Just wondering how others do their Master Sources in this situation.

I look at the Birth Registrations for individuals at a couple of different places, usually the local Family History Center, the Wisconsin Vital Records Office, or the Wisconsin Historical Society Library. I've already decided that I do not want to become overwhelmed with sources, so I don't list as a Master Source "Birth Registration for "xxxxxxx", as I don't want a separate Master Source for each individual. Since I obtain the Birth Registrations from different locations, do I need a separate Master Source for each location I get them from? If that is the case, then I would have 3 separate Master Sources for Birth Registration. My problem with doing that is I would then have to put the location I got it from in the title so I would know which one I am attaching to an individual when using the drop down box next to the fields in the FTM program.

Interested to know how others handle this. Thanks.

A book could be written on Sources; actually several have been. I'd suggest you start by looking at the FTM Help and read all the entries regarding Sources as one should have a 'plan' for the Sources before you get very far into it. It's likely more information is available on the Ancestry.com website.

Otherwise you might end up redoing a bunch of them later - much like myself.

I'd recommend you enter as many Sources as you find for each fact; they verify the accuracy of your posted Facts (and frequently show unsolvable differences).

Thanks. I have been reading up on sources and have looked at the book Evidence. I'm trying to come up with a plan that I won't end up wanting to change, but I've already gone back and modified the way I was handling the sources for census information. I guess what I'm referring to here is specifically entering the MASTER Sources in the FTM program. I originally had obtained birth information from the microfilm at the Wisconsin Historical Society Library.

So my Master Source title is "Birth Registration - Kewaunee County, Wisconin" and I listed the Wisconsin Historical Society Library as the location. I then put the details regarding the particular individual under citation text, rather than making a separate Master Source for each individual. Since then, I have obtained birth information from the microfilm at the local Family History Center, but my previous Master Source has a location of Wisconsin Historical Society. So, I have to make a new source that indicates I looked at birth registrations at a different place???

Thanks in advance for any additional advice from anyone.

I'm confident that if you get 10 replies, you'll probably get at least 8 possibilities.

I definitely wouldn't recommend being as specific as a county/state in the Source Title field as you might end up with a tremendous number of Source Titles. Perhaps you might consider Birth Registration as the Source Title then enter the additional detail in the Citation detail area. Just a thought.