Experienced genealogists place great emphasis on confirming every fact or conclusion from original records, the cornerstones of family history research. Original records are sometimes called primary sources, a tribute to their importance.

Why, you may ask, is it necessary to look at an original record when the same information has already been published in an easy-to-read book with a complete every-name index? The answer lies in the confidence level. Each time information passes from one individual to another, or is transcribed from one document to another, there's a chance of error in interpreting the source or in producing the output.

This is strikingly illustrated by a demonstration often used in classrooms and sometimes played as a party game: Eight or ten people form a line. The first person writes a one-sentence statement and reads it aloud to the second person out of hearing of the others in line. Each person in turn, without the benefit of the written version, then repeats the statement as heard to the next person in line. The last person writes the message heard and then compares it with the original statement as written by the first person.