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How does one interpret records that have been "crossed out"? For example, I found in county court minutes a notation referencing a that "commissioners were appointed to lay off a year's support for Elizabeth Barnesm widow of J.L. Barnes" on 3 November 1857. The entry was crossed out. The next relevant entry wa son 5 January 1858 when a "petition for dower" was made by Elizabeth Barnes, widow of John L. Barnes. So, while in my mind I interpret the cross out to be a "mistake" of some sort, I am unsure whether it is appropriate to use that first date of 3 November or the later date of 5 January as the date when John L. Barnes died (before that date.) I know I would notate that in my citation btu wondering how others have approached this?Robyn
Robyn:
Robyn:
J. L. Barnes would have died before 3 November 1857 or that record would never have been created. Something obviously happened to cause its cancellation after the recording was made. What that circumstance might have been is something you'll want to try to figure out. If you have not sought the statutes governing the probating of estates—the statutes that would have been in effect for that specific state in that year—you should. If original probate packets have been preserved for that county—either at the courthouse, a county archive, or the state archives—you should seek that packet of original documents also. The packets usually contain records not copied into the registers.