Sources
How to read the labels. DOCUMENTED an original or contemporary record ·
SUPPORTED a credible published source or sourced tree; original not yet seen · FAMILY TRADITION a handed-down story, not yet proven ·
HYPOTHESIS a reasoned idea still to be tested · DISPROVEN-CORRECTED shown to be wrong, with the correction.
“Potts” means Thomas Maxwell Potts, Bi-Centenary Memorial of Jeremiah Carter (1883); “Court Record” means Record of the Courts of Chester County (1910).
- Thomas Maxwell Potts, Bi-Centenary Memorial of Jeremiah Carter, Who Came to the Province of Pennsylvania in 1682 (Philadelphia, 1883) · online copy
The foundation source; its key claims are being checked against original records. - Record of the Courts of Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1681–1697 (Philadelphia, 1910)
Court minutes naming Jeremiah and Mary Carter. - George Smith, History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1862) · online copy
- Henry Graham Ashmead, History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1884) · online copy
- John Hill Martin, Chester (and its Vicinity,) Delaware County, in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1877) · online copy
- WPA Cemetery Survey, Delaware County (c.1936); transcription for the Carter Cemetery · online copy
Headstone inscriptions; original typescript and sketch plans not yet seen. - Chester County Archives: wills and deeds (free online indexes) · online copy
Will Books B p.17, F p.255, H p.311 and Deed Book A p.109 are still to be examined. - Delaware County Daily Times and Chester Times clippings, 1877–1931
Family collection. - Antietam National Cemetery burial records
Grave 3590, Samuel Phillips.
How evidence is weighed
Original deeds, warrants, wills and court and meeting records come first; published histories next. Online trees (Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, Find a Grave) are treated as leads, never as proof. A statement is labelled DOCUMENTED only when an original or contemporary record has been seen.