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Archiver > TMG > 2000-01 > 0946845266


From: "Jeff Nelson" <>
Subject: Re: TMG-L: Source Surety Values
Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 13:34:26 -0700


I find these sureties to be very helpful. Often my file will have several
dates or locations for a single event. By using sureties, I can see which
one is most (least) believeable. With so many facts, I forget exactly where
they all come from and why I believe or disbelieve them. This can also be
done in notes, but it takes more time to maintain the notes.

Just my 2 cents worth....................


----- Original Message -----
From: Connie Sheets <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, January 02, 2000 1:26 PM
Subject: TMG-L: Source Surety Values


> As a relatively experienced genealogical researcher, new to TMG (and still
> trying to decide whether I will completely abandon a large database in BK
> for TMG), with a bias that the best genealogical report is produced with a
> word processor, I'd like to request a discussion of the surety codes.
>
> How do you use them?
>
> What practical benefits do they give you?
>
> How many of you ignore them completely (i.e. make no attempt to assign a
> value)?
>
> My initial inclination is to do the latter, as they seem to me both too
> subjective and too restrictive, and I can't conceive of a practical use I
> would have for them. I have discovered on many occasions that sources
> which "should" be accurate are not, whereas those which "should" be less
> accurate are closer to the truth. These discoveries come from finding and
> analyzing all available sources and looking at the big picture, usually
not
> from any one piece of data from any single source that I might label a "3"
> surety.
>
> The only one that makes much sense to me is the negative value, but even
> then I think I'd be more likely to explain in a Note/Memo why I know the
> info is erroneous.
>
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