Citing Genealogy Sources

Page Updated on July 28, 2007

Cite Sources Immediately

Don't wait until after the fact to try to remember where you got information. Do it as you collect the information, even if you don't plan to use the information you collect. Learn how to cite sources before you conduct research.

Pick a Citation Style There is no "official" format for citing sources in genealogy, there are several formats you can use (including formats that you make up yourself). Once you choose a format, though, be consistent and use it for all of your citations. The most common formats are MLA (Modern Language Association) style (primarily used in literature and humanities), APA (American Psychological Association) style (primarily used in the social sciences), or Chicago style (primarily used in history). Because the Chicago style is primarily used by historians, and genealogy falls under the "history" category in many ways, many genealogists choose to use this style. It is also the style considered "standard" by the Board of Certified Genealogists. Unfortunately, the Chicago style has a downfall; it doesn't provide enough information about electronic sources (and nothing about Internet sources) and doesn't address all of the needs of genealogists, so many people have tried to improvise by imagining how the Chicago style would incorporate such sources or using modified APA or MLA formats. Richard S. Lackey was once THE guru of citing sources for genealogists, but Elizabeth Shown Mills is quickly taking his place.

Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills is an excellent book that is quickly becoming a standard for many genealogists. I highly recommend purchasing it even if you think you already know everything about citation. You don't have to follow it exactly, especially since there are some things that just don't fit into a standard format, but it will definitely give you some solid ideas. It's the most complete and up-to-date genealogy citation book I've read so far.

Decide Your Citation Location When you use citation, you must decide where you will put your citation information. Some people put it in parenthesis directly in the text after the item in the writing. This immediately lets the reader know where the tid-bit of information came from, but it really disrupts the flow of the writing and is simply annoying for readers who don't care about the sources. Some people have a huge section in the back of their book with all of their sources listed, but if a reader is interested in the sources for all of your information, he has to flip to the back of the book and search through a vast collection of sources every time a citation is noted. That leaves us with footnotes and chapter endnotes. Footnotes and endnotes use superscript numbers in the text after the information obtained by the source. Each number corresponds with a source documentation written in the notes section. Footnotes appear at the bottom (or foot) of the page on which the information is written. Footnotes are excellent for other genealogists who will want to find and review your sources quickly and may even want to photocopy the entire page, sources and all). The only problem with footnotes is that they can take up much of the page, which irritates readers who aren't paying attention to your citations. If you are primarily writing for readers who aren't worried about your sources (like your Aunt Betty who is only interested in the family stories and doesn't care a thing about where you got the information), put your sources in a list at the end of your chapter (called chapter endnotes). This way your casual readers can enjoy the story without the interruption of source listings, and any genealogist who wants to take a look at your sources will only have a small list of sources at the end of the chapter to filter through (instead of the huge collection at the end of the book). If you are primarily writing for other genealogists, stick with footnotes. In addition to footnotes or endnotes, some people wish to include a bibliography at the end of their work. A bibliography is simply a complete list of sources, but, unlike footnotes or endnotes, they do not specifically indicate where that source was used in your work nor indicate the exact location of information in the source. I personally prefer to avoid using bibliographies to 1) save paper, 2) keep my source information close to the work it was used in, and 3) remain as specific as possible in documenting my sources.
Use Standard Abbreviations I recommend not using abbreviations, but if you insist on using them, please use standard abbreviations. Some citation styles omit the periods after the abbreviations. I personally like the periods because it makes it clear that the word is an abbreviation.
Months Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. Jun. or June Jul. or July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Publication Credits comp. = compiler comps. = compilers ed. = editor eds. = editors trans. = transcriber(s)

Information Locator p. = page pp. = pages vol. = volume vols. = volumes sec. = section par. = paragraph

Locations I prefer that location names be spelled out completely because you never know if the person reading your citation is in the United States of America and knows our abbreviations. If you insist on using abbreviations for locations, only use those that are currently approved by the United States Post Office (see http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/usps_abbreviations.htm), and then only use the abbreviations that are most well known, such as ST for street or CA for California, which most people know, rather than BYU for bayoo, which many people may not be familiar with.

Names of people or organizations should be written exactly as they appear on the source. If they are abbreviated, then you can abbreviate them. If they are not abbreviated, don't abbreviate them.

Other Abbreviations Many genealogists use abbreviations such as FHC for Family History Center or NARA for National Archives and Records Administration. This certainly is acceptable, but I do not encourage it because such abbreviations are used for other organizations and someone will inevitably get them confused. For example, FHC is also the name of a company that makes products for neuroscience research, an abbreviation for the Friends Health Connection, and an abbreviation for the Frankfurter Handball Club in Germany. Plus, you may have a reader who wants to look up a document you cited but doesn't have a genealogy background and would have no idea what those abbreviations mean, so that individual would easily be lost.