Thanks for the responses. I do have several "official" documents (births, marriages, death records, etc.) but as it was said, the data may or may not be 100% accurate. I had an experience with a county court clerk just last week, when requesting a marriage certificate that I had finally tracked down. They sent me a "certified copy" of the record, saying that they could not copy the real one. They translated the name of my great grandfather (Oliver), and my great grandmother (Armilda) to something that was totally different (Alonn and Amelia), I suspect because the handwriting was so hard to read. In any event if I had taken their word for it I would have been tempted to throw out the record as being the wrong one. But I requested more information and they kindly "traced" the names of the bride and groom and sent them to me. Although I could see how they came up with their interpretation I could also see, by studying other letter writing, that the name could have been my great grandfather and greatgrandmother's after all, especially since my great grandmother's last name was the same. But I am not 100% sure. So I am assuming something (you know the old saying...).
In any event, I am still very inexperienced at this and I am learning something new every day. I am not an expert on tracking down authentic documentation. I try to document as much as I can, but a good portion of what I have comes from other kind people's research. Hopefully I will not lead my grandchildren down the wrong path in determining who their ancestors were.
I am always open to suggestion.
Leann