Re: information accuracy
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In reply to:
Re: information accuracy
1/20/02
The accuracy of information does not depend only on its age.
The reason burth dates tend to become estibates prior to 1650 or so is simply that the oldest census we have is from 1703 - we just rarely have the exact year of birth before that.
As for the accuracy of the genealogical relationships, in particular the identity of the parents of any given individual, it is around 99% at the moment - that is, the maternity is always considered accurate, but the paternity is wrong in 2% of cases, either because the woman names the wrong man as the father, or because of sperm donours.
We do not know for sure how high that percentage was in the past, but even if we assume that the percentage has stayed the same throughout the history of Iceland, the errors add up as you go back in time, and 30+ generations back the family trees will be wrong for the most part.
Now, there are other sources of errors.In the 19th and early 20th century there were several genealogists whose work can sonly be considered shoddy - many of the linages they traced seem to have had little basis in reality.Unfortunately, many of those linages have found their way into later books, and it is a difficult task to correct those errors.A good example of this are the linages traced to Snorri Þorfinnsson (the first child born in Vinland).
More Replies:
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Re: information accuracy
1/21/02
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Re: information accuracy
Fri Sk 1/22/02
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Re: information accuracy