I have been a panelist for DearMyrtle's MGP Study Group on Google Hangouts on Air. Tonight we conclude our group study. If you missed the live hangout, you can view it on DearMyrtle's YouTube channel.
Here are my answers for the Chapter 8 exercises of Mastering Genealogical Proof by Dr. Thomas Jones.
1. Marshall, Sharon. Reflections of Our Ryckman Past, Volume 1: Niagara. Port Stanley,
Ontario: m & s Marshall Productions, 2002, p. 5. This the first volume of a three volume set of
the Ryckman family.
a) No research question is asked. On page 5, a
statement about the individual's date of birth, names of his parents and, his
marriage to his wife is provided as follows:
Johannes Ryckman, born in 1730, son of Johannes
Ryckman & Maria Van Slyke, married Eunice Ward (also listed as Juna Waart)
on May 30, 1754, in New York City, New York.
Research questions that could be asked based on
this statement:
When and where was Johannes Ryckman born?
Who were Johannes Ryckman's parents?
Who was Johannes Ryckman's wife? Where were they
married?
b) No source citations are provided.
c) No. The only source provided was a
transcription of the Upper Canada Land Petition of Eunis Ryckman, as the wife
of Johannes Ryckman. No source citation provided.
Johannes Ryckman is my 7th great-grandfather.
Unfortunately, this book does not meet the GPS standard. While it does contain
some useful information, it lacks evidence and source citations to support the
relationships claimed.
2. "Albert Janse Ryckman," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Janse_Ryckman
: accessed 31 Aug 2012].
a) No clear research question is asked. The
section about Albert's personal life states his year of birth, the name of his
parents, the name of his wife with an approximate date of marriage, and that he
had twelve children. Also, he purchased land through the payment of
beaverskins.
b) No. The source citation is a link to Olive Tree
Genealogy website with information about the Ryckman family.
c) through k) The information on Wikipedia about
Albert Janse Ryckman does not meet the requirements of the Genealogical Proof
Standard.
3. Miller, Phyllis J. "Captain William Bond:
An Elusive Connection Made," The New
York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York: The New York
Genealogical and Biographical Society, Vol. 140, No. 1, Jannuary 2009, pp.
5-11.
a). Yes.
Were Captain William Bond of Ulster County,
Captain William Bond of New York City, Captain William Bond of the Hudson's Bay
Company, and William Bond of Deptford, England, the same man?
b) Yes.
c) Yes. A variety of records were researched
including land surveys, colonial patents, land papers, deeds, town records,
council minutes, assessment rolls, court records, inventories, church records,
a variety of books and society publications, and Hudson's Bay Company records.
d) Yes. A variety of primary and secondary sources
were used.
e) No error-prone sources identified.
f) Yes, a thorough analysis of the supporting
sources is shown throughout the text of the article as well as the footnotes.
g) Yes. The identity of each man named William
Bond was thoroughly examined and documented.
h) The writer presented the correlations of
evidence in matching the identities of William Bond in both a narrative and
list format.
i) Yes. The writer found evidence to link the
various identities of William Bond as being the same person.
j) This is questionable. The writer leads the
reader through one identity at a time and then proceeds to match the
identities, and clearly states the evidence. By progressing through the four
identities and the matches, the reader is lead to the conclusion that all four
men called William Bond are the same person. However, the article is missing a
concluding paragraph that should sum up the evidence and clearly state the
conclusion.
k) Yes, but not in the manner one would expect.
Again, as the reader progresses through the matches, the author explains her
reasoning for reaching her conclusions.
4) I wrote a proof argument determining the father
of Harman Ryckman, my 3rd great-grandfather.
a) No, I did not write a clear research question.
The purpose of the proof argument was to determine who was Harman Ryckman's
father.
b) Yes, the sources I researched provided evidence to
determine the identity of Harman's father.
c) No. Other sources need to be researched.
d) Yes.
e) Not sure.
f) Yes, the supporting sources were analyzed.
g) Yes, I based my conclusion by correlating the
evidence I found from the relevant sources.
h) I presented the information in a narrative
format. However, I'm uncertain if the reader can clearly ascertain the
conclusion in this format.
i) I'm not sure if all the conflicts with evidence
have been convincingly resolved. More sources need to be researched.
j) Yes.
k) No.
Using these eleven questions to examine my
research has made me realize I have more work to do with researching the
identity of Harman Ryckman's father.
