Proof
Answers
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I'd start off by reading up on the Genealogical Proof Standard:
https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Genealogical_Proof_Standard
If that doesn't give you what you need, please post again and the genealogical expert community here will be able to help you with your research.
You may also find it useful to join this Community's specific Group(s) specialising in your areas of interest - that is where the local information sources are likely to be best understood.
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In many cases you won't be able to verify the details, especially once you get back to a period for which no reliable records can be found to confirm what you find recorded against your ancestors and others.
If you examine what you find in Family Tree - or on most other websites, come to that - you will find only a small amount of profiles (IDs) come anywhere near meeting the Genealogical Proof Standard, for which Mandy has provided a link.
Sources are a particular problem, as many of those attached by Family Tree users just do not match the individuals concerned: some users even attach multiple sources for the same thing (e.g., different census records for the same year), obviously in a hope that at least one will be a correct match!
In short, you need to examine and challenge every conclusion / "fact" that has been placed against your relatives (and others), as I find awful errors within Family Tree almost on a daily basis. It's great when you genuinely do find accurate details that save you many hours (or far, far longer) in having the find the information yourself, but there is still nothing like verifying as much as possible personally, however convincing the details might seem at first sight.
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I refer to the process as connecting the dots.
For example, common sense or logic will tell you a woman can't give birth to 3 children in the same year on 3 different continents, even if the names are the same. Take it slow and think about what each record contains; look at the record, not just the index/extract.
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Start with what you know and work backwards, cross-referencing everything. Link data on one document to another document. For example, a birth record should match the parents on the marriage certificate.
Always keep in mind, especially if a name isn't uncommon, that there may be more than one person with similar information. For example, you may find two farmers named John Smith, around the same age, and living in the same town. But by careful examination, you can usually separate the two (i.e. who are the other family members living with them on the census?).
Also, never take what's been connected by others as being fact. I have seen many Ancestry data dumps, where people upload information, thinking that it's been verified. Don't assume someone knows what they're doing or have done extensive research, and even then, they may have made a mistake! Big leaps are not uncommon. Examine each source and make sure everything tracks and has been backed up. Ideally, every detail—age, parents, marriage, etc. will be backed up by at least two documents or more.
Finally, depending on the time and place you are looking at, newspapers can be incredibly helpful. Obituaries can be a gold mine for information (or very scant, but a start!). Other articles may also list family members in attendance to a marriage or discuss various family connections. Many newspapers have been scanned in, so make sure to check the FamilySearch Wiki for where to find them.
Always remember that the community is here to help. If you are ever unsure if something should be connected, we will gladly take a look and help you sort it out.
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Thanks for the info, it all helps. My cousin 3 times removed in New York has sent me a treasure chest full of family history with names going back as far as 1600's. I will check for duplicates before do the final print.
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