I need to know who or what to believe

StrongViki

My second great grandfather on his baptism certificate in Sweden lists his mother as Margta Ersdr. Jan Erik Jansson (my 2nd great grand father) grandson lists his mother as Margta Hansda,. I'm trying to track her parents. Do I believe the record or do I believe her grandson that knew her personally. His younger brother lists his mother as Margta Ersda. I would appreciate some guidance. Thanks,

NidaFL

We have submitted this question to our Historical Records department

Wayland K Adams

Hi Lewis

Assessing sources can sometimes be a challenging task. In general, we would put more weight on sources that are created at the of the event or shortly after by someone present at the event. In your case, we would expect that the baptismal record was created at the event with the input from the parents of the child which would make that a pretty credible source. Especially if it is the actual certificate and not a derived version meaning an indexed copy. You don't mention what source the grandson has giving a different mother. But the source of information would have to be evaluated.

Here is a link to an article on sources. This may help as you evaluate the sources you have. Let us know if we can be of more assistance.

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Primary_sources