Board or Committee Minutes
Format: Organization, regular/biennial meeting minutes, date, format, location.
Example: Clay Family Society Board of Directors, regular meeting minutes, 12 February, 2025, PDF, Clay Family Society digital archive ID MI-0013.
Photograph
Format: People or objects in photo, Location if known, Date; digital image, location.
Example: Photograph of Clay Family Society President Lindsey Apple, Location Unknown, 2019; digital image, Clay Family Society digital archive ID IM-0001.
Book
Format: Author, Title (City: Publisher, year), page(s).
Example: Evans, Henry. The Clay Family in Early America (Richmond: Virginia Historical Press, 1987), pages 214–216.
Newsletter or Journal Article
Format: Author, “Article Title,” Publication Name, volume or issue (date): page, location.
Example: Richardson, Mary. “Bespoke Richmond tours,” Pieces of Clay, Q2 Spring 2024: pages 4–8, Clay Family society digital archive ID POC-2024-02.
Website or Online Source
Format: Author or Organization, “Title of Web Page or Article,” Website name, accessed date, URL.
Example: Clay Family Society, “Archives:Archive Items,” Clay Family Society website, accessed July 2026, clayfamilysociety.org/archives/..
Recording
Format: Speaker/creator, “title or description of recording,” format, recorded (date), place/event, collection/archive or owner, item ID or URL, accessed (date).
Example: Eric Brooks, “What’s Doing At Ashland,” mp4, November 29, 2021, Ashland, VA, Clay Family Society digital archive ID RI-0001, accessed July 11, 2026.
DNA
Format: Testing Type, Testing Company, Tester Kit Number, processed (Date if known); results accessed (Date); Database or Project Name.
Example: Big-Y, FamilyTreeDNA, Kit Number 783993, Haplogroup R-FT159465, processed October 26, 2019; results accessed July 11, 2026; FamilyFreeDNA Clay Group Project.
Example: Autosomal DNA match between John S Clay and Leontyne Clay Peck, estimated relationship 4th cousin – remote, shared DNA 13 cM, FamilyTreeDNA.
Best Practices
Be specific
Include page numbers, record numbers, or image IDs whenever possible.
Identify the repository
State where the record is held (archive, library, website, or private collection).
Quote titles exactly
Use the title appearing on the document or publication.
Use consistent formatting
Uniform citations make research easier to follow and evaluate.
Document private materials carefully
For family documents, letters, or photographs, identify the current owner.
Clay Family Society Research Standard
Citations should always allow another researcher to:
- Locate the original source
- Understand the context of the evidence
- Evaluate the reliability of the information
Clear documentation ensures that Clay Family Society research remains transparent, verifiable, and useful to future generations of researchers.