Hi Suzanne,
I have seen those collections in the NB Archives before and yes, they are loaded with errors and contradictions to some of the original documents that I have been able to locate.
It is too bad that the NBGS does not allow a "comment" link so that researchers who find new and clarifying information can share the new evidence and appropriate source citations.
I am preparing a new edition of my booklet, 'In Search of Caleb' and I think I'll include a chapter specifically on corrections to existing data bases commonly found in places like the NBGS and others.
Since I began researching Sherman/Shearman/Sharman families in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, I have found information that contradicts some of the NBGS records. In one case, the person who transcribed some of the Sherman research by Humphreys apparently misread some of the material. Another example is the fact that there is no evidence that Ring Sherman b. 1749 is buried with his wife Mary (maiden name unknown) who died in 1823. I personally searched that burial ground near Salisbury and there is no headstone for Ring, nor do the transcribed church records list Ring as being buried there. There are other examples of errors in facts and conclusions.
I queried a source at Plymouth, Mr. Dale H. Cook, about this subject and he had these comments about the Sherman surname data provided by NBGS (I sent the Sherman PDF file from the NBGS to him for reference):
" There is no record of her [Rebecca Sherman] death at Plymouth, per Lee D. van Antwerp and Ruth Wilder Sherman, Editors, "Vital Records Of Plymouth, Massachusetts, To The Year 1850" (Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1993), which was transcribed directly from the Plymouth town record books.
The information in that [NBGS] PDF file is from a contributor, not from contemporary records. The quality of that contribution is highly suspect, both for events not borne out by contemporary records such as Rebecca's death, and for events from those records which are not shown, but should be, such as the 29-Aug-1738 death at Plymouth of Caleb's first wife Deborah [Plymouth VR 138]. Any recently compiled genealogical information that does not cite contemporary records is, prima facie, of questionable value.
Dale H. Cook, Member, NEHGS and MA Society of Mayflower Descendants; Plymouth Co. MA Coordinator for the USGenWeb Project Administrator of
http://plymouthcolony.net "
I do appreciate your interest, Suzanne, and thank you for forwarding the lead you had. I guess the only way to proceed beyond the current information is for someone to come forward with previously unknown original sources that we can use to collaborate and strengthen some of the information.
I hope you had a great Christmas Holiday and are looking forward to a prosperous New Year.
Bill
Sherman William Bear
Author, 'In Search of Caleb'
Email: beartrax at mtaonline dot net