How dependable is the information in Ancestral File and how can I check the source data?
This question can be extended to cover ancestral data in any of the Internet databases whether freely available or only available to member subscribers. None of the ancestral data submitted to the 35-million-name linked pedigree database Ancestral File is checked for completeness or accuracy since the church expects submitters to have verified the accuracy of the information before submitting ancestral data for inclusion. This is also true of Internet databases and researchers should therefore treat this information as secondary source information that needs to be verified. Ancestral File does provide the name of data submitters who, as a condition of being included on the database, have agreed that they may be contacted. This is also true of many of the Internet databases and in some instances it is not unusual to find a dozen or more contributors for a single ancestral name. These contributors represent a dynamic source of information and not only may they be able to provide informat
