company guide
Editorial policy
Our editorial policy governs how guides are researched, reviewed, corrected, and disclosed. Every guide has a named author, a named fact-checker, a published date, and a reviewed date. Corrections are logged publicly and credited to the reader who flagged them.
- Named byline on every guide.
- Second-eyes fact-check before publication.
- Sources cited in Evidence Explained format.
- Public corrections log with dates.
- Affiliate relationships disclosed in-line.
- No sponsored content, ever.
How to use this guide in real research
Begin with a specific person, place, and approximate date rather than a name alone. Record the repository, collection, image or certificate number, and access date for every result. That citation lets another researcher retrace the same evidence and helps you distinguish people who share a name.
Treat indexes and transcriptions as finding aids. Whenever possible, open the original image and compare names, ages, relationships, locations, and informants with records you already trust. A plausible match becomes a supported conclusion only when independent sources agree and conflicting evidence has been addressed.
Quality checks before adding a conclusion
- Search spelling variants, initials, nicknames, neighboring households, and a wider date range.
- Prefer records created close to the event, while noting who supplied each fact.
- Keep negative searches and rejected matches in your research log so work is not repeated.
- Mark uncertain relationships clearly until multiple independent records support them.