Regarding “Using One’s Self as a Source”

“...we are a valid source only for events or circumstances that we personally experienced in a cognizant state.” Elizabeth Shown Mills.

Ol’ Myrt here was cognizant enough both then, at age 3, and now, to recall my mother’s baby blue car and my red, wide wale corduroy coat with huge buttons shown in the newspaper clipping above.

Inspiration for this post came from noted historian, genealogist, author, research methodology and citation expert Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CG, FASG.¹

From Elizabeth’s post we learn that “five questions can help us determine whether our own prior work can be appropriately cited as one form of “proof ” for our assertions.”

I recognize that individuals are not a good source for their actual birthday since we weren’t taking copious notes at the time of delivery. However, I have collected:

• a facsimile copy of my original, unaltered birth certificate

• several annual LDS church membership census card with parents & siblings listed

• My baby book

• Dated newspaper birth announcement

• A dated Seattle Times newspaper and captioned photo of “3-year old Patti looking out the car window of her parents (——-) who reside at (—— Perkins Lane.”

• A 16th birthday card sent via mail from my maternal grandmother, signed and dated

• I wasn’t born in time for the most recent 1950 federal population enumeration

However, based on my collected info, I can reasonably conclude my date of birth date, birth place and parents.

However, I am not the source of that info — all those documents are my sources.

Hmm.

How might we end up being our own source?

It may be that a genealogist has published research and then years later, branched out. In that case, referring one’s reader to the previously compiled research narrative provides the basis without needing to “retry the case” in the branched compilation.

For example:

1. I may publish a summary of research establishing the line of descent from my infamous great-grandmother Dolly Yockey in an initial publication.

2. In a subsequent publication, I would then merely refer to that initial work briefly in the preface of the subsequent publication, before disclosing new research conclusions about Dolly’s parents and the two prior generations I had uncovered in the mean time.

Using myself as the source, referencing my first publication obviates the need to rehash that prior research from me to my great-grandmother Dolly Yockey, and thus provides continuity in the lineage research when offering my subsequent summary of findings about Dolly Yockey’s progenitors.

---

NOTE Elizabeth’s book Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace (pictured above) is in its 4th edition for a reason. Her work continues to assist tens of thousands of genealogists describe the source of info items that form evidence of an ancestor’s unique identity. You’ll find the book at Amazon, as well as her publisher.

Happy family tree climbing!

Myrt

DearMYRTLE,

Your (not so) retired friend in genealogy

1. Elizabeth Shown Mills. “Using One’s Self as a Source”, Genealogical Publishing Company Blog, 2 June 2025. (https://genealogical.com/2025/06/02/using-ones-self-as-a-source-by-elizabeth-shown-mills-cg-fasg : viewed 9 June 2025.)