Family archives
Add source notes to a family-history draft
Pair every claim in the draft with the source document it rests on, where that record is kept and who supplied it. Where only a memory supports a detail, say so in the note so readers can weigh it correctly.
A text to start with
Here is a family-history draft: [text]. My sources are [records, photos, letters, interviews, family recollection]. For each factual claim, build a note listing the source, where it is held, who contributed it and how certain the claim is. Mark claims that have no source. Do not invent a citation or assign a source I did not name.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Claim and source ledger
Draft title and version: [ ] Claim as written: [ ] Source record: [ ] Location of the source document (box, folder, link, person): [ ] Contributor: [ ] Detail the source shows: [ ] Detail it does not show: [ ] Uncertainty (documented / family story / unclear): [ ] Conflicting account, if any: [ ] Who can help resolve it: [ ] Next step and date: [ ] Change made to the draft: [ ]
Find citations that do not support the detail
Read the source beside the particular detail it is meant to support. A source that gives only a birth year cannot establish a town as well. For handwritten captions, note who supplied the identification and when, if known. Separate a documented statement from your interpretation of it. Check dates, names and relationships individually, even when several come from the same family story. Where a relative's recollection is the only basis, attribute it to that person and preserve any uncertainty they expressed.
Ask another agent to check the result
Go through each claim and its cited source. Flag every statement where the citation does not support the specific detail, such as a date, place or relationship. Separate what the source shows from what I inferred. Do not supply sources I did not list.
Resolve gaps and share with relatives
List the claims with no source and decide for each whether to find a record, ask a relative or mark it as family tradition. Share the annotated draft with one relative and ask them to challenge any note. Keep the source information in a separate sheet from the narrative so it can be updated without rewriting. Record who contributed each correction.