Eastern Shore of Virginia Heritage Center

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Visit the “largest and best organized collection of material relating to the history, genealogy, and culture of the Eastern Shore of Virginia.” Highlights include Native American history resources, African American history, the Miles Files, and finding aids, There’s a lot more!

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Marriage Certificate, John Butts [sic] and Eliza Ferbea [sic]

It’s important to compare spelling variants when evaluating sources. The information in those sources can then be evaluated for quality by asking questions about the document and its contents, such as “Who provided the information?” “Who recorded the information?” “How close to the event was the record created?” “Is the document faded or damaged?” “Did more than one person write on the original item?” In some cases, comparison and correlation of items over a group of records e.g. a surname over a group of distinct items can lead to correct identification of an individual.

The information on this marriage certificate can be evaluated along with documents in the pension application file:
The correct spelling of the soldier’s surname is “Butt” not “Butts.”
The couple was married in “Hickory Ground, Virginia” not “Hickoryground, Virginnia.”
There’s no county in the state called “Virginnia, Co.”
The correct spelling of the bride’s surname is “Ferebee” not “Ferbea.”

Note: Maps, gazetteers, and atlases are useful when learning about places, waterways, and other geographic features.

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