How do I record source list entries and citations for private holdings of vital records?

By meeshel96 on Tue, 07/12/2022 - 18:27

Forums

I have been going back and forth through the book, the forum and blog posts and I am still a little lost.

I have been confused about how to record source list entries and reference notes for private holdings of vital records in Family Tree Maker. Should I use the Artifact or Vital Records Certificate template? I understand I can layer a citation, but what portions go into the source list entry?

The following is an example of one of the one of the records I am trying to document.

My father died in 2011 and his certificate of death was issued to my grandmother, then given to my uncle, who gave it to me in 2012. Based on what I could find in the forum and Evidence Explained, I think the reference note should look like the following:

     Oklahoma State Department of Health, Certificate of Death no. 1234-123456, John Doe (2011); Division of Vital Records, Oklahoma City; issued to Jane Doe, then passed through her son Joseph Doe to Jessica Doe (City, State), 2012.

1. Is this correct?

2. How should the source list entry be listed in this case?

3. How would the source list entry and reference note differ if I was issued the vital record instead of it being handed to me by a family member?

Sincerely,

Michelle L.

Submitted byEEon Tue, 07/12/2022 - 18:47

For your reference note, Michelle, you are right in deciding to cite this as a family artifact. EE's suggestions would be this:

  • omit the second layer, "Division of Vital Records, Oklahoma City," because you did not obtain it there. With vital records in particular, many times what we think was issued by the state was actually issued in a local office and it may in fact be different from what you would receive from the state. If you did not obtain a record yourself, you do not know what quirky situation might exist.
  • add a statement as to the artifact's present whereabouts.

EE3.25 provides examples.

For the Source List Entry, again you would not follow the death certificate example at EE 9.41 because you did not personally obtain this from the repository. You also would not want to balloon your Source List by citing each individual document the family has preserved. Source Lists are typically cited to a larger level: the collection, the record series, etc.  As 3.25 demonstrates, the best approach is to create a "family collection" for these materials you inherited. The two examples there are your guide.

You also ask how the citation would differ if you obtained the document yourself from a government agency. In those cases you would use the examples in chapter 9's Vital Registrations section (9.30–9.44), depending upon the type of document and whether you obtained it from a local office or a state office.

Submitted bymeeshel96on Tue, 07/12/2022 - 22:41

Thank you for the guidance. EE has been invaluable, but sometimes I overthink things and make things harder than they have to be. I am definitely creating a family collection!

Thanks again!

Michelle L.