Follow Friday -- Follow the Right Book and a Genea-Blogger Friend

When I posted my Surname Saturday on the Fitch Family in March, I was having some problems with the documentation taken from the book, Descendants of the Rev. James Fitch 1622-1702, Vol. 1, by John T. Fitch, published in 1997. I originally got the book from the New England Historic Genealogical Library (NEHGS) in Boston and was just now entering data obtained about seven years ago. But of course, I needed to see the book again, and that is when the problem came to light. There now was a Revised Volume I, in place of the original Volume 1 that I used!


Seems, the author decided, eight years after his first book, he needed a revised Volume 1.  I am not sure when NEHGS purchased the revised edition, but it has thrown my genealogy sourced page numbers out of whack. Is a reader going to notice that I used the original book or the revision, and if they do, and want to look at the book, are they going to be able to find it? When the author wrote in his Preface to the Second Edition that alert readers had, "pointed out numerous corrections in the original text." I thought, that doesn't sit well with me. He also wrote he"would not wait until this genealogy was perfected--that when I came to the conclusion that the manuscript was in reasonable and useful condition, I would commit it to print."


My Fitch records are now sourced with the original 1997 edition, and  I can't locate the "old" book I used anywhere near Massachusetts. But, it is at the Allen County Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I need to compare the old with the new to get an idea of how some pages match up. My original source for Theodosia Fitch was on page 199 and now she is on page 221 in the revised 2003 book. Unfortunately, redoing page numbers for the entire Fitch line, consisting of over 100 names, will be a project for another time. Anybody trying to locate my noted pages had better be using version I, if they can find it.


Some of the additional sources the author used for page 218 were: "[6] IGI-5.0, Barbour Collection. [7] IGI-5.0, submitted record. [8] IGI-5.0, extracted marriage record. [9] LDS Pedigree Resource File, CD No. 36." What a disappointment, he did a revision to add these sources, what are they, where are they?


I knew Carol Bowen Stevens of Reflections from the Fence was at the Allen County Library and I "used" her services.  She pulled out the old version from the stacks, answered several questions as well as saying it had 548 pages. To compare, the new book at NEHGS has 667 pages. Big difference to a researcher.   If you ever get to "work" with Carol, you are in for a treat, as she is so funny.  Even during the heat of August, she managed to make me forget how miserable I was with this problem and the heat. Thank you Carol, and when are you going back?