What is evidence? A school and office dictionary says, "Something that makes another thing evident, a sign, or a statement of a witness or an object bearing on the point in question." So let's look at some booby-traps in the field of evidence.
The first example I have alluded to very recently. On 2 Jun 1724, John Hoffman appeared in the Court of Spotsylvania County and testified that he and his wife Katrina came to Virginia. The purpose of this was to obtain two head rights good for 100 acres total of the Crown's land. If you inferred from this that John Hoffman was married in 1714 when he came to Virginia, you would be in error. The fact is, John Hoffman married Anna Catherine Häger, the daughter of Rev. Henry Häger, on 7 Nov 1721, as recorded in his family Bible. Katrina (Anna Catherine) did come in 1714, on the same ship as John Huffman. So John Hoffman's statement about his wife meant only that in 1724 she was his wife. We may have read something into his statement that he did not say. She was entitled to fifty acres herself and the claim of John Hoffman did nothing in violation of law.
Another one that I alluded to in the past is the baptism of Johannes Becker. The record in the Hebron Church Register does not say that Johannes had the surname Becker. John and Elizabeth Becker are listed as the parents and the child was simply Johannes. We assumed that Johannes was their son until Baumgardner researchers found that the previous husband of Elizabeth Becker was Adam Baumgardner. Adam died and Elizabeth married John Becker before Johannes was born (6 Jun 1769). The pastor officiating at the baptism may have been aware of all of the facts but did not feel it was necessary to record the data. What was important was that Johannes was baptized and John and Elizabeth Becker were going to be raising him.
The will of Christopher Barlor/Barlow is recorded in Madison Co., VA, Will Book 2, on page 249, on 20 Jun 1810. The assumption that Christopher Barlow died in Madison Co. is false. Most of the time, wills are filed in the same county as where the death occurs. But this same will is also filed in Boone Co., KY, in Will Book A, on page 82. So we now have three choices, Madison Co., Boone Co., or still another county. Boone Co. seems to be the rational choice as that is where an estate sale is to be found for Christopher Barlow. So why would the will be filed in Madison Co.? Christopher originally did live in Madison Co. and that is where the witnesses to the will were still living. So the will was filed where the witnesses could appear and testify that it was the will of Christopher. Then a copy of their oaths and a copy of the will could be forwarded to Boone Co. in KY.
When the ship, "Pennsylvania Merchant", arrived at Philadelphia in 1731, the passengers included Frederick Gybert, Catrina Gybert, Elizabeth Gybert, Julian Gybert, Barnet Gybert, Sabina Gybert, and Mathias Gybert. When the names in the church of Schwaigern, Germany, were examined, it was found that the surname of Julian and Barnet was not Gybert/Gebert but was Reiner. They were stepsons of Frederick, not sons of Frederick. (This family is of interest to Germanna researchers because Catrina Gybert was the stepdaughter of Johann Michael Willheit, early Germanna pioneer. Born a Boger, Catrina married a Reiner, and then Frederick Gybert. There are also Reiners among the Germanna settlers, the earliest of whom came in 1717. If anyone knows what became of the Gebert family in the colonies, I would like to know.)
If you have some booby-traps, you might send them along. Perhaps others would be interested in them.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.