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Citations: A Guide to Creating Proper Source Citations

How to Cite St. Louis and Missouri Sources

Finding the correct source for information about your ancestor can require time-consuming research. Once you’ve found a record, book, person, website, artifact, or any source, make sure you document where you found it. You may need to return to that same record at some point and finding it a second time may be just as difficult as it was the first time. It can be frustrating to determine exactly what information needs to be included for a specific citation and what order the elements of the citation should follow. The society created this web page to assist with citing St. Louis and Missouri sources. If you don’t have St. Louis ancestors, these citations can serve as a model for any community. Just substitute your particular location utilizing the same format.

One of the biggest mistakes made by beginning genealogists is not thoroughly documenting where they find every piece of information. Most genealogists will admit they have a piece of information, found early in their research, for which they have no documentation. Don’t make this same mistake yourself. Take some time to read and become familiar with Evidence Explained; Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace or Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian both by Elizabeth Shown Mills.

Citing an online database like Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, or Fold3.com with just the title of the website is not a sufficient source citation. Online genealogy sites usually have multiple databases; therefore, the specific database title, date accessed, URL, and specific data found are all part of the citation. A QuickSheet, based on Evidence Explained is available to assist with these source citations. The QuickSheet available is Quick Sheet: Citing Online African-American Historical Resources.

As you read through websites, check for citation guides on each site to help you understand all of the details of a source. For example, both the National Archives and Missouri State Archives have citation guides available online. The National Archives guide is “Citing Records in the National Archives of the United States: General Information Leaflet, Number 17,” and the Missouri State Archives guide is “Research Room: Citing Records at the Missouri State Archives.”

At a minimum, for each piece of information in your research, you should document:

  • the title of the source;
  • the author(s), editor(s), or compiler(s);
  • the publisher including date and place of publication;
  • the page number;
  • the film number;
  • the series title;
  • the record group name and number;
  • the URL for any online source;
  • the date found; and
  • the repository where the source was located.

 

The best source is an original source, one created at the time an event occurred. A source is either original or derivative. The information a source provides is either primary or secondary information. The information needs to be analyzed as direct or indirect evidence to determine if it provides proof of the event. A birth certificate is an original source of information for the birth. An amended or delayed birth certificate is not an original source, but the information may be primary depending on who gave the information. The researcher must evaluate a source to determine who gave the information and the time frame in which it was given.

A death certificate is an original source for the death of that person. The birth information on a death certificate is secondary or tertiary information, depending on who gave the information. An index can be a source and direct you to a volume and/or page in a source, but the index should not be the only source you utilize. You should always consult the original record for the best source of information.

This web page is designed to assist the researcher in citing St. Louis and Missouri records. As new St. Louis or Missouri sources are identified, additions will be made. If you have any corrections or to help us grow the web page, if there is a St. Louis or Missouri source not shown on this chart, please send an e-mail to the society at ; with the following information:

  • type of source;
  • name of the source;
  • author(s), editor(s) or compiler(s);
  • publisher, publisher location, publication date;
  • Web page title and URL;
  • any other significant information about the source; and
  • an example of the source with an actual citation to be used on the Web page.

A copy of this document and the templates listed below is available in PDF form. It is 45 pages in print length and must be printed in landscape mode. Click here to download the document.

 

Citation templates and examples are available for the following classes of citations: