes and transcriptions of Family Bible

Perhaps someone could give me their opinion on how to handle this particular piece of evidence [document attached]?

I am trying to describe and use as a reference, this document, specifically  for the date of birth of Delphine Grant. Here is what I have thus far:

Birthdate of Delphine Grant, 09 February 1843, Births and Deaths taken from Family Bible of E. B. Grant, transcription dated 12 September 1904; digital images made by Norman Goetz, Portland, Oregon, 2017. The transcription was found in the attic of Gertrude (Grant) Goetz, wife of Charles Edward Goetz, when she died in 1961. Some of the entries are for events that happened after 1904 and cover a period ending with the death of Maud L. Grant on 02 March 1946. A few of the dates conflict with official vital records. The whereabouts of the original Bible is unknown.

 

 

Submitted byEEon Sat, 09/02/2017 - 16:02

Steve, you've described the record in detail and done so in a way that your details are clear. Except for a date-place ID of the Bible owner himself, you've met the guidelines we offer at in the general discussion of artifacts at 1.38 and 1.40.

A larger issue that comes to mind is the need for some consistency between our Reference Note (which you've provided above) and our Source List Entry. Presumably, you will not list this in your source list in the "B" section under "Birthdate of ..." With details arranged as they are above, one has to wade several elements into the citation to get at the identity of the Bible that would normally be the focus of a Source List Entry. Have you considered the model at 3.26, "Bible Pages, Loose, from Unidentified Bible" (wherein "unidentified" means that you don't have the title page from the published Bible)?

Submitted bystevedon Sat, 09/02/2017 - 16:32

If I were to go look for the artifcate, I would contact the person who sent it to me. You mention the date-place ID of the Bible owner, E. B. Grant? One of the inconsistenies of this document is the date of birth listed for him. I have a copy of his Civil War pension where he signs a document giving his date of birth as 10 April 1846.

I am wondering if this might better be described under Family Records (Non-Bible)?

Perhaps: Grant Family Records. Transcription of Births and Deaths taken from Family Bible of E. B. Grant, 12 September 1904, with amendments to 1946. Digial image of original supplied by Norman Goetz, Portland, Oregon, 2017.

Submitted byEEon Sun, 09/03/2017 - 11:26

Steve, that also captures the essential details, using Source List Entry organization and formatting. As a Source List Entry, it could be simplified.

Just to consolidate our discussion and clarify points for our readers who may not yet know the difference between Source List Entry and First Reference Note, EE would probably handle this source following 3.26.

First Reference Note

This should contain all essential elements that identify the source and facilitate an appraisal of its reliability. It is written sentence style, with all relevant information in one sentence and a period only at the end. (If we put periods between essential elements identifying that one source, we are conveying the message that each “sentence” is a different source.) After that period, we can add a new sentence with analytical data or provenance information, as you did in the first example.

     1.  E. B. Grant Family Bible Records, 18__–1916, for birthdate of Delphinen Grant, 9 February 1843; transcription made 12 September 1904 and updated to 1946 by unidentified parties; digital images supplied by Norman Goetz [INCLUDE ADDRESS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY], Portland, Oregon, 2017. The transcription was found in the attic of Gertrude (Grant) Goetz, wife of Charles Edward Goetz, when she died in Portland[?] in 1961. Some of the entries are for events that happened after 1904 and cover a period ending with the death of Maud L. Grant on 02 March 1946. A few of the dates conflict with official vital records, although that conflict has not been found for Delphinen's birthdate. The whereabouts of the original Bible is unknown.

You state that you don't exact dates and place for the Bible's creator. Another way of providing a chronological time frame for that set of records is to state the years of the first entry and the last. I've also suggested a couple of other points of relevance in a situation such as this.

Source List Entry

This will be a much-briefer citation. Source List Entries are not numbered. They’re alphabetized by the first word (using hanging-indent formatting, which this Drupal screen will not let  me replicate here) so that the first word is easily spoted. Because of the emphasis on the first word, that word will be a key word for our research—as in your example that begins with “Grant … ” rather than the example that begins with “Birthdate.”  Source List Entries are also written paragraph style, with a period between each element. (There’s a long list of reasons why this formatting exists, but I won’t go into it here.) 

Grant, E.B., Family Bible Records, 18__–1916. Transcription, with updates to 1946. Imaged by Norman Goetz, Portland, Oregon. 2017.

The reason we suggest using "Grant, E.B., Family Bible Records, 18__–1916" as the first element of the Source List Entry is to keep that identification as identical as possible to the identification used in the Reference Note.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Submitted bystevedon Sun, 09/03/2017 - 12:11

As always, I am sincerely grateful for your organization of the "spagetti of my mind". Your solution provides much needed clarity. Your willingness to assist is amazing! Thank you!