Chain of Custody for Genealogy Evidence
Chain of custody means documenting where each piece of genealogical evidence came from, how you found it, and what you did with it—essentially creating an audit trail that shows your work is reliable and your conclusions are defensible. Without it, you end up with a family tree full of claims you can't verify or explain, which collapses when someone questions your sources or you need to prove a claim in a legal or DNA context.
HypatiaChain of custody in genealogy refers to tracking exactly where a piece of evidence came from, who recorded it, when, and how many times it was copied or transcribed before reaching you. Each step in that chain can introduce errors, omissions, or distortions that affect reliability.
AI tools can help you map and evaluate this chain automatically by flagging derivative records, identifying likely transcription errors, and comparing a document against known originals. Understanding chain of custody helps you assign the right level of trust to each piece of family history evidence you find.
Ready to work on Chain of Custody for Genealogy Evidence?
Explore related journeys, or bring what you’re working through to Hypatia.