Methods
Record Gaps Are Evidence Too
This field note is part of the FOBA learning stream. It is meant to orient readers and point toward better source work.
Key points
- A missing record can be a warning about jurisdiction, record loss, naming, indexing, or source survival.
- Good research names the gap instead of filling it with a story.
- A gap can help decide which neighboring county, parent county, church archive, newspaper, or federal record set to check next.
Next steps
- Write "not found in this source" instead of "did not exist."
- Search parent, child, and neighboring counties when the date sits near a boundary change.
- Create a Community Note when a page needs a missing-record caution.