Some information is better left off the Internet.

When displaying information on a death certificate, it is not necessary to display on

the Internet the full cause of death. For example, one could have stopped with

“aneurism of the arch of the aorta" and left out "syphilis". The later part being of no

historic value or research value. Such information may tend to anger a family of

descendents whom have provided you with mounds of information in the past.

Unless your motivation was to do so. Not to mention it is in very poor taste.

Please keep in mind that the Internet is a powerful tool. And in using such a tool

it would be wise to not humiliate offspring by seeing private information plastered

on the Internet. Practice using common decency. We are not responsible for what

people did in their lives. But we are responsible for what affect the information we

post online may have on others. Such as plastering on the Internet that a person's

brother died of complications resulting from Aids. Yes, it is public knowledge. But,

there is a difference between public knowledge stored in a file somewhere; and

public knowledge plastered on the Internet. What would be the purpose of using

that information when it has no research value and would most likely affect living

relatives? It is of this researcher’s opinion it would not be relevant. Which is why I

continue to receive emails thanking me for the way they’re loved ones are displayed

on our online tree.

Unfortunately, there are researchers who do not share our views on decency and

integrity. We know of one who will post just about anything on the Internet whether

it is accurate or not, (that is unless it is regarding their own family). The only

achievement made was that of looking like a fool. Which you would think by this

time the researcher would get a little tired of doing.

Back to the subject of certificates of death. Any good researcher understands that

certificates of death are not always accurate. There's plenty room for error in a

grieving family member's information. On my own father's certificate of death, his

mother's maiden name is spelt incorrectly. And his mother was still alive at the time!

On William I Jackson's certificate of death the informant is listed as Mrs. W.I.

Jackson. We have no idea whom the person portraying them self as Mrs. W.I.

Jackson actually was, but we do know that is was not his deceased wife, Nerva Lee.

Yet another researcher posts that Nerva Jane Lee (my son-in-law's maternal Great

Grandmother), died after 1946. Again, incorrect information from a death certificate

was used to validate their statement. The truth is that Nerva Jane Lee died 1/20/1932.

That information was first made available by her Grand daughter using the cemetery

marker. Her certificate of death confirmed the cemetery marker. (A copy can be

found on this home page.)

Yet another example is that of James Hodge Steele's certificate of death. There

are three other documents which lists James middle name as Hodge. James himself

provided the information for two of those documents. Shouldn't he have known his

own middle name! Yet that same researcher mentioned above has once again used

incorrect information found on a death certificate (as if it were the only document

available) to validate their use of James Hart Steel. Instead of using all the

information as a whole. (That same certificate lists James birthplace as Switzerland,

but the researcher acknowledges that that is an error. Oh, but his middle name

could not be an error?) One more point regarding the middle name of Hart. In this

family from Scotland, over and over again, a middle name is taken from an ancestor's

maiden name. No where in this family has there been found an ancestor whose

maiden name was Hart. A good researcher would have picked that up right away.

Errors posted such as this are understandable when no further information has been

found. But in this case, the correct information has been found and is readily

available.

Death certificates may have valuable clues and should be used with wisdom and

decency. One should always try to find more documentation to validate what was

written on a certificate of death, outside of medical. Knowing that in most cases the

information was provided under the most difficult of circumstances.

In closing, respecting the living descendents should always take top priority. If

delicate information is found on a death certificate, a good researcher will keep it

private for it has no value in genealogy research. The remaining researchers who

post it; well you draw your own conclusions.