First Families of Fulton County, Ohio
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BASIC RULES OF EVIDENCE
The application and the accompanying, proving documents will be adjudged as follows:

Primary or collateral evidence from vital statistics, courthouse or other government records, church and school records, etc., is considered usually to be beyond doubt and excellent proof.

Secondary evidence, such as census records, newspaper clippings, old letters, bible or other family records, contemporary to the facts reported, are considered almost as authentic.

Circumstantial evidence, or hearsay, is not considered as proof, unless backed up by primary or secondary evidence.

Oral, written, or published family traditions are very often wrong and are not accepted as proof.

All proof documents must by themselves, or in combination with other documents, actually state the fact to be proved. Implied evidence is not accepted as proof.
 

This application, information, and all supporting documents and data become the property of the Fulton County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society.

REQUIREMENTS FOR FIRST FAMILIES 
OF FULTON COUNTY, OHIO
Any member of the Fulton County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society who is a direct descendent of an individual who settled in the area now encompassed by Fulton County, Ohio before 31, December 1860, may become a member of the First Families of Fulton County, Ohio on the acceptance of an application with proof of such descent and the payment of a $30.00 application fee. Add $5.00 for each additional surname. The First Families of Fulton County, Ohio Committee must first accept this application. An application may be sent to Fulton County Chapter, OGS, PO Box 337, Swanton, Ohio 43558-0337. 

Give volume and page for book references and include a copy machine, photo, or other facsimile copy of the pertinent pages, and of all published or unpublished records used for proof. Typed, hand printed, or written copies of documents, not certified as "true copies," are not acceptable as proof. Published or manuscript material authored by the applicant or his family will not of themselves be accepted as proof. Information for additional ancestral lines may be included on blank pages, showing the tie-in to the line on the basic application. If more than two lines are submitted, please include an ancestral chart to show the interconnections. Only bloodlines are acceptable.

Authorities, as to settlement in Fulton County, Ohio prior to 31 December, 1860, upon whom eligibility is claimed:
 

Authorities as to descent: (list and include facsimile copies as stated above) 

Each step must be proved. References for all dates must be provided
 

I,                 , do hereby swear/attest that the statements set forth in this application, are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Applicant's Signature                  Date 

Rules of Evidence

The rules of evidence applying to membership in First Families of Fulton County, Ohio follow and are the standards by which all FFO proof is judged. There are NO exceptions. The nature and extent of the evidence submitted as proof in all applications shall be sufficient to prove that the applicant is directly descended from the pioneer ancestor(s) named in Box B of the FFFC application blank, and sufficient to differentiate between any two persons of the same name residing in the same area at the same time. Proof must be included to show residence in Fulton County, Ohio by 31 December, 1860. Documentation MUST be provided for each date listed, even if only an approximation.

Basic Rules

      1. Primary or collateral evidence from vital statistics, courthouse or other government records, church records, school records, etc. usually is considered excellent proof.

     2. Secondary evidence, such as census records, newspaper clippings, old letters, Bible or other family records contemporary to the facts reported is considered almost as authentic.

     3. Circumstantial evidence, implied facts of hearsay, is NOT accepted as proof.

     4. Oral, written, or published family traditions may be wrong and are NOT accepted as proof.

     5. Printed or manuscript genealogies, genealogical records or compilations, family group sheets and charts, family reunion records and similar material are not considered proof. Unsupported information from an amateur or a professional genealogist is not acceptable, including such records printed in any genealogical, historical or similar publication.

     6. Lineage papers, accepted or unaccepted, from other patriotic or hereditary societies by themselves are not considered proof. The document copies, which were used to prove the lineage, MIGHT be considered proof for FFFC if they follow these rules.

     7. Material authored by the applicant or a member of his or her family cannot be considered as proof.

     8. Documents used as proof must, either alone or in conjunction with other acceptable documents, actually state the fact to be proved.

  Examples of implied proof, which are not acceptable, are:

          A. Unnamed individuals specified in court records as "heirs" or "heirs-at-law" unless it is known that applicable laws at the time included only bloodline descendants.

          B. Census records, which show the name of the head of the family only, along with numbers of family members or others by age group, prove only the family head actually named. Next door or close neighbors on a census or tax record do not prove any relationship by themselves.

          C. A father is not proved as being in an area just because his child was born there. The birth only proves the mother was there!

          D. Owning the same land as an earlier owner by the same name does not necessarily prove blood descent, whether the land was inherited or purchased.

     9. Documents written or printed in a foreign language must be accompanied by a translation into English and the translation certified as a "true translation" by the translator (not the applicant or a family member).

     10. Old letters or family records can be accepted as proof for only the facts that the writer could logically know as contemporary knowledge. Identification of the writer and the date is necessary. Also, county histories or other published biographies should have been written by someone with contemporary knowledge, not hearsay, to be acceptable.

     11. Land or tax records are acceptable only if they specify that the individual was a resident of Fulton County, Ohio, since many early landowners and speculators never lived in Ohio.

     12. Female ancestors living in Fulton County before 1860 must be identified by their maiden names. Exceptions are made only in the case of American Indians and only when such ethnicity is proved.

     13. Illegitimacy is not grounds for denial.

     14. A direct line from applicant to pioneer ancestor must be proved at each step, including the spouse in each generation. Collateral descent is not applicable. Adopted children do not qualify as a step in lineage. Bloodline descent only is acceptable.

     15. All proof documents must state their source. Proof is required for each date listed for both persons in each generation. Bible records must include a photocopy of the title page with publication date and current owner's name and address.

     16. Typed, handwritten, or printed copies of original documents must be certified as a "true copy" by a courthouse or other official, or a librarian, etc. An applicant or member of his or her family cannot certify a document as a "true copy." Photocopies of original documents are acceptable as copied if there are no changes on the original.

     17. Married female applicants must include a copy of their marriage record to prove their change of name.

     18. Photographs of tombstones are acceptable for proof of birth and death dates and for relationships actually stated on the stone. Published compilations of tombstone readings are acceptable if no additional information has been written in that it is not on the stones themselves.

     19. If another individual has previously proved an ancestor, the applicant may submit proof only to the nearest common ancestor, if so desired. A citation to the name and number of the FFFC member should be included.

     20. Deadline for applications is December 31 of each year.

     21. Please remember, a statement is not necessarily true just because it is in print.

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