How we verify genealogy information

1. Define the claim

Each dataset field answers one narrow question: the visible online span for a series, a collection-level custody statement, a historic administrative relationship, or the status of an unresolved catalogue field. Broad claims such as “all records survive” are avoided because the available sources do not justify them.

2. Prefer direct source owners

Archive custody and access statements come from the archive or responsible public body. National record explanations come from GOV.UK or The National Archives. Platform coverage is cited to the platform page that displays its own collection list. British History Online is used for digitised Victoria County History context.

3. Store provenance with the fact

Parish items include source URLs and a verification date. Baptisms, marriages and burials each retain their own start year, end year and indexed-entry count. The data model does not replace an absent value with a plausible one. “Not confirmed” therefore survives into the interface and audit reports.

4. Treat an index as a locator

An index can identify a likely image, certificate or archive item, but the extracted text may omit context or contain reading errors. Researchers should inspect the fullest accessible version, note the repository and reference, and record negative searches as carefully as positive ones.

5. Review boundaries

Historic Hertfordshire research can lead to present-day London or Bedfordshire repositories. Barnet, Totteridge, Potters Bar and Kensworth receive explicit boundary cautions. Historic hundreds are displayed as context and never represented as modern local authorities.