Though much of the information was given directly from the families, a certain amount of exaggeration occurred and one must evaluate the more illustrious statements. Much valuable information and many clues can be found in these local biographical works and again we are fortunate that many are being indexed. These vary greatly from the scholarly journals of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society to mimeographed newsletters of local groups. Compendiums are mass gatherings of sketches usually put together from other secondary sources or family information. These should always be used with caution and documented whenever possible from primary or well documented secondary sources.
Many people spend years compiling genealogical information that never gets published.
These end up in trunks up in the attic, donated to libraries and genealogical societies and worst of all destroyed by uninterested family members. When researching in a specific locality, ask around about manuscript collections and if they have any kind of index. These are very difficult to locate, even if you know they exist for the can change hands unnoticed. When citing a manuscript as a source it is very important to note its location and the date so that future researchers have a better chance of tracking it down. One can find obituaries, marriage and engagement announcements and stories, birth announcements, legal notices, notices of thanks and news items about families.