Locke Family Association, Inc.
The oldest incorporated family association in the United States
Founded August 26, 1891
Incorporated August 26, 1898 in Rye, NH

We Learn From Our Mistakes

Two important issues govern the next collection of data for our supplement:

1. timeliness of the information
2. accuracy of the information

Therefore, a one year window for submitting data is now open:

May 1, 2007 to May 1, 2008.

Accuracy: hundreds of conflicting dates and names were found during the editing process. This simply cannot be allowed when modern genealogy requires strict accuracy to be of any value.

New rules and procedures for data collection will be followed.

Please follow them carefully so your data will be published.

Data Collection Guidelines

1. Data Sheets will be collected for one year only.
2. Only members of the Locke Family Association may submit data.
3. Accuracy is a MUST on your Data Sheets using a "Document to Document" approach.
4. Data must be submitted only on our Data Sheets or on computer disk in the standard GEDCOM format.
5. All data must be supported with photocopies of official records.
6. Members may update only their own lines. Your cousins must update their own lines, after they join the Association.

How Can I Guarantee Accuracy?

Historians ensure accuracy by using original source documents in their research. For the genealogist, this means actual birth, marriage, baptism, and death records. If any records are missing, a search of the nearest census year is necessary. Also, wills and court records can sometimes supply the missing information. Cemetery records and tombstone inscriptions are informative as well.

Memory is an unreliable source as is anything found and downloaded from the Internet.

What is "Document to Document" Research?

You begin with your birth certificate and use the information on it to obtain your parent's places and dates of birth records. Their birth records will have information on your grandparent's places and dates of birth. It may cost a bit but it is worth buying certificates for each birth, marriage, and death. That way you have PROOF that your information is CORRECT.

Why This Demand For Accuracy?

There are three reasons:

First, there were an unusually large number of conflicting dates, names and places in the last set of data sheets that took far too many volunteer hours to resolve.

Second, hereditary organizations began twenty years ago enforcing rules for accuracy because so many errors had crept into their records.

Third: To ensure that our genealogies have value we must ensure accuracy in our work too.

Getting Started

Contact our historian, Janet Locke to get the necessary forms. Remember, only open until May 1, 2008.