First Families of Western Pennsylvania

Rules of Evidence

• All evidence submitted as proof shall be sufficient to prove that the applicant is directly descended from the claimed ancestor. The evidence must prove residence of the ancestor by the required date and be sufficient to differentiate between any two persons of the same name residing in the same area at the same time.
  
• The direct line from applicant to first family ancestor must be proved at every step. Blood line descent only is acceptable; adopted children do not qualify as a step in the lineage.
  
• Remember that quality of evidence is more important that quantity.
  
• Each document submitted must include a complete citation on the front of the document. Applications without citations will be returned. Examples of proper citation may be found in Evidence! Citation and Analysis for the Family Historian, Elizabeth Shown Mills, GPC, Baltimore, 1997.
  
• Documents must state the fact being documented. An individual names as an "heir" in court records is not necessarily related to the testator.
  
• Primary evidence is the best evidence. Birth, death and marriage certificates, and courthouse records such as wills and deeds, are considered to be primary evidence.
  
• Bible records may be considered to be primary evidence if event dates are contemporary with the publication date of the Bible. A copy of the title page must be submitted. The current location of the Bible should be given.
  
• Letters, diaries and family records can be accepted if they state facts that the writer could have known "first hand." The identity of the writer and the date of the document are necessary.
  
• Secondary evidence such as census records, newspaper accounts., etc., will be considered as corroborative evidence.
  
• County histories and family genealogies (published or unpublished) will not be considered as documentation, but as secondary or corroborative evidence.
  
• Lineage papers from other societies will not be considered as documentation.
  
• Photocopies of original documents are acceptable. Transcripts must be certified as a "true copy" by a courthouse official, cemetery employee, etc.
  
• Tombstone photographs must be legible and accompanied by a transcription of the stone.
  
• Documents written in a foreign language must be accompanied by a translation certified as a “true translation” by the translator (a person other than the application or family member).
  
• Female ancestors living in western Pennsylvania before 31 December 1810 must be identified by their maiden names.
  
• Married female applicants must include a copy of their marriage record, if they use their husband’s surname.
  
• Your name and address must be on the reverse of each piece of paper submitted.
  
• The First Families application form may be duplicated for use as a worksheet for for submitting additional ancestors.

See First Families of Western Pennsylvania for more information or download the FFWP Application and get started!