Successful interpretation of an historical record requires many skills. Of course, you first need to know the record might even exist. Then you need to be able to find the record, whether online, in a state archive or in the basement of a town hall. Perhaps then you need skills in paleography, knowledge of how [...]
As a genealogist you might have deep knowledge of the history of an area, the laws and customs governing records and why they were produced. You might have expertise in searching and locating records. You might have superb analytic skills, able to piece together direct, indirect and negative evidence, resolve contradictions and make persuasive arguments [...]
The Congress shall have Power To…promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries…. Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 With these words, the Founders acknowledged the value of knowledge and technology to [...]
